Candidates should work together to address 18-25 age group

Issues affecting the youth should be important to candidates, along with as healthcare and Social Security

Nick Rust / Guest Columnist

As a 22-year-old college senior, I find it increasingly frustrating to be confronted with the disheartening scenario of having to elect the “lesser of two evils” instead of the “best man for the job.” Further, Americans under the age of 25 are increasingly alienated from the political process.

I refuse to recognize someone on the sole basis of ousting someone in favor of the “not him” platform because that philosophy inevitably leads to weak leadership at the top and the potential to worsen an already grim atmosphere. 

One might argue that the 18-25 demographic is apathetic and unmotivated but here’s a suggestion: Campaign issues should have certain issues directed to the age group. After all, it is this class that will be paying for the mass influx of retirements from our parents generation. It was alarming to read the cover story in USA Today chronicling America’s massive debt of over $450,000 per household, and the likely scenario of this generation being faced with substantial tax hikes and reduced healthcare and Social Security benefits.

These issues of healthcare and Social Security are of little concern to a college or high school student because it doesn’t affect him. However, the ones it does affect are seniors and retirees who the government pays for the bill. This is exactly why this country needs to adopt proposals supported by President George W. Bush to privatize Social Security because clearly the government system needs fixing.

What would be refreshing is for an occasional interaction of the two major party candidates addressing issues of importance to the future of America in the 18-25 demographc.
The future is now, so let’s hear what these candidates say about policy for the future and less about the creative strategies used by highly connected individuals to dodge military service and even more, the military records of another’s record during Vietnam. The bottom line is: Who Cares about what candidates did but what they are going to do for the country!

The fact is everybody has the proverbial skeletons in the closet particularly from actions perpetrated from one’s younger years during college.

Instead of discussing the past, let’s hear about honest opinions on whether or not to reinstitute a draft for military service, or education for America’s future so that we are on par and exceeding world standards while doing something to make college more affordable. Healthcare and its spiraling cost may be the key issue gaining all the media attention and focus during this campaign and most others during a Presidential election year, but let’s look at rising tuition rates of public and private universities that have outpaced inflation several times over. This is a paramount issue because it affects a fundamental problem in the country, which is the discrepancy in incomes between the wealthy and struggling low income families with an ever-declining “middle class.” Let’s be honest, a college degree is an absolute prerequisite to surviving because without one you have people struggling to make ends meet, working at the local Wal-Mart for minimum wage in a overly competitive workplace.

The only way to lessen the income gap in this country is the same way you lessen the worldwide gap in income. Education provides potential for prosperity, which provides happiness, which satisfies people to go about their lives and not fly planes into buildings or blow up buses. This is the problem happening in Iraq, whomever wins in November of will change the way Iraqi people live and giving them freedom and choices. 

Contact Nick Rust at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.