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Gen Z voters hate capitalism — but they’ve barely even seen it

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Young voters are financially drowning — and the life raft the Democratic Socialists of America is throwing them is an anchor in disguise.

If Americans don’t see past this facade, they’ll be sinking even faster.

Consider a typical 22-year-old, fresh out of college with a business degree and a decent entry-level job in a booming city like Austin, Texas.

Rent eats a third of his paycheck, while nearly one-fifth of it goes to commuting costs.

He’s paying down tens (if not hundreds) of thousands in student loans.

Without help from Mom and Dad, a down payment on a home is decades away, as is marriage.

Little wonder that only 9% of voters under 30 have a “very positive” view of capitalism, or that nearly 60% of voters aged 18 to 24 want a Democratic Socialist to win the White House in 2028, according to a recent Heartland/Rasmussen poll.

Young voters are right that the system is failing them.

They’re wrong, though, about which system it is.

What they’ve experienced isn’t free-market capitalism at all — it’s a quasi-socialist economy that’s let government displace the market in precisely the spending categories that have become least affordable.

Turning further toward socialism means embracing the anchor that’s already weighing them down.

Just look at where their pain is already concentrated: education, housing and health care.

These are among the most regulated, subsidized and government-directed sectors of the American economy, and therefore the least like capitalism.

It’s no........

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