Republican Economics And The Young: The Fundamentals Are Not Sound
Young voters overwhelmingly voted Democrat in last year’s election, and greatly contributed to the GOP’s losses. Aside from alienating them on social issues, the Republicans have failed to deliver a consistent message about the economy that can appeal to America’s youth.
Students I interviewed at Fairfield University in Connecticut echoed a similar message regarding their views on the economy; they have never seen it as weak as it currently is, and it is causing them to worry about their future.
Through my conversations with students, I gathered three primary areas of concern regarding the economy: the availability of jobs, the cost of college and the cost of health care. Corey Dennis, who graduates in 2010, highlighted his fear about graduating and having to look for work in an economy that weakens by the day. “Many of my friends who are graduating in May can’t get companies to hire them. They don’t know what they are going to do for work when they graduate. I’m very concerned about having to enter the job market in a year.”
The cost of college has grown exponentially for years now, and college endowments have not kept pace with the increases. A number of students here at Fairfield and at universities across America will be unable to return for the fall semester because they and their families simply cannot keep up with the rising costs. Republicans need to find a way to address the cost of college in their rhetoric; Obama did (although his plan is to simply throw more federal money at the problem) and it caused voters to believe that McCain didn’t have any solution to this problem.
Young voters also fear the ability to cover health care costs once they are on their own. Many company’s health care plans don’t cover all necessary medical areas, and some have dropped health care coverage entirely. While the Democrats took this issue and ran on it, the Republicans have seemed concerned to talk about the problem and offer limited solutions. A more direct solution is needed, one that deals with the major problems at hand without mushrooming the role of government.
Republicans also need to work on an economic message outside of simply cutting taxes. That message failed, certainly amongst the young, to convince voters that Republicans have a plan to bring our economy back. Mike Sabato, a junior at Fairfield, articulated the way many college voters perceived McCain’s message on the economy. “McCain’s message focused on the reasons why Obama’s plan to increase taxes were wrong, not why his plan was right. When he did talk about his own ideas, it centered on cutting taxes without the explanation of how tax cuts would stimulate the economy.”
This hasn’t changed with the end of the election. Take the fight over the stimulus plan: Republicans are sticking to the same game, proposing to cut taxes for businesses without any explanation of how these tax cuts will end the recession. Obama is claiming that his plan will create 3 million jobs, a figure that is almost certainly wrong, but the Republicans haven’t communicated any message as to how effective their stimulus plan will be.
Since our party has lost so many congressional seats that it will be hard to lose many more, why not take some risks and propose something more daring? Why not target a key enemy of the middle and working class and slash payroll taxes as Republican economist Lawrence Lindsay proposed on the youth dominated “Daily Show” to an arousing applause?
Whatever they propose on the stimulus plan, Republicans need a new message to appeal to young voters concerned about the economy. They need concise plans to create jobs, make college affordable, and enable the private sector to provide healthcare that will be able to cover all working Americans. Young voters are deeply concerned about their future that darkens with every economic report. They want leaders who have the vision to make our economy strong again.
Students I interviewed at Fairfield University in Connecticut echoed a similar message regarding their views on the economy; they have never seen it as weak as it currently is, and it is causing them to worry about their future.
Through my conversations with students, I gathered three primary areas of concern regarding the economy: the availability of jobs, the cost of college and the cost of health care. Corey Dennis, who graduates in 2010, highlighted his fear about graduating and having to look for work in an economy that weakens by the day. “Many of my friends who are graduating in May can’t get companies to hire them. They don’t know what they are going to do for work when they graduate. I’m very concerned about having to enter the job market in a year.”
The cost of college has grown exponentially for years now, and college endowments have not kept pace with the increases. A number of students here at Fairfield and at universities across America will be unable to return for the fall semester because they and their families simply cannot keep up with the rising costs. Republicans need to find a way to address the cost of college in their rhetoric; Obama did (although his plan is to simply throw more federal money at the problem) and it caused voters to believe that McCain didn’t have any solution to this problem.
Young voters also fear the ability to cover health care costs once they are on their own. Many company’s health care plans don’t cover all necessary medical areas, and some have dropped health care coverage entirely. While the Democrats took this issue and ran on it, the Republicans have seemed concerned to talk about the problem and offer limited solutions. A more direct solution is needed, one that deals with the major problems at hand without mushrooming the role of government.
Republicans also need to work on an economic message outside of simply cutting taxes. That message failed, certainly amongst the young, to convince voters that Republicans have a plan to bring our economy back. Mike Sabato, a junior at Fairfield, articulated the way many college voters perceived McCain’s message on the economy. “McCain’s message focused on the reasons why Obama’s plan to increase taxes were wrong, not why his plan was right. When he did talk about his own ideas, it centered on cutting taxes without the explanation of how tax cuts would stimulate the economy.”
This hasn’t changed with the end of the election. Take the fight over the stimulus plan: Republicans are sticking to the same game, proposing to cut taxes for businesses without any explanation of how these tax cuts will end the recession. Obama is claiming that his plan will create 3 million jobs, a figure that is almost certainly wrong, but the Republicans haven’t communicated any message as to how effective their stimulus plan will be.
Since our party has lost so many congressional seats that it will be hard to lose many more, why not take some risks and propose something more daring? Why not target a key enemy of the middle and working class and slash payroll taxes as Republican economist Lawrence Lindsay proposed on the youth dominated “Daily Show” to an arousing applause?
Whatever they propose on the stimulus plan, Republicans need a new message to appeal to young voters concerned about the economy. They need concise plans to create jobs, make college affordable, and enable the private sector to provide healthcare that will be able to cover all working Americans. Young voters are deeply concerned about their future that darkens with every economic report. They want leaders who have the vision to make our economy strong again.