CHARLIE KIRK: Gen Z and the Economy Need Trump

It used to be “work hard, enjoy later,” but now it’s “enjoy now, pay later,” says Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk. 

In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Kirk sheds light on a decades-long economic crisis in America that’s crushing the American dream for young people. Kirk warns that if America’s leaders fail to address the crisis, political radicalization is sure to follow—and some of that radicalization is already happening. 

For Generation Z, the economic realities are depressing. The price of a home, for instance, cost about three times the average income in the 1970s and 1980s, Kirk explained. Now, home prices have reached as high as seven times the average income. 

As a result, the average age of a first-time homeowner has risen by eight years. In 2007, it was 30. “It is now 38 years old,” says Kirk. 

The question is, who’s to blame?  

According to Kirk, many Americans over 50 are too quick to fault younger generations’ unemployment or financial uncertainty on the unwillingness of young people to work hard. “Why is the Right so blind to the suffering of the young people that gave you a Senate majority?” Kirk asks GOP leaders and donors rhetorically, alluding to the large number of young people who have started voting Republican. 

One of the problems besides skyrocketing home prices is a credit-based economy that deters the motivation to pay off debts. Kirk highlighted three major finance companies that promote the “buy now, pay later” approach: Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay. “They’re not credit cards,” says Kirk. “This is not regulated by credit bureaus; it’s not regulated with credit checks.”  

Kirk emphasized the overwhelmingly common use of these platforms: Recent surveys show that nearly 60% of Gen Z uses a “buy now, pay later” company to fund the most common of purchases. A pizza, for instance, can be split into several payments over the course of months, he says.  

The result? Gen Z doesn’t own anything, and the future of the economy is in the hands of those entirely reliant on renting and credit. 

“Gen Z owes the most money in any generation in history,” warns Kirk. The debt isn’t because young people are living above their means, he says. “Most are actually doing this to meet their means.” 

Moreover, the economic instability could be a catalyst for something much worse. As Kirk notes, the lack of ownership among young people is forcing them into a cynical cycle “where year over year … their net worth either stays at zero or goes in the negative.” Gen Z men, in particular, have little motivation to defend what is theirs, because they don’t actually own any of it.  

Enter Donald Trump. According to Kirk, “Donald Trump was a distress signal by a lot of people, especially young men, that were stuck in a credit-centric, renter economy.” Politics is now in a race against the clock, says Kirk, to save the economy. 

According to Kirk, “This is the biggest story happening that hasn’t happened.” 

If Republicans ignore the current economic situation, politics will suffer. “Political radicalism needs a catalyst,” warns Kirk. A poor economic environment for certain segments of the population can be that catalyst—a catalyst that goes against Republicans. As he notes, upheaval in government never rises out of peace and prosperity. 

If Donald Trump’s election was the hopeful beginning to a change in the economic trends, self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani’s recent rise to become New York City’s leading mayoral candidate is the same thing, but on the Left. “If you don’t care,” Kirk says, “Mamdani is just the beginning.” 

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