Gen Z Voters: 4 Financial Policies We Want Under a Harris Administration
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Chris Cluff
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
If Kamala Harris is elected president, Gen Z wants her to show them the money. Considered a very financially savvy generation, these young people are focused on their financial well-being.
A major force, 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in the presidential election this year, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. This includes 8 million members who have reached the voting age since the 2022 mid-term elections.
GOBankingRates spoke with two Gen Z voters to learn more about the financial policies they’d like to see under a Harris administration. Here are four they highlighted as most important to them right now.
Greater Focus on Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is the key to healthy finances, but many schools aren’t currently providing this key education, said Taylor Price, Gen Z personal finance expert and founder at Priceless Tay. She’d like to see Harris change that.
“It’s important to make sure that all over the country, policies are put in place that make financial literacy a priority,” Price said. “This covers the required financial education in classrooms, therefore guaranteeing that every graduate has the information required to handle debt, saving, investing and budgeting.”
If Harris is elected, she may be able to build on an initiative that’s already in progress. Presently, 26 states have guaranteed to provide high school students with a required personal finance course, with 10 states fully implemented and 16 states in progress, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
Student Loan Reform
Higher education is often necessary, but it isn’t cheap. In the 2022-2023 school year, the average tuition at a public, four-year institution was $9,800 per year, nearly quadrupling to $40,700 per year for a private, nonprofit institution, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Gen Z has an average student loan balance of $22,948, according to Experian. This is the lowest average of all student loan borrowers — for example, millennial borrowers have an average balance of $40,438 — but it can still be debilitating.
“Student loan reform is really important,” Price said. “Greater affordability of higher education would come from extending income-driven repayment plans and implementing stronger loan forgiveness policies.”
She added that this could offer a variety of benefits. “These policies would not only reduce the financial burden, but also enable young people to make investments in their futures outside of education, like buying a house or starting a business.”
Accessible Health Savings Accounts
Health savings accounts allow users to set pre-tax money aside for qualified medical expenses. This can result in major savings, but this type of account is currently only available to those who have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).
Therefore, Benjamin Fields, a Ph.D. student at the University of California Berkeley, would like to see a Harris administration policy that makes HSAs accessible to everyone.
“These are triple tax-advantaged –no taxes going in, out or on growth — and are the most generous of all investment accounts,” he said. “Even though they can only be used on medical expenses until 65, after which they can be used for anything.”
As of Aug. 17, 2024, the U.S. population was nearly 337 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, just 36 million people had HSAs in 2023, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — approximately 9% of the population.
“Right now, only those with super high-paying jobs and HDHP can access them, which is unfair,” he said. “It would be great to see everyone have access and be able to take advantage of tax-free growth and protect themselves from medical issues in the future — or from not having enough retirement money saved up.”
Separate Interest Rates for Young First-Time Homebuyers
“I am in graduate school and have taken some economics classes, so I understand the importance of changing interest rates and managing inflation,” Fields said. “However, when we look at the median net worth of Americans, the overwhelming majority of it — over 90% — is from home equity.”
Therefore, he would like to see a Harris administration policy that offers separate interest rates for first-time homebuyers under a certain age.
“Giving Gen Z a chance to get in the game early with a policy like this could help jump-start our wealth accumulation, reduce our future reliance on Social Security — which could help the federal budget — and be more financially stable overall,” he said.
Harris has already announced plans to make homebuying more affordable, though not through lower interest rates. She will provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for the first home –with more generous support offered to first-generation homeowners.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
More From GOBankingRates
