SAVE

Written By: Katie Dean

The ongoing congressional debate over health care reform will eventually determine whether millions of young Americans continue to be financially crippled by a broken system.  While young people are not the widely-publicized victims of health care, our generation has been burdened disproportionately by the elusiveness of quality health care in this country.

Despite the youth health care crisis, young people are largely overlooked in the development of various health care proposals. One of the likely reasons for the lack of consideration of the 19-29 demographic is the absence of youth advocates in the health care narrative.  While Americans aged 50 and over can rely on the AARP to champion their interests, there exists no such group for the representation and defense of the health care needs of young Americans.

The irony of young people’s exclusion from the health care debate is that young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 are the most uninsured age group in the country and represent nearly one-third of all uninsured people.  Furthermore, the rising unemployment rate of this demographic, currently standing at 17.3%, puts young people at an even greater risk for a lack of health care benefits.

The economic recession has resulted in insufficient employment opportunities for young Americans, which, in turn, has greatly decreased the availability of employer-provided health insurance: Only 50% of Millennials receive health care through an employer, compared to 75% of people over 30.  Of the young Americans who have been affected by job loss, 46% have seen their health coverage disappear, but it is not only unemployed young adults who have seen a loss of benefits; 20% of young adults have been forced to take part-time jobs which typically do not offer employees health coverage.

In addition to facing the highest unemployment rates in the country, young [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: 80 Million Strong, economic crisis, economy, health care, health care reform, millennial generation, public option, SAVE, Student Association for Voter Empowerment, unemployment, young americans, young jobs, youth, youth unemployment

Written By: Gabe Sulkes

Last week in Manchester, Tennessee, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival unleashed its annual barrage of A-list performances and psychedelic phenomena on nearly 80,000 gleeful fans. Slogging through rain, tornado warnings, and blistering heat, concertgoers flocked to an eclectic assortment of shows ranging from Phish and the Beastie Boys to Snoop Dogg and Merle Haggard. For the four-day music marathon, attendees and organizers erected a flourishing communal society on the Tennessee farmland replete with taxi depots, post offices, and cell-phone recharging stations. Businesses selling everything from gyro pitas to Garnier Fructis hair conditioner joined casual vendors trafficking hemp clothing and breakfast burritos to Tent City patrons. Meanwhile the Bonnaroo Beacon delivered fans daily news while Bonnaroo Radio provided minute-by-minute music and weather updates. A thriving metropolis indeed.

However, outside the gates, Manchester reels from the economic challenges plaguing cities and states across the country. Despite the festival’s cash infusion, the total number of unemployed in Manchester stands at 125,043 or a 9.8% rate according to the Commission for the New Economy. Meanwhile, the Manchester unemployment rate for youth ages 16-24 is rising faster than regional or national averages.

While festival organizers search for solutions to pizza shortages, Manchester attempts to address these economic deficiencies with a variety of policy prescriptions. The Centre for Urban Education in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University works to improve school resources and retention rates—a key ingredient to improving the youth employment gap. The Greater Manchester Connexions service provides support and guidance for youth age 13-19 as they consider career opportunities. Connexions attempts to eliminate a struggling cohort of youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Cumulatively, these programs recognize the important role young workers play in stimulating the New Economy.

However, these youth issues are not unique to the Manchester community. National organizations [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: 80 Million Strong, bonnaroo, economic crisis, economy, manchester, Mobilize.org, Roosevelt Institution, Student Association for Voter Empowerment, tennessee, unemployment, young jobs, youth unemployment

Written By: Katie Dean

Crosspost with 80 Million Strong

The unemployment rate for young Americans aged 16-24 rose to 17.3% in May and now stands a staggering 7.9 points higher than the national average.  Young people in America are facing the highest unemployment rates of any demographic, while at the same time accruing, on average, $27,000 worth of student loans by college graduation.  And these numbers do not reflect the negative effects of growing credit card debt and a lack of health insurance that continue to plague young Americans.

The statistics are clear: young people have been affected disproportionately by the nation’s economic recession, and yet the American public is largely unaware of the plight of the youngest members of its workforce.

Media coverage of the national unemployment crisis is abundant, but it overlooks the economic woes of the Millennial Generation.  Less than a year ago the nation’s news outlets were clamoring for stories about this now seemingly forgotten age bracket; feel-good pieces about the increased level of youth participation in the presidential election were published daily, and it appeared as though the media, and consequentially, the public, finally respected the contributions of our generation to the political realm. 

However, once the Obama-mania of election season died down and America came out of its bliss-induced haze, the media refocused its attention on the problems ahead, namely the faltering economy.  Essentially absent from this coverage has been the Millennial Generation; in a few short months our age demographic went from being the subject of front page feature stories to the occasional, and almost certainly brief, acknowledgment in an article on some larger economic issue.

While there are some exceptions, the media attention being paid to young Americans is inarguably disproportionate to the burden the recession has put on this cohort.  It seems as though the media [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: 80 Million Strong, economic crisis, economy, financial crisis, media, media coverage, millennial generation, press, unemployment, young americans, youth

Written By: Ryan Erickson-Kulas
 
As the 2009 Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Primary has ended and the general election campaign begins, one issue receiving dramatically increased attention is the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons in Virginia. All three Democratic primary candidates, including victor Creigh Deeds, came out in favor of restoring voting rights for nonviolent felons once they have finished their sentence and probation. Under current Virginia law, all convicted felons are permanently disenfranchised unless they receive a personal intervention from the governor. Virginia and Kentucky are the only two states that have such strict laws; however, similar measures exist in various forms throughout the nation. Only thirteen states and the District of Columbia allow convicted felons to vote upon release from prison and only two states allow felons to vote from prison.
Such disenfranchisement of an entire group of the population is staggering. The Sentencing Project, which is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, estimates that one in forty-one adults have lost their right to vote, either currently or permanently, due to a felony conviction. This problem severely affects African Americans with 1.4 million African American men being disenfranchised. Their rate of disenfranchisement, which is 13%, is seven times higher than the national average.
            While the pledge by Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidates is encouraging, there is much work to be done in returning the right to vote to felons. In the 110th Congress, the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones introduced The Count Every Vote Act (H.R. 1381). This bill would have restored the right to vote across the nation to those felons that completed their prison sentences and probation or parole. This initiative would return the right to vote to as many as 2.1 million Americans. By [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: count every vote act, democratic nominee, democratic primary, felon voting rights, SAVE, stephanie tubbs jones, Student Association for Voter Empowerment, virginia, voting rights

Written by: Bobby Campbell
Crosspost from the Huffington Post

About a month before my friend Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed away last August, she spoke before a large student gathering and prophetically read the words of Bernice Johnson Regan: “The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on,” she said, “is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm.”

Her words stuck with me ever since; and in these unique times, one week away from a historic election, I can’t help but think that young voters will in fact confirm the late Congresswoman’s wisdom, voting in record numbers. Record turnout in this year’s primaries and caucuses, as well as the steady increase in youth participation since 2000, suggests nothing less. Yet there are those who, after all these years, are still trying to pull the reins from us when it comes to our franchise.

“You don’t understand the issues,” they say, or “you don’t have a family, own a home, and pay property taxes.” Others state “you don’t even live here for the full year,” while some allege that we are simply trying to “dilute their votes.”

I’ve heard all of these claims and many more during the past few months. But with the 2008 election less than one week way, it is likely these challenges will soon escalate–so let me make the case for students.

1. First and foremost, we are not second-class citizens: the laws and judiciaries protect our right to vote. A Supreme Court ruling in 1979, Symm v. U.S., affirmed that college students have an unequivocal right to participate where they attend school.

2. Students not only care about their college communities, but also give tremendous service to them: I know from my experience at Kenyon [...] Continue Reading…

Written by: Bobby Campbell
Crosspost from the Huffington Post

It’s time we reclaim the media narrative: it seems as though every 15 minutes, a different news network is decrying how the integrity of our elections has been marred and how, no matter what happens now, the result of November 4th should be called into question.

Well, they are right…but not in regard to the insipid ACORN “voter fraud” scam.

What we ought to be talking about right now is voter suppression–and the failure of almost everyone in a position of authority to tackle the issue.

One glaring example is the case of the Democratic secretary of state of Pennsylvania, Pedro Cortes, issuing a policy that would only provide emergency paper ballots to voting precincts when every single voting machine breaks down. So, if you are a voter in Pennsylvania and 7 of your 8 precinct voting machines are broken–well, you’re just going to have to tough this one out.

What an outrage! And what did the consortium of audacious civil rights organizations do? They filed a lawsuit calling on Secretary Cortes to provide emergency ballots when more than half of the voting machines in a precinct break down. Now that’s bold reform! These civil rights groups, many of whom I work with, ought to be ashamed of themselves. Why? Because this is a half-measure that does not redress the fundamental inequity at hand.

To illustrate my point, all I need to do is recall my 2004 voting experience at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Two voting machines were provided. One broke down. That meant that students had to stand in line for 10 hours before they could vote. In fact, the final voter at Kenyon College cast his ballot at 4:04AM the day after the election, when every network had already declared George. W. Bush the [...] Continue Reading…

Written by: Bobby Campbell

The week of September 22, 2008 was, perhaps, the busiest in the young history of SAVE. It included numerous meetings, phone calls, and the typical office duties, but it also included two events to distinguish it from any old day at the office.
First, on Wednesday, September 24, we hosted a press conference on Capitol Hill with the People for the American Way (PFAW), and members of Congress, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA), and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. It was a high profile event, set against the backdrop of the Capitol Building, and attracted dozens of journalists.
Our Executive Director, Matthew Segal, Congress, and PFAW focused solely on student voting rights. Topics included the power of 44 million young voters (18-29), the tremendous importance of the election, the failure of election officials to help young voters, and the potential for legislative action. One specific element raised was the Student VOTER Act of 2008 introduced by Congresswoman Schakowsky, which SAVE conceived, developed, and advocated.
What was the overarching message of the press conference? We want you and need you to participate in this election. We understand that there are problems with the system. We are here to help.
Wednesday’s press conference transitioned nicely into a Thursday hearing of the Committee on House Administration, titled “Ensuring the Rights of College Students to Vote.” Matthew testified on behalf of SAVE and all our members, detailing the wide range of problems that students confront when attempting to vote. Congresswoman Schakowsky testified on the Student VOTER Act, an important step to advance the legislation. The hearing was a great success for us, as [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: Student Association for Voter Empowerment, Voting push, Youth Vote

Written by: Anna Salzberg

Helping is hip these days. From eco-vacations, where even the rich and famous are roughing it, to riding your bike instead of driving your gas guzzling SUV, every day citizens are trying to make the world a better place—a trend I think we can all agree is worth sticking with.

Why is it, then, that voting isn’t culturally cool? It’s not for lack of trying. Everyone remembers the “Vote or Die” campaign of 2004, when P. Diddy turned from his usual musical and entrepreneurial endeavors to launch a large-scale registration campaign. And organizations like Rock the Vote and Declare Yourself still, somewhat successfully, turn to celebrity faces to promote their cause and reach their young constituents. In fact, Rock the Vote’s website videos of Christina Aguilera, NERD, Wale and others encouraging young people to “make a difference” and vote this year. We are asked to “Join Christina and Register to Vote” by simply pressing a button. We have seen th enormous impact that celebritizing an issue can have on involvement, and these organizations have done a terrific job honing in on this.

And yet, it would be tough to argue that the average young person would associate the words “cool,” “hip,” or “trendy” with voter turn out. Perhaps this is because it is difficult to make voting a quantifiable experience until one has gone to the polls. There is no Sigg water bottle, clean park or completed homework assignment to show a young person that they’ve made a difference. Or perhaps it is because, despite what we would like to tell ourselves among young, progressive circles, that people still think voting and political participation don’t matter, that their vote “doesn’t count.”

When voting is arguably the only social issue [...] Continue Reading…

Written by: Noelle Petrillo
The recent Obama controversy seems to have gotten its latest punch from the New York Times as it quoted a young radical leftist from Oregon stating she is “disgusted with him” and “for all the independents he’s going to gain, he’s going to lose a lot of progressives.” The article reports that Slate planned to switch back to the Green Party due to the “Obama moving to the center” controversy. The article quotes many leftists including ‘rabble rouser’ David Sirota who is less concerned about Obama’s recent statements understanding that he is a “transformative politician, but he is still a politician” and that there is an education process that needs to take place in order for him to win the Presidency. Although the polls show many progressives still supporting him in high numbers, others warn that Obama’s recent statements run him the risk of being perceived as the late blooming flip-flopper of the 2008 Presidential election. Is this really “change we can believe in?” Let me know what you think about the recent controversy: www.noelle.petrillo@savevoting.org and check out the Times article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/us/politics/13liberal.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

Written by: Chris Dhanaraj

In light of the fact that SAVE is espousing the idea, it would probably be appropriate for us to actually explain why we think it’s important to have one. I’m sure many would immediately scoff at the idea, remarking that anything and everything has some day allotted for it. They would call the idea trivial, with minimal impact. Look at Lincoln’s Day, or Memorial Day – school kids look at those days with little other than the glee of a day off of school. Having an official month would do nothing.

But yet, look at the month of February, the official Black History month. Elementary schools, high schools, even colleges showcase a startling amount of information and activities during this month designed to educate and inform our youth of cultured history of the African Americans. And it has worked to an absolutely phenomenal degree. When Black History month was first instituted in 1926, African Americans in general were still looked down upon. The sheer amount of inventions and learning that African American’s had committed into history was barely recalled in American history books. Yet with time and hard work, African Americans regained their rightful place in history books. Most now can instantly recall the names of George Washington Carver, a man who discovered and invented hundreds of items, or W.E.B. Dubois, one of the founders of the NAACP.

So we at SAVE are applying that successful model to the National Voter Awareness Month. Currently, there is tragic lack of education revolving around the concept of registering to vote and voting itself. A survey conducted by the Utah Statesman showed that in collegiate students, 93% percent of the population said they weren’t registered to vote simply because they didn’t know how, and 48% of registered students didn’t know where [...] Continue Reading…

Tags: National Voter Awareness Month