Several new polls indicate the Millennial generation has a good idea of what it wants. Unfortunately, those wants sometimes contradict each other.

According to a study conducted by Reason Rupe, nearly three-fourths of Millennials (people ages 18 to 29) believe the government should guarantee food and shelter for everyone, and more than half say it should guarantee a college education. Two-thirds of these same Millennials believe that “when something is run by the government, it is usually inefficient and wasteful.” About 73 percent believe “people should be allowed to keep what they produce, even if there are others with greater needs,” but 58 percent also believe the government should “spend more on financial assistance to the poor, even if it leads to higher taxes.”

There’s more: Seven out of 10 Millennials believe the government should mandate health care, but more than half are unwilling to pay more for health insurance so the poor could get coverage. While 58 percent of respondents believe cutting taxes would help the economy, two-thirds think it’d help to raise taxes on the wealthy.

An earlier poll by Pew also found some inconsistencies: While they’re the most likely demographic to be a single parent, they’re also the least likely to approve of single parenting. While Millennials despise political parties more than anyone, they also gave Congress its highest approval rankings.

“Some of these positions suggest, rather than prove, utter incoherence,” writes Derek Thompson for The Atlantic. “For example, you can technically support (a) reducing the overall tax burden and (b) raising taxes on the wealthy by raising the investment tax and absolving the bottom 50 percent of Social Security taxes. Somehow, I think what’s happening is simpler than young people doing the long math of effective tax rates. I think they’re just confused.

“Overall, Millennials offer the murky impression of a generation that doesn’t really understand basic economics,” he concludes. “To be fair, neither do most Americans.” (Vox, The Atlantic)

Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.