State of the Union: Youth Benefits

After electing the President to office young people haven't exactly been the bastions of recipients of bills passed this past year, nor has there been a whole heck of a lot of outreach from the White House. But tonight the President outlined a few things we have reason to be excited about.

First was a little shout out to clean energy and creating jobs for those who are being good stewards of our land.

"We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities, and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it's time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States of America."

The Energy Bill is coming up in the next few weeks, and this is the end all be all bill for our generation. It will be because of this bill that we curb hazardous waste, stop despicable practices in creating electricity, and forever mandate that our country lead the way in clean technology to save our planet for Millennials and our children. If, at the same time, we create a ton of jobs for Generation Unemployed, then I say bring it on and lets pass this Energy Bill NOW.

Second, is a little help with the cost of college tuition, better schools, better education, and maybe... just maybe some hope for employment.

" The idea here is simple: instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform - reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner-cities. In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education. In this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than their potential.

When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all fifty states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let's tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years - and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college. And it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs - because they too have a responsibility to help solve this problem."

Associate Rich Williams from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Higher Education issued a statement on the higher education issues addressed in President Obama’s State of the Union address, saying

"We are thrilled that the President renewed his commitment to a greater investment in higher education, even as he proposed a three-year freeze on many other funding areas.

Time and again, America has seen the college educated strengthen the nation’s social and economic fabric. Investment in education is proven to strengthen the economy. We applaud the President for reaffirming that investment in the education of our young adults is essential to the country’s recovery and long-term strength.”

I will say, however, one of the best comments I saw came from Natasha Chart who said on twitter in response to the "best anti-poverty program was education" that perhaps a better one would be "supporting living wages for high school graduates." I couldn't agree more.

While the President championed higher education from four year to community college level, there must be an increased focus on helping youth who do not go to any institutions of higher learning and instead rely on their public high school education to prepare them with basic skills necessary in today's entry level jobs. Further, lets help these young people who want to work full time but still seek training at trade schools and technology institutes without being overburdened by out of touch FAFSA requirements like parental tax records for youth that are on their own (just to name one).

The comment from the president recognizing the plight of rural youth and their often sub-par education was also notable. So many children in rural areas lack adequate education, because school districts can't compete with good salaries, sexy locations, or other things to entice new teachers. If "the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than their potential" then its time for our government, specifically the Secretary of Education to understand the differences between rural youth and inner city Chicago youth.

Pay-Go made an appearance:

"So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans. And when the vote comes tomorrow, the Senate should restore the pay-as-you-go law that was a big reason why we had record surpluses in the 1990s."

This has recently been stalled in the Senate so the President called them out. Here's the thing about pay as you go... when you have distribution of federal dollars that only goes to those with the biggest and best lobbyist or the elected official who has the most power - it rarely makes it down to the little projects.

While the President mentions specifically entitlement programs and the "Fiscal Commission" modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad I can promise you that not a dime of Social Security will be touched. If other entitlement programs like Pell Grants and the GI Bill have to be slashed completely on the "pay-go" model they will be to accommodate for things like Social Security and Medicare... simply because young people don't have the lobbying power to ensure otherwise. Pardon my cynicism, but its true, the lobbying force of seniors is just too strong.

In a response in the Federal Times Gregg Carlstorm says of the spending freeze

"Experts say the spending freeze is unlikely to have a significant impact on resources at most agencies. But John Palguta, vice president for policy at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, said it could lead to some cuts in staffing and training.

"There's a psychological impact," he said. "As soon as you tell federal agencies their budgets are frozen, they go into worst-case planning mode. They stop paying for training. They say, ‘Let's see how many jobs we can get away with not filling.' ''

Palguta said federal managers should also be concerned about one big unknown: pay increases. Agencies with frozen budgets might still have to accommodate federal pay raises over the next three years — which means they'll have to find cuts in other areas."

If the purpose is to create jobs in the upcoming year, cutting federal jobs with agency funding freezes and forcing people into the private sector might not be the best strategy. That said, I'm not an economist, so what do I know. I personally believe in curbing spending, considerably, but I think there are better places to do that while preserving people's existing jobs.

Perhaps we could sell that Bridge to Nowhere up in Alaska, or export some of our Reality TV, maybe the President could call on Conan to start a new national TV channel and the advertising dollars go to pay for agency budgets, heck reducing the number of troops in Iraq alone could seriously curb spending...

Another thing that our generation should be happy about is a renewed sense of inclusion from Washington that finally ... FINALLY ... we value all people equally ... or, at least, we're going to try to, or... maybe just ask people to try to.

"We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else. . .

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. We are going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws - so that women get equal pay for an equal day's work."

One key way that we can help create more jobs in this country - or preserve the living wage - is by guaranteeing that all Americans that want to can serve in the US Military and that all women will earn equal pay for equal work. Both of these issues are ones that Millennials support overwhelmingly and it is high time that we set an example of civil rights to the rest of the world.

So, on the whole, a little good, a little iffy, nothing too shocking from the cheap seats. I want to be hopeful, I want to remain steadfast in my excitment for policies that impact our generation, but I'm also still crushed that I don't have a public option for my health care, so take with that what you will

State of the Union for Youth - By the words:
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