America Needs to Fix This - 8/17/26

If we want to stop young people from picking socialism, we have to give them something better. Vice President J.D. Vance said young people are right to be concerned about the high cost of housing and the lack of good-paying jobs. Many of them are following the same path as previous generations, earning a college education, looking for work, and playing by the rules. It's not enough to parrot free market talking points, the vice president said. We actually have to implement better policies so that young people are confident that they can have a future Where they can reach their parents' standard of living.

Socialism is a destructive system, but if young people choose it, older Americans have themselves to blame for not fixing the problems. You, as an American citizen, deserve to have a good life in your country, and deserve to have a government that is making it easier for you to start a family, for you to afford to get a good education, for you to have a good job, for you to afford a home. The Trump administration is working hard. I'm making that a reality.

Meanwhile, over at The Loop, President Trump is touting FBI data showing a record drop in violent crime, and a Catholic writer is urging the church to protect the faithful after that migrant search in Ciutat, Spain. Today is the feast of St. Hyacinth of Poland, a Dominican priest and missionary often called the Apostle of the North for his extensive travels and devotion to the Eucharist. I'm Josh Mercer, editor of The Loop, taking you behind the headlines. Go to zeal.com. for the rest of today's loop, and while you're at it, subscribe to get the loop in your inbox every morning. Again, that's zeal.co.