In 2000, Al Gore lost the state of New Hampshire by 7,211 votes. If he had won New Hampshire there would have never been a Florida recount or a scandal over hanging chads and Al Gore would be President today. Think about that for a second and then think about when you are going to make time in your schedule to register to vote in New Hampshire by October 22nd.
Nationwide in 2000, the Federal Election Commission reported nearly half of voting-age Americans thought their vote wouldn’t count and chose to stay home. That means unless you’re reading this column alone, someone nearby didn’t vote – and there’s a pretty good chance it was you.
This is the most important election of our lifetime and everything we care about is at stake – affordable higher education, finding a good job after college, a clean environment, and even life or death issues like the war in Iraq.
In the last three years, college tuition has risen 35 percent, and as a result about 220,000 young people have been priced out of college. Unfortunately for loan applicants, President Bush’s latest budget includes several cuts to student loan programs and this is his third budget in a row that has refused to increase funding for Pell Grants.
Our odds of success after graduation aren’t too great either. As a recent college graduate, I see my friends struggling to find a job to help pay off their college loans. The job market they hoped to join after college has shrunk by nearly 2 million jobs since George W. Bush took office.
Overseas, our friends are fighting a war of false pretenses and misplaced priorities. More than 1000 U.S. troops have lost their lives in the conflict in Iraq. Of those killed, nearly half were 24 years old or younger.
Join me and 40 million other young Americans and help change the direction of our country. We need new leadership and John Kerry and my dad, John Edwards, have a plan for America.
A Kerry-Edwards Administration will offer a College Opportunity Tax Credit on up to $4,000 of tuition for families having trouble affording college and for students paying their way through school. The Kerry plan will work with colleges to provide the benefits of the credit at the beginning of each school year, when students need it most.
But what’s a good education without a good job? John Kerry and John Edwards know that young people are facing an economic crunch of student loan debt, personal debt, and rising costs of living. They will reverse the job-loss trend of the last three years, creating jobs for young Americans by investing in new technology and jobs of the future, ending incentives for companies who ship jobs overseas, and raising the minimum wage.
John Kerry and John Edwards will put science and progress over ideology, supporting stem cell research, doubling the funding to fight AIDS, and investing in new technologies and alternative fuels to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And did you know John Kerry was one of the founders of Earth Day? A Kerry-Edwards Administration will protect our environment and natural resources.
As a young man, John Kerry fought in Vietnam, earning a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts; after returning home, he became a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War. As a veteran, John Kerry cares deeply about our troops serving overseas. John Kerry and John Edwards have a plan to win the peace in Iraq, fight the war on terror, and secure our homeland. They will build a true international coalition to promote stability and democracy in the region, reducing the burden on our troops.
Young people have always been the voice for change. In the 1960’s, you people led the civil rights and women’s rights movements. In 1992, it was young voters who turned out in record numbers to give Bill Clinton and Al Gore their margin of victory.
It’s time for us to use our voice again. And John Kerry and my dad will listen, because they care about your concerns and your future.
So make your voice heard. Vote for change again on this Election Day. Vote for easier access to education, better jobs, a more secure world, and a future limited only by our aspirations. Vote for John Kerry and John Edwards on November 2nd.