karlomarcelo's blog

Citing a marketing survey fielded by a credit card company, Reuters asks “[w]hy young people spend so much?" In the spirit of Stephen Colbert’s analysis of Ted Nugent’s comments on Millennials, I will contrast the article’s remarkably “good points” with “other points” in under 140 characters because I am a shallow Millennial. Please spread the word about these other points through the twitter and the FB to demonstrate the empirical superiority of said other points. If you have your own point, please post it in the comments (all comments violating the 140 character rule will be deleted for being too thoughtful).

Good Point: “According to a new survey from Visa, the sought after demographic will spend an average of $379 on fireworks, entertainment, food, beverages and other celebratory items related to the Fourth of July holiday, compared to $218 for 35-49 year olds, and $155 for 50-64 year olds.”

Other Point: Young Americans are clearly more patriotic and care more deeply about helping retailers increase their earnings in the new quarter. #usa

Good Point: “Evidence suggests the summer spending spree isn’t just a blip. The latest College Explorer Study from Alloy Media + Marketing indicates that college students shell out an average of $361 a month on discretionary purchases and have been increasing such spending since the recession began in 2008. “Clearly, these youthful consumers are not cutting back deeply, despite the continuation of a challenged economy,” concludes a press release on the findings.”

Other point: A young person’s spending habits are modeled off of their parents’ spending habits. http://bit.ly/jp4rEL

Good point: “The big question is where all this money is coming from. Many young adults are still in school. If they’re working, it’s likely they aren’t making nearly enough to justify blowing almost $400 in a single day. Another factor that should rein in spending power is an unemployment rate of 17.3 percent for those under age 25, by far the highest of any age group.”

Other point: Many have studied economics and have internalized forward-looking household consumption.

Good point: “Young people seem to view debt mostly in just positive terms and as a tool for achieving what they want, such as a college education,” says Rachel Dwyer, assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State and the study’s lead author. “They typically don’t consider that it can also be a potential burden as well.”

Other point: RT @_kbm Many have studied economics and have internalized forward-looking household consumption.

Good point: “Unbridled optimism may also play a role in spending decisions. Studies show that many college students are excessively optimistic about their earning potential once they graduate, and they are often uneducated about the potential negative effect paying off large loans can have.”

Other point: T-Paw: “"This idea that we can't have 5% growth in America is hogwash. It's a defeatist attitude.”

Good point: “Perhaps the most powerful influence on young adult spending habits is the pervasive and unrelenting encouragement to sign up for plastic. Dwyer says that despite legislation designed to curb credit card marketing to college students, she still sees credit card companies setting up shop on city sidewalks near the school on move-in day. “These young adults are coming of age in a time of unprecedented access to credit. That’s something that previous generations didn’t have to deal with.”

Other point: It’s not like predatory lending doomed the housing market and sent the economy into the worst nose-dive since The Land Before Time 2.

Action required! See below...Karlo. See the two attachments for more info on the plan and a template letter to send to Congress.

Dear Young Invincible,

3 million young Americans need you right now.

Congress is about to pass major health care reform. This is great news. Unfortunately, the legislation being considered contain provisions for "catastrophic care" plans that create a "doughnut hole" where millions of people - including young people and low- and moderate-income people of all ages - will earn too much to qualify for adequate subsidies, but too little to afford quality insurance.

We're asking you to help us get this fixed before the final legislation is passed. Why? So over 3 million young Americans, the bartenders, salespeople, freelancers and part-time workers, recent college grads in entry-level positions, cooks, security guards and others making between 225% and 325% of the federal poverty level, can get access to basic primary and emergency room care.

What kind of changes are necessary? A "floor" for health plans requiring some basic coverage for primary care, an increase in transparency regarding catastrophic care plans, and an adjustment to minimum deductibles. It's all outlined here [see attached memo], in the letter we're sending to Congress [see attached letter].

Please send a letter to your representatives today and tell them to support these fixes to catastrophic care plans. Then place a call to their office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202)224-3121.

All young people deserve better than insurance in name only. Help 3 million young Americans today.

Yes, Copenhagen is nearing, which is partly why the White House hosted a Clean Energy Economy forum with young progressive leaders last Wednesday, though there were a few patriots from the other side of the aisle also in attendance. Thanks to FM friend Sujatha from the PIRGS, we got invited to attend this forum as press (our video from the event is being edited now and should be up soon). The real push for this forum came from the Energy Action Coalition and its executive director Jessy Tolkan. Kudos, EAC.

As a first-timer to the White House, I followed the flock of well-dressed young leaders to an entrance and was promptly rejected and then redirected to the press entrance. This is proof that bloggers get some respect from the WH - thank you. My shots at how the WH ran the event come later; first, the good stuff.

The event was separated into two sessions, the first included speakers such as Labor Secretary Solis, Secretary of the Interior Salazar, Energy Secretary Chu, and EPA Administrator Jackson. Each speaker also answered audience questions in addition to delivering their prepared speeches.

On the HeadCount blog, Andy Bernstein shares his perspective on the second session, a breakout discussion between young leaders and "mid-level executive-branch staffers":

The final hour of the meeting was spent in breakout sessions with middle-level executive-branch staffers. That’s where I really started to drink the Kool-Aid and feel like I was getting an eyewitness view of democracy functioning as it should. Myself and about a dozen attendees sat down with Brandon Hurlbut, the deputy chief of staff to Energy Secretary Chu. He explained he quit his law job in spring 2007 to work on the Obama campaign in New Hampshire and joined the Department of Energy after the election. He shared some of what they’re working toward, such as an energy-efficiency rating system for homes realtors can use to increase property values. “I didn’t quit my job and come here to not get things done,” he said off-handedly at one point.

As press, I witnessed only the forum, which was not as exciting as the breakout session which Andy described in his blog. Andy describes what Congress and the youth activists are able to do well - lobby days.

I don't know if the breakout sessions allowed for digital participation, but if it didn't, then the White House should know that speaking to invite-only youth leaders isn't enough. The Obama administration has used online tools to collect and evaluate ideas and should use this tactic regularly with the collaborative-loving Millennial generation.

The forum itself felt like a pep-rally for young climate activists. Secretary Solis even brought-back campaign slogans and chants, which didn't seem to catch on with the live audience. The campaign is over, now is the time for governing and that's what the young leaders were eager to hear about.

Zachary Stark-MacMillan over at It's Getting Hot in Here expressed some of my own opinions about the disconnect between the administration and youth leaders:

Second, you urged us to take the lead and take action for what we believed was right. This is great advice to give to young people. However, you were speaking the “youth leaders” of the climate movement, to perhaps the most accomplished group of young people in the country. There were young entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses, founders and leaders of student groups, and veteran organizers who have made real change in their communities. We were at the White House because we have taken the lead, we are taking action, and we are powerful. We were at the White House because we want to start working with you on climate change, but if the administration keeps talking about ‘clean coal’, subsides for nuclear power, and 450ppm of carbon in the atmosphere instead of 350ppm, then we have serious disagreements. We need to resolve these issues and move forward together, before we end up fighting each other. We elected President Obama to be a leader on climate change, we would like him to start leading with strong and specific goals, and we will support him.

There was more than just a policy disconnect. When the secretaries were asked directly about how young people can help the administration move forward on climate change, there was the knee-jerk response - vote[!?]. And the other response was to convince your parents. Like Zachary mentioned in his open letter on It's Getting Hot in Here, the administration needs to understand that they are talking to the people who organized one of the highest voter turnout rates in modern history...on a budget. These leaders, regardless of age, are talented innovators and organizers. Telling them to vote and convince their parents is very nearly condescending.

Just reported on the Progressive States Network:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation, HB 30, allowing the pre-registration of 17-year-olds in the state of California. The state joins seven others that allow pre-registration at either 17 or 16. This follows close on the heels of North Carolina, which made their pre-registration age 16 over the summer. As with campaigns in other states, students themselves were the most persuasive advocates for pre-registration. Civically-minded youth and student leaders pointed to the opportunity that would be opened for students like themselves to encourage their peers to register and prepare for voting. Students and a range of advocates including the New America Foundation, AARP, The League of Women Voters and FairVote, made the case the this is a no cost way to boost participation by allowing registration before 18, when many people are in transition.

Disclaimer: it was actually AB 30, and its important to note that this law does not take effect for a couple of years, young voters cannot do this right now.

Matthew Segal from the Student Association for Voter Empowerment said

"I think pre-registration is a major step in the right direction because it helps institutionalize voter registration, said matthew segal. If implemented at DMVs it will also be essential in reaching many young people who are not college bound." SAVE supports replicating what we've done in California federally with a bill we are currently working with FairVote and Congressman Markey's office to introduce."

California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in an email from her spokesperson

"Hooking young adults on democracy is one of my priorities as California's chief elections officer," she said. "This expansion of the state's pre-registration law is a good step toward increasing voter participation across the state."

This is certainly a win for civic engagement, but a small one. FM's been monitoring some important electoral reform at the federal level. The Student Voter Act, a S.A.V.E bill, was slated for mark-up earlier this week but it's been rescheduled for early next month. This piece of legislation would affect college students at every higher education institution that receives public funding, essentially Motor Voter for schools. While states are making progress in electoral reform, federal legislation like The Student Voter Act would take a tremendous burden off of voter engagement organizations, allowing them to focus just on GOTV and education. At any rate, kudos to the California youth who just made voting easier in their state.

I love photo petitions and PowerShift comes up with another great one for it's new campaign: Smile for 350 Action and Climate Change on Oct. 24. The concept is great because it is more than just writing a note and taking a picture with it. Folks are encouraged to make write-out "350" in some way. In Indialantic, Florida, local organizer Ray is encouraging folks to "Bring natural items from central Florida to create a 350 SOS on the beach at dawn on Oct. 24th. Anything you like, Shells, rocks, sticks, plants, etc."

Photo credit: 350.org

But what is the importance of 350? It has to do with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, apparently 350 ppm (part per million) is the lowest bound and we're currently at 390 ppm! From TreeHugger.com on the importance of the 350 number:

For one thing, we're already past it, at 390 ppm and rising two ppm annually--that's why the Arctic is melting. For another thing, it means the work nations and individuals must do to reduce their carbon footprints is much larger, and must happen much more swiftly, than we'd believed. Hansen's data shows that as a planet we'd need to get off coal by 2030 in order for the planet's forests and oceans ever to bring atmospheric levels back down below 350--that's the toughest economic and political challenge the earth has ever faced.

But it's not as if we have a choice. The most useful thing about having a number is that it forces us to grow up, to realize that the negotiations that will happen later this fall in Copenhagen aren't really about what we want to do, or what the Chinese want to do, or what Exxon Mobil wants to do. They're about what physics and chemistry want to do: the physical world has set its bottom line at 350, and it's not likely to budge.

More details on the campaign from here including a nice interactive map displaying over 1,000 local events.

How will you show your 350?

Via the Asian Law Caucus. It sounds like a good event for Bay Area folks on an issue that will come back into the nationwide spotlight in 2010 - immigration reform. - Karlo

Practical measure would increase public safety and prevent innocent youth from being torn from their families

What: SF Board of Supervisors will vote on a proposal to restore due process to immigrant youth.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 20th at 2:00 PM

Where: San Francisco City Hall, Legislative Chamber, Room 250

Who: Youth, parents, teachers, faith leaders, and attorneys supporting due process for youth.

FutureMajority is part of the Y.I. Want Change coalition. Congratulations to the Y.I. organizers for a successful event! - Karlo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Contacts: Rebecca Abou-Chedid (Young Invincibles): media@younginvincibles.org, 202-256-4096
Chrissy Faessen (Rock the Vote): chrissy@rockthevote.com, 202-368-1706

Young Americans continue push for health care reform on Hill, hail inclusion of key provision in House bill

Coalition of over 20 youth organizations announce major policy victory, release health care policy agenda, and spend day lobbying key Senators and Representatives in Washington, DC

Washington, DC – Young Americans from 30 states are on Capitol Hill today to continue the push for comprehensive health care reform. Y.I. Want Change, a national coalition of over 20 youth organizations representing millions of young Americans, organized the lobby day. In addition to bringing young people to the Hill today, the Y.I. Want Change coalition released its policy agenda and announced with Speaker Pelosi and Representatives Van Hollen and Dahlkemper a major policy victory for young people that will be included in the final House bill: a provision allowing young Americans to stay on their parents’ insurance through the age of 26.

“Speaker Pelosi and Representatives Dahlkemper and Van Hollen’s leadership on this key provision – and other important pieces like the public option and strong anti-discrimination language – is a testament to the House’s commitment to provide health care coverage that is affordable, competitive, continuous, comprehensive and fair for young Americans,” said Heather Smith, President of Rock the Vote. “We are going to take the momentum from this day and work with the House and Senate to ensure the remainder of our policy priorities are incorporated into the final legislation.”

“Young people have fought all summer to have our voices heard in this debate, and Congress is listening,” said Erica Williams, Deputy Director of Campus Progress. “The health care crisis is young America’s crisis. Affordability, not invincibility, is the reason young people don’t have health insurance, and we are committed to making quality health care affordable for young Americans.”

In addition to the provision allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance through the age of 26, the Y.I. Want Change coalition is pushing six other policy priorities as part of the Y.I. Care Agenda released today (full details available at www.yiwantchange.org):

o Increasing premium support for low-income Americans and limiting out-of-pocket expenses to ensure that health insurance is affordable;
o Including a public option to provide greater choice for young Americans;
o Ensuring that any “young invincible” plan covers preventative and chronic care and limits out-of-pocket expenses;
o Including funding to provide education and workforce training to young Americans to assist in the transition;
o Ensuring affordable access to health insurance exchanges for all Americans; and
o Ending discrimination in the provision of health insurance.

“Health care reform that is good for young Americans is good for all Americans. That is why these policy priorities must become an integral part of the final legislative package,” said Ari Matusiak, co-founder of Young Invincibles. “The time of leaving people uninsured, unprotected and insecure has passed. The coalition we have convened is the clearest indication yet that health care is an issue all Americans care about. We’re here to tell Washington that it has to act.”

For more information and resources, including a detailed analysis of the Y.I. Want Change policy priorities, please visit www.yiwantchange.org. To speak to coalition spokespeople please contact Rebecca Abou-Chedid at media@younginvincibles.org / 202-256-4096 or Chrissy Faessen at chrissy@rockthevote.com / 202-368-1706.

###
Y.I. Want Change is a national coalition of more than 20 youth organizations and their affiliates, including Advocates for Youth, Black Youth Vote, Bus Federation, Campus Camp Wellstone, Campus Progress, Center for Community Change, Choice USA, College Democrats of America, Daily Get Up, Energy Action Coalition, 80 Million Strong, Forward Montana, Future Majority, Generation WE, Generational Alliance, NAACP Youth and College Division, Rock the Vote, Roosevelt Institution, Student PIRGs, Young Democrats of America, Young Invincibles, and Young People First. For additional information please visit www.yiwantchange.org.

Bumped. Ian Storrar, COO of Mobilize.org, invites you to apply for a grant summit in Chicago. - Karlo

On Friday I attended a reception with Majority Leader Hoyer’s staff at the Capitol, along with many of my friends and colleagues in the youth empowerment movement. In July, Majority Leaders Hoyer keynoted at the 80 Million Strong For Young American Jobs summit where over 100 Millennials engaged with him on some of the most pressing issues of our day. On Thursday, I attended a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee (see Karlo Marcelo’s coverage on FM). My fellow Co-Chair of 80 Million Strong, Matthew Segal, testified about the huge disparity in unemployment across generations that leaves the Millennial Generation ill-equipped to tackle the economic and personal financial barriers of the near and long-term future.

Let’s turn to Chicago, not to dissect the 2016 Olympics but because this November 18th to 20th Mobilize.org will be holding another summit for young leaders in our generation to tackle economic problems. Democracy 2.0: Exploring the Millennial Generation’s Return on Investment (ROI) will bring together 150 people, many of whom were in DC this July, to discuss the barriers to our collective financial health and then compete for Democracy 2.0 Awards ($25,000 is available) to implement their ideas at the grassroots and netroots levels. The issues we will address range from healthcare and medicare/-aid to personal financial education and taxes.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation sponsors Exploring Millennial ROI so, for selected summit participants who need it, travel expenses will be paid. We’re also excited to have an intergenerational partner in AARPs Lifetuner. The application form for the Summit is open until October 17th and anyone interested in competing for an Award should fill out a separate form with their proposal outline. I’m always happy to talk with anyone who’s interested and/or has questions (202 736 5703) or email ian@mobilize.org.

This is the year for dealing with these issues and pushing bold, innovative ideas. Demos is holding A Better Deal in Washington, DC I two weeks. You should go, I am. From there, let’s go to Chicago and cement our commitment to making change happen through collaborative approaches to our tough fiscal times.

I just returned from the House Education and Labor Committee hearing on youth unemployment. This hearing is the follow-up to the 80 Million Strong National Jobs Summit, which convened 100 young leaders from 30 states to discuss problems and solutions about youth jobs. Since the Summit, youth unemployment and underemployment have risen. In fact, this past summer, typically the best time for young people to find jobs, was the worst on record. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics summer youth unemployment report:

The youth unemployment rate was 18.5 percent in July 2009, the highest July rate on record for the series, which began in 1948. As with the decline in employment, the increase in youth unemployment in the summer of 2009 reflected a weak job market. The July 2009 unemployment rates for young men (19.7 percent), women (17.3 percent), whites (16.4 percent), blacks (31.2 percent), Asians (16.3 percent), and Hispanics (21.7 percent) increased from a year earlier.

Note that unemployment was up for all young people, not just specific demographics. In his opening remarks, Chairman Miller stated that "young people are the hardest hit". Simple and right to the point.

The first witness to testify, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, Jane Oates, said that the stimulus funds sent to states did create jobs and that a detailed report was still being prepared and actual numbers were not yet available. Anecdotally, she's received positive feedback from young people who got jobs through stimulus funds. She noted that in many of the letters she had received from young workers, there were stories of saving money for college or for helping out the family during hard times. If not for the stimulus funds, it's likely that youth unemployment would have been higher and all the negative externalities bundled with it. Representative Bobby Scott quoted a Los Angeles-based community organization's motto that the best way to stop a bullet is with a job.

Another committee member, Representative Marcia Fudge, explained that her first jobs when she was a young person were important to her, equipping her with the experiences and skills that could, and did, carry her forward. With a passion that seemed to make time stop so that we, the audience, could prepare for what she would say next, she talked about pride. The pride of working and contributing to the community in a positive way. That feeling of pride in work knows no generational boundaries. Matt Segal of 80 Million Strong, a witness at the hearing, testified to that fact when he said that the Millennial generation is enthusiastic about young people doing their part, through hard work, to get this country out of recession. He then presented some of our generation's ideas, collected from the 80MS National Jobs Summit.

Yet, one of the big questions that was not answered directly in the hearing is how to deal effectively with the transition of a fourth generation, Millennials, into the workforce. It's almost like there is an elevator so full that others are left to take the stairs, even though they contributed to the construction of said elevator. So, it sounds like we need a bigger elevator, and luckily there's the spirit to make that happen. In his testimony, Segal noted that young people are increasingly interested in public service careers and in such expanding fields as healthcare, cyber security, green jobs and social entrepreneurship.

Much of the hearing focused specifically on low-income youth and youth of color, but 80MS is talking about a broader, much more comprehensive jobs agenda that aims to incorporate our generation's varied talents and skills towards the construction of a 21st century economy. Poverty and racism are problems not unique to today's young people, but the current state of joblessness, debt and lack of opportunity for young people of all backgrounds are specific to our times; right now, we need a solution for a generational workforce problem that threatens to leave America's youth worse off than their parents.

Great news! If you are in the DC area, please consider attending the hearing tomorrow at 10 AM.

Congress to Hold Hearings on Youth Unemployment
Leading Youth Organizations Score Major Victory in Promoting Innovative Jobs Proposals

Contact: Matthew Segal, SAVE executive director, 847-502-5012, matthew.segal@savevoting.org;
Hilary Doe, Roosevelt Institute Campus Network director, 419-350-5169, hdoe@rooseveltinstitute.org;
Maya Enista, Mobilize.org CEO, 202- 352-3641, maya@mobilize.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC- The Committee on Education and Labor in the U.S. House of Representatives has announced it will hold a hearing this Thursday, October 1st at 10am entitled “Ensuring Economic Opportunities for Young Americans.” The hearing was scheduled as a result of a conference organized by the 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs Coalition, which convened hundreds of young leaders in the U.S Capitol to urge Congress to examine the disproportionate effects of the economic recession on young Americans.

Data shows that youth unemployment is nearly double the national average:

* 18% of all 16-24 year olds are unemployed compared to a 9.7% national average (BLS)
* Young African-American unemployment has climbed to 27.3% (BLS)
* Young Latino unemployment stands at 21.37% (BLS)
* Undergraduate debt from student loans averages $27,000 per graduate
* $2000 dollars is the average amount of credit card debt by the age of 24
* 30% of young people are uninsured, the highest of any age group, according to the Kaiser Foundation

To address this crisis head-on, nearly thirty of the nation’s leading youth organizations launched the 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs Coalition, working collaboratively to endorse various policy platforms that will create jobs and economic opportunity for the 80 million members of the millennial generation.

The coalition’s proposals center on four areas: increasing entrepreneurship resources, student debt reform, access to public service careers, and the creation of “mission critical” jobs that tap young talents.

“In a recession, young people are great sources of innovation and entrepreneurship - yet because of predatory lending and debt, our generation is also more hamstrung at an earlier age than we have ever been. We need some breathing room in which to create new ideas for a new economy," said 80MS national co-chair Matthew Segal, executive director of Student Association for Voter Empowerment (SAVE). "Young people are inherently entrepreneurial. We need a legislative environment that supports, not burdens, young ideas,” stated Segal.

"In order to strengthen the American economy, we must invest in young adults today," said 80MS co-chair Hilary Doe, director of Roosevelt Institute Campus Network. "Our parents and grandparents have been hit hard by this crisis; their security and retirement is on the line. The Millennial generation is already stepping up by going home and working hard to support their families. We cannot leave this young generation crippled with debt and waiting for jobs; we need to help them stand up and lead the new economy, lifting the burden off all generations in the process."

"Whether it be providing grant money to low-income youth for historically unpaid service and internship positions or increasing access to community college, many Americans need more opportunities to get the skills and training they need to build the 21st century economy that will power our country for the future," said Maya Enista, CEO of Mobilize.org and co-chair of the 80MS coalition. "And by investing in mission critical sectors like health care, national security, and green jobs, our Congress can further grow our economy by opening new opportunities where young people are ready to serve, and where our nation most needs our labor."

News of Thursday’s hearing comes just weeks after the 80 Million Strong Coalition issued a formal letter to House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) requesting a hearing to exhibit the financial concerns of young Americans. “This is a big victory for young people,” said Matthew Segal, “we are confident that Thursday’s hearing will demonstrate how our generation has developed and expanded its record-breaking civic engagement since the 2008 election.”

For more info, please visit http://80millionstrong.org