Giving Young People A Reason To Vote Again

For the past year, I’ve been traveling across America, speaking with thousands of young people about our country’s future. What I’ve learned is extraordinary: Throughout our nation’s history, very few generations have felt so shut out of the political process and become so disillusioned with politicians as today’s youth. Many in the media and political elite have blamed young people themselves, but the truth is, politicians have failed to give them a reason to vote.

The proof of this rests in the young people themselves. They constitute one of the most socially active generations in our nation’s history. In 2000, 60 percent of college students participated in community service, according to a Harvard study. That is why its politicians treated members of this generation as the conscientious, informed citizens they have shown themselves to be.

I have made it a mission of my campaign to do so. In listening to young people across America—most recently on a tour organized by Generation Dean, our youth-outreach campaign built for and by young people—I have learned that we need to focus on a new kind of politics, one that speaks directly to young Americans, and does so honestly.

This begins with our policy proposals. For example, the costs of education are becoming prohibitively high, and students have fewer resources available to them. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965, he said, “A high school senior anywhere in this great land of ours can apply to any college or university in any one of the 50 states and not be turned away because their family is poor.” But soon, only the wealthiest will be able to afford college. President Bush cut funding for the Pell Grant program and for AmeriCorps, drastically reducing the federal role in ensuring quality education for students who have difficulty paying for it. This clearly harms our future economy, to say nothing of our founding values of justice and equal opportunity.

We need a new federal commitment to higher education in America. We must restore the cuts to the Pell Grant and AmeriCorps programs, but we must also do more than that. As president, I will guarantee that every eighth grade student who pledges to finish high school will receive $10,000 a year in grants and loans for higher education, will never have to pay more than 10 percent of their income on loan repayment, and will have their loans paid in full after working for 10 years. For those students interested in public service, the deal is even better: Those who go into teaching, nursing, law enforcement, firefighting or another high-need area will never spend more than 7 percent of their income on loan payments.

Health care is also a pressing concern for many young Americans. After the age of 18, many young people find themselves without health coverage, vulnerable to the high costs of injury or serious illness right when they are beginning adulthood. That’s why the first component of my health care plan will cover every American up to the age of 25.

Larger issues important to all Americans have particular relevance to young people. The loss of over 3 million private-sector jobs, the recent rollbacks in environmental regulations, the erosion of our civil liberties, the mounting national debt and our diminished standing in the eyes of the world arguably impact young people more than any other generation. As president, I will work to reverse all of them.

But beyond policy, we must build a new and better world for future generations. It begins with how we treat one another here at home. We have to talk about real human values—not the phony family values politicians often wrap themselves in, but more substantial values like the importance of reaching out to one another as human beings. America’s sense of community, and sense of belonging in the larger world community, has deteriorated over the past few decades, and we are a weaker nation for it. We need to move away from an ethos that is little more than “fend for yourself,” and restore our sense that we are all in this together. Our national strength comes first and foremost from the faith that we have in one another as fellow citizens and fellow human beings. Restoring the American community will not happen overnight, but it will happen over time, and it is a process we can each begin today.

Young people in America are the driving force behind my campaign, and I will never forget my obligation as their standard-bearer. As I said repeatedly during the recent Generation Dean tour, they are not merely footsoldiers in our campaign—they constitute an extraordinary part of our success. In many ways, they are leading the charge to take back our country. This election will give young Americans the power to channel their activism into changing our future for the better. I will make it my duty to earn their support and live up to their ideals.

Howard Dean is former governor of Vermont and a candidate for U.S. president. He will be appearing on “Hardball” at the Institute of Politics at 6 p.m. this evening.