Generation Opportunity

Generation Opportunity is a center-right political advocacy organization in the United States focused on economic policy and aimed at young adults. It is a sister organization to the Americans for Prosperity-led political network initially funded by the Koch family.[1] The group has campaigned against the Affordable Care Act.

Generation Opportunity

Formation	2010
Headquarters	Arlington, Virginia
Methods	Activism, policy advocacy
Website	generationopportunity.org

History

Founded in 2010, Generation Opportunity initially focused on a variety of issues including taxes, high gas prices, and broader economic issues.[2][3][4] Generation Opportunity then began to look at youth unemployment statistics and the Millennial Jobs Report, which gave unemployment statistics for 18- to 29-year-olds on the first day of each month.[5] In September 2013, Generation Opportunity launched a campaign called "Opt Out of Obamacare".[6] Evan Feinberg headed the organization from 2013 through 2015.[7] In 2016, the organization released its "The State of the Millennial Report", which reviews the challenges and opportunities faced by young people in the United States [8]

Issues

Youth unemployment

On the first Friday of every month, Generation Opportunity uses the information released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate unemployment for Americans aged 18–29.[9][10][11][12] Generation Opportunity advocates for removing barriers to youth employment such as occupational licenses and regulations harmful to the sharing economy.[13][14] Another strategy for reducing youth unemployment that is advocated by the organization is criminal justice reform, since a criminal sentence often traps generations of Americans into cyclical poverty.[15]

Affordable Care Act

Generation Opportunity opposes the Affordable Care Act and has campaigned against it. Generation Opportunity launched its Opt Out of Obamacare campaign in September 2013.[16] Generation Opportunity conducted a college campus tour to 20 campuses to convince college students to sign a petition to opt out of the Affordable Care Act.[17] The organization states that its goal is inform millennials of options outside of the Affordable Care Act,[18] and to raise awareness of the cost of the Act for younger generations.[19]

On September 18, 2013 it released a video advertisement named "Opt Out - The Exam - Creepy Uncle Sam".[20] The video received over 600,000 views within its first 36 hours,[21] 3.5 million views within its first week, and drew a response from President Obama during a speech in Maryland.[18] The video features "Uncle Sam" intruding between the legs of a female patient during a gynecological exam.[17][22] A third "Creepy Uncle Sam" video was released on October 25, receiving 300,000 views in 3 days.[23]

Reception

When asked to explain the creepy Uncle Sam ad, Feinberg compared his ad to the ad Democrats ran against Congressman Paul Ryan on his proposal to restructure Medicare: "They're not suggesting Paul Ryan is literally pushing granny off a cliff but trying to make a policy point," he said. "We're trying to make a policy point that Obamacare is creepy and invasive. It's obvious satire."[24]

Funding

In 2013, Politico reported that Generation Opportunity had received a $5 million grant from Freedom Partners, a group of about 200 donors that is associated with Charles and David Koch.[25][26][27]

See also

• Generation Progress

References

1. • David Weigel, On campus, Trump loses young Republicans — but gains a flock, Washington Post (October 25, 2016): "Generation Opportunity, a millennial-focused offshoot of the Koch donor network..."
   • Nicholas Confessore, Koch Brothers Plan More Political Involvement for Their Conservative Network, New York Times (April 30, 2013): "Generation Opportunity, a Koch-financed group focusing on young voters."
   • Sheryl Gay Stolberg & Mike McIntire, A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning, New York Times (October 5, 2013): "Some, like Generation Opportunity and Young Americans for Liberty, both aimed at young adults, are upstarts."
   • Andrew Rosenthal, Cutting the Heart Out of Health Reform, New York Times (November 15, 2013): "Take the insurance that the right-wing group Generation Opportunity was hawking last month."
   • Juliet Lapidos, Sabotaging Health Care, New York Times (September 23, 2013): "A Koch-brothers funded conservative group, Generation Opportunity..."
   • Lucia Graves, Right-Wing Ad Equates Obamacare and Rape, New York Times (September 19, 2013): Generation Opportunity, a coalition of right-leaning groups with ties to the Koch brothers..."
2. Faraci, Matthew (March 14, 2012). "Gas Prices Are Too Damn High". Generation Opportunity. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
3. "Generation Opportunity". Retrieved 27 November 2016.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2014-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. Pasch, David (July 5, 2013). "Millennial Jobs Report: Youth Unemployment at 16.1% in June". Generation Opportunity. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
6. "Millennial Jobs Report: Youth Unemployment Reaches 13.1 Percent as U.S. Economy Shrinks". GlobeNewswire. February 4, 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
7. Schleifer, Theodore (September 1, 2015). "First on CNN: Koch operative leaves group amid tumult". CNN. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
8. "2016 STATE OF THE MILLENNIAL REPORT" (PDF).
9. MANJARRES, JAVIER. "Youth Unemployment Rate Hits 16.1%". The Shark Tank. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
10. Kingkade, Tyler (February 6, 2013). "Millennial Unemployment In January 2013 Rose Much Faster Than National Rate". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
11. Nielsen, Allison (March 7, 2014). "Youth Unemployment Rate Still High in February". Sunshine State News. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
12. Bader, Emily (March 7, 2014). "U.S. youth Unemployment Still High". NJ Biz.
13. "NCGA Committee Delays Occupational Licensing Reforms". www.carolinajournal.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
14. "Critics Are Wrong about the Sharing Economy and This Is Why". Generation Opportunity. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
15. "Many Young People Are Trapped in a Cycle of Poverty, Crime, and Prison". Generation Opportunity. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
16. Moody, Chris (September 19, 2013). "Creepy Obamacare ad hits college campuses and your nightmares". Yahoo News. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
17. Reston, Maeve (September 20, 2013). "Obama looks to Hollywood to help promote his healthcare law". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
18. Leary, Alex. "Opt out of Obamacare is conservative group's message to young people". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
19. Goodnough, Abby (September 19, 2013). "'Creepy Uncle Sam' Is Anti-Health Care Law Mascot". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
20. "Opt Out - The Exam - Creepy Uncle Sam". Youtube. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
21. Reston, Maeve. "Obama looks to Hollywood to help promote his healthcare law". Retrieved 27 November 2016.
22. Pickert, Kate (Sep 19, 2013). "Spread Your Legs for Uncle Sam". Time US. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
23. "Halloween Horror 2013 - Get The Door, Chad - Creepy Uncle Sam".
24. Leary, Alex (October 12, 2013). "Opt out of Obamacare is conservative group's message to young people". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
25. Allen, Mike (September 9, 2013). "Exclusive: The Koch Brothers' secret bank". Retrieved April 10, 2014.
26. Mak, Tim (October 25, 2013). "Generation Opportunity to lobby Hill on behalf of Millennials". Retrieved April 10, 2014.
27. Stolberg, Sheryl (October 5, 2013). "A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning". New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2013.