Pete Buttigieg: A Leader to Represent the Modern Generation

As the first openly gay presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg would bring a welcoming change to our line of straight presidents. At 37 years old, Buttigieg would be the youngest president to serve the U.S. But, Buttigieg’s youth isn’t indicative of a lack of political experience. He has been the mayor of South Bend, Indiana since 2012. In fact, Buttigieg has used his young age to distinguish himself and propel his presidential campaign, which promises to represent the modern generation of millennials.

A key component of Buttigieg’s campaign is “intergenerational justice,” which grapples with how issues like climate change will affect the future generations. Past political discussions tended to avoid addressing climate change because its consequences will not manifest themselves for years to come. Buttigieg, an older millennial, argues that as a result of previous generations’ irresponsibility in addressing global warming, millennials and future generations will face the brunt of its consequences. Buttigieg’s platform pushes for concrete plans, such as the infamous Green New Deal, to fight climate change as a part of intergenerational justice.

Buttigieg’s identity as a millennial also means that he is well aware of the pressing issues that threaten millennials. For one, Buttigieg himself was in high school during the Columbine school shooting, and he understands the pervasive terror of mass shootings, which are much more prevalent in today’s generation than in previous ones. He is also a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and he believes in limiting certain more destructive weapons to the public. Buttigieg’s platform calls for universal background checks of gun-buyers, and they limit gun sales of higher capacity guns.

Other notable plans in Buttigieg’s campaign involve revising tax policies, providing universal health care, eliminating the Electoral College, and expanding the Supreme Court. Buttigieg has mentioned that he would be open to implementing a financial transactions tax, a tax charged on certain transactions such as speculation in stocks and property. The tax would discourage speculations that tend to benefit rich corporations and destabilize financial markets. Buttigieg also will be open to reconsidering top marginal tax rates, thus implementing higher tax rates on rich Americans. In terms of the Supreme Court, Buttigieg hopes to expand the number of justices to 15: five appointed by the Democratic Party, five by the Republicans, and five unanimously agreed upon by the other 10 justices, drawn from the appellate level. This would allow a counterbalance of the conservative majority in today’s Supreme Court and prevent a party majority from dominating the Court. In regard to elections, Buttigieg hopes to replace the Electoral College system with the popular vote. Finally, Buttigieg supports a plan that advocates free Medicare for all, noting that free and public healthcare is attractive to most modern Americans. Overall, Buttigieg’s platform may just win the votes of the new generation with innovative and attractive ideas and solutions for modern millennial issues.