Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now we continue a week of midterm election call-ins for callers of different generations. Today, if you're in your 30s or 40s, what issues are most likely to inspire you to vote in the midterm elections? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. We're doing these call-ins to give you input and to ask for your help in planning our midterm election series, 30 Issues in 30 Days, which will begin next month.

We know from polling and from this program's on call-ins experience that people from different generations sometimes have different issues that the key on as the most relevant or salient to their lives and therefore, to their voting decisions, so we're taking it in different chunks. This week, it was callers in year 20s or below yesterday, it's 30s and 40s today, and we'll keep going up from there, 212-433-WNYC. It's open phones in this 11:30, 11:40ish time slot all week on what issues you would like to hear us address in 30 Issues in 30 Days in this fraught election year with so many issues at stake.

Today, if you're in your 30s and 40s, what issue would move you to the polls, will it move you to the polls for the midterm elections? 212-433-WNYC. Name your number one issue or name more than, 212-433-9692 if you're in your 30s or your 40s today. Also, while age is the organizing demographic of this series of call-ins, we know it's obviously not the only one that affects what issues you would tend to find relevant to your life so we really hope to get diversity within the age groups as well as we did yesterday with the 20s.

Black listeners in your 30s and 40s, Latino listeners in your 30s and 40s, AAPI listeners in your 30s and 40s, white listeners too, everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate, what issue is most important to you for the midterm elections if you're in your 30s and 40s? 212-433-WNYC, help us plan on midterm election series, 212-433-9692. Same thing for listeners in different income groups or sexual or gender identities or other groups that you may see yourselves as parts of, every person welcome, every issue welcome.

Today, if you're in your 30s or your 40s, 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. Obviously, we don't need to lead you, we don't want to lead you too much about what to bring up, we want you to generate that. If you think about it on background, some of the interesting differences by age that have been documented include a Pew survey that found younger voters like the younger you are, the more concerned you seem to be about climate.

We definitely heard climate pop as the biggest issue mentioned yesterday in the youngest caller group, presumably because of the obvious fact that younger people will be around to deal with more of the worst effects as they come at us and maybe because everything that feeds the climate crisis and the injustice of who pollutes and who suffers the effects seem to crystallize a need for a broader social transformation to young voters and presumably adults in your 30s and 40s very affected by the decline of the middle class by how people are finding it harder than their parents to get an economic foothold, maybe affordable housing hits you harder if you're trying to buy a home, starting to raise kids, and certainly, the pandemic has hit different generations differently.

Those are just a few examples of what we think we're going to see. Let's see what it is. We'll take your calls after this, people in your 30s and your 40s on the issue that drives you to care about this year's midterm elections.

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Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Okay, if you're in your 30s or your 40s, what issues are most likely to inspire you to vote in the midterm elections, put an issue on our radar for our upcoming 30 Issues in 30 Days midterm election series. We did it with callers in their 20s or below yesterday, today, it's 30s and 40s, we'll go up from there the rest of the week. Chris in Hackensack, you're on WNYC. Hey, Chris, thanks so much for calling in.

Chris: Hi, I'm [unintelligible 00:04:55]. I feel like [inaudible 00:04:59] I really don't normally vote.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, boy, we have a terrible connection. I don't know if we can do this, but give it a shot. Are you saying you may not even vote you feel so ignored?

Chris: No, I'm saying this is the first time that I may vote. This is the first time that I might vote.

Brian Lehrer: Chris, you know what? I apologize. We're going to try to get back to you see if we can stabilize that connection, and in the meantime, we're going to go to Lanelle in Brooklyn. Lanelle, you're on WNYC. Thank you for calling in.

Lanelle: Hi, Brian, good morning. I always vote, but this year I think the issues that really are sticking out to me is the abortion issue, the January 6th committee, and pursuing charges. One thing I've learned through the whole abortion issue as well as the Trump years is that there are way too many loopholes. I'm an attorney, and even myself, I didn't realize how many loopholes that are in the constitution and in just the way our system is set up to allow for our rights to be taken away.

It used to be that they always talked about states' rights as a way to preserve things for the people, but now it seems like the opposite like states' rights is being used to pull right away from the people and that's very distressing and it's scary to watch. I think we really need more federal laws so that there's not this piecemeal of I have more rights than New York than you have in Georgia because you have legislators that are willing to scheme and slot to take away things through the legislative process.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, it's so classic actually. It goes back to the "civil rights era" with the Jim Crow systems in the south state by state, even though there was plenty of discrimination in the north too wasn't official. They defended it under the idea of states' rights and the federal constitution is supposed to protect rights nationally and that, of course, is a subject of great debate at the Supreme Court on all kinds of things so Lanelle, thank you for starting us off. Sam in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sam.

Sam: Hi, Brian. My two main issues for getting me out to vote are student loans and affordable housing. I'm an attorney. I know the big focus is on relieving undergrad debt, but there is also a lot of attorneys I think who are probably suffering from student loan debt as well. I just wanted to make one additional comment which another big driver for me to get out there and vote is a growing frustration with just older Democrats, in general.

My first election was Obama, in 2008 that I could vote in. I've seen nothing but obstructionism from Republicans ever since and just I'm getting increasingly frustrated with older Democrats who think they just need to sit down at a table, have some coffee with Mitch McConnell and Republicans will come to their senses. I'm looking for younger Democrats who are bolder and more aggressive in the way that they govern.

Brian Lehrer: Sam, thank you very much. There's a generational frustration right there by Sam, who told their screener he's 33. Let's try Chris in Hackensack again. I think we have a better connection now. Chris, you're on WNYC, let's give it a shot.

Chris: Hi there. I don't know if you can hear me. I told the young lady, "I don't vote normally." I guess I should. This November, I'm going to vote, and I've decided that I'm going to vote for whoever is not in office because I don't feel they listen to me, no one has ever asked me about what I think, in particular. I heard a gentleman make mention to student loans. I paid my own way for college and borrowed money, which I paid back. It wasn't easy. I'm an engineer, I didn't get a great degree or anything, but I have a job. I don't know where politicians these days get their votes from.

They promise things to people and they usually don't deliver, from what I've seen and they seem to be in office for life. Once they get in they never get out. Like I said, I'm going to vote for the person who's not in office. All right, that's my protest against not being heard, not being considered, not being asked, and certainly the worst part, and I hate to say this, but every time I hear someone side of study or talk about a survey or something they've done. I don't hear them talk about its start to finish. I just hear that cherry-pick what they want and in a way that is trying to convince me to vote for them.

Brian Lehrer: I hear how alienated you are. What's the problem that you would like them to address if they really were not ignoring your needs?

Chris: Total honesty. I don't think you're insulting us by telling us we can't understand what's behind the curtain. I think we can. I don't like talk that says they're going to solve all these problems by doing all these things and they're not telling us about all the problems they're going to create and give us to worry about in the process. I don't know who's going to dig the landfill with dead car batteries in ten years.

I don't know who's going to dig the landfill with already dead solar panels that have heavy metals in them. These things concern me, but no one talks about them and I appreciate their good intentions, but I think they're just pandering for my vote and this time they're not getting it. I'm voting for the person who is not in office.

Brian Lehrer: Who's not in office. Chris, thank you very much. Call us back around election day and tell us who those people are, as it turns out in your area. Ryan in Sussex, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ryan.

Ryan: Hi. Long-time listener, first-time caller. Thank you for putting me on. My most important issue would be the promotion of union organization. I'm an interim union president of a small union. I won't name any individuals or the company. This is not a smear campaign but in short, following certification, the NLRB refused to reinstate or compensate any workers that were fired shortly after certification so this has all resulted in a federal court case against the employer and against the NLRB, unfortunately.

Brian Lehrer: Union power and union empowerment under federal law. I hear you. Thank you very much. Deborah in Astoria. You're on WNYC. Hi, Deborah.

Deborah: Hi, Brian. Thanks for asking these important questions because voters are not a monolith. My issue is education. This demographic, folks in their 30s and 40s are the ones raising children right now, school-age children. I'm a ten-year veteran of my local school board here in Astoria. We are one of the geographically largest school districts in New York City.

We have 40,000 children, and it is fascinating to see how much more engaged parents are now, post-COVID, post a lot of social change than we were ten years ago when I first started. People are really paying attention to midterm elections, to local elections in a way that they hadn't been before. They're looking at elections in other states and seeing what happens there vis-a-vis education. It is now or never for our children and politicians and elected needs to really pay attention to the parent voter because we are in the public school system for 13, 14 years, and we're paying attention.

Brian Lehrer: Deborah, thank you very much and interesting, yes, in the parent demographic, you bring up public education, and I was interested to hear that public education, not just college, but K-12, pre-K-12, popped yesterday among the voters in their 20s too so an interesting connection so far. Thoroughly unscientific, but anecdotal, yes. Karina in Queens. You're on WNYC. Hi, Karina.

Karina: Oh, hello, Brian. Hi there. Yes, gosh, so many people brought up so many good issues that I actually like to follow, like education, union, the pollution from climate change after the fact. I think I brought up corruption to the caller but going back to the caller in New Jersey, I feel a little bit that we have so many people-- Okay, there's a saying that people go to Congress to get rich, to become millionaires, not to serve the people and it's really crazy how they don't have to live in their district. They can run for office and serve for how many years with no checks and balances, like term limits.

I really do think we need term limits in Congress. I know that they're like, "Oh, you need to know what's going on and know how to play the room." I honestly feel like max maybe two limits is good, but I think they're just there, really, honestly, to pay-to-play and get rich off the backs of working people in our country. Honestly, it's just crazy how many backing deals go on, and it just needs to stop. We're not going to be able to be a country anymore if we keep having this system of oligarchy and corporate corruption. The corporations basically own and run our government.

Brian Lehrer: Government corruption, climate change, and public education for you. Thank you so much. Nick in Ditmas Park you're on WNYC. Hi, Nick.

Nick: Hey, Brian. Long-time listener, first-time caller. Thanks for taking my concern. It would be very refreshing to hear someone speak about supporting working families. I've got two kids that are going into kindergarten and it's been tough and a lot of folks in my situation have left the city, and I hate to see young families leaving the city, and I'd like to see more kids grow up here. Anybody speaking out about supporting parents who are working either with childcare or supporting the childcare workers would be helpful. I just don't hear enough of that.

Brian Lehrer: Nick, thank you very much and you get the last word on today's Brian Lehrer Show. Thanks to all of you in your 30s and 40s who called on what issues are most likely to inspire you to vote in the midterm elections. We'll continue this series tomorrow for callers in your 50s and 60s. That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today, produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, and Carl Boisrond. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen produces our Daily Politics Podcast. My interns this time are Emily Lowinger and Amanda Rozon. Megan Ryan is the head of live radio. Juliana Fonda and Milton Ruiz at the audio control.

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