Politicians are not representing millennials, and that’s why voter turnout is so low among our age group.
House Republicans approved a new rule that would prevent funds from Social Security to move from retirement to disability. This money has been reallocated 11 times since the 1950s. If this rule becomes law, people on disability will see a 20 percent reduction of benefits by 2016.
Measures like this that are aimed at taking away money from destitute Americans reiterate what every college kid knows: The government doesn’t work for them.
This truth transcends political parties.
In December, Democrats still held a majority in the Senate. They passed a budget bill that took $303 million away from the Pell Grant fund and gave it to banks to pay off student loan debt.
Democrats are known for helping low-income families, and the Pell Grant is money for needy students. Why then, did the Democrats approve a budget that took money away from some of the neediest people in America?
Republicans tell us to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and work hard for what we earn, but they don’t acknowledge that students today pay more for tuition than their state subsidizes.
They ignore that a person can’t live on the current minimum wage without government assistance, but they refuse to raise it.
Democrats tell us they’re fighting for the young adults, but they have little to show for their efforts.
President Obama recently proposed two years of free community college, but he didn’t do that until after the Republicans took both houses of Congress. When countries like Germany are offering completely tuition-free universities, am I supposed to get excited over a two-year proposal that probably won’t even happen?
Democrats want to raise the minimum wage and turn it into a living wage, yet they haven’t done that since 2009.
They created the Affordable Care Act, so now I can stay on my parent’s insurance until I’m 26. But they failed to address the bigger issue — private insurance companies ruined our health care.
The Republicans call us entitled. The Democrats don’t fight for us. Older generations say our problems aren’t addressed because we don’t vote.
But I don’t understand why people call millennials entitled when all we want is a fair opportunity at life. How does being in favor of programs like higher education or Social Security for disabled people make us entitled? Why aren’t more tax cuts for the rich a form of entitlement?
Why should millennials vote? At best, they’ll get politicians who are mildly in favor of positions that concern them. But without a strong voice in Congress fighting for millennials, who cares? If you’re not going to fight every day in Congress for my right to an education or my right not to live in poverty, why should I vote for you? Why vote at all?
Cody Sibley is a 19-year-old mass communication freshman from Opelousas, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @CodySibley.