Youth Orgs Making Hay on Issues

Happy lazy Sunday. On this day of large newspaper reading, I wanted to point out two stories on serious policy issues that prominently feature some of the bigger youth coalitions working in DC, and across the country. First up:

Disillusioned Environmentalists Turn On Obama as Compromiser:

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama used forceful and direct language on climate change, calling carbon emissions from human activity an “immediate threat” to the climate. His environmental critics say they miss that urgent tone.

“He was far too quiet during the House debate,” said Jessy Tolkan, the executive director of the Energy Action Coalition, a youth group in Washington that campaigns for clean energy. “He needs to live up to the promises he made to us when we poured our heart and soul into electing him.”

Ms. Tolkan said that her organization was hoping to take that point home to the Democratic Party before the midterm elections. “Those who played a leadership role in weakening this bill will feel the wrath of youth political power across the country,” she said. “2010 is not that far away.”

Kudos to Jessy and Energy Action for muscling youth into the climate policy discussion in the paper of record, and I think her point about the midterms is a smart one. Youth have turned up at the polls three elections in a row, but we are still not adequately represented at the policy table. With the possible exception of student loans/debt issues, which has seen some encouraging movement recently, I don't really see our concerns being met by action on the Hill. If groups like Energy Action can turn a few congressional races (or better, primaries) in 2010, that will do a lot for our credibility as an electoral threat, which will make for a louder voice in DC policy wrangling.

Next up, College Grads Face IOUs, Worst Job Market in Years:

The Class of 2009 finds itself in the worst job market in 25 years. Unemployment for all 20- to 24-year-olds is more than 15 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Just 20 percent of this year's graduates who applied for a job have one, down from more than 50 percent two years ago, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The average student graduates with about $22,000 in debt, according to the Project on Student Debt, a Berkeley, Calif., nonprofit.

There is an estimated $700 billion in outstanding student loan debt — enough to merit its own bailout, some say.

Student groups applaud the changes, but say they do not address what they view as the underlying problem: tuition gone wild.

"What happens if you raise the loan limits is the colleges raise their tuition," said David Smith, 29, founder and chairman of mobilize.org, a Washington-based group focused on college affordability.

Mobilize.org, in turn, is a leader within 80 Million Strong, a new grass-roots advocacy and lobbying coalition dedicated to addressing high youth unemployment, high student loan debt, credit-card lending practices and health insurance.

"We are seeing some very unreasonable tuition increases," Mr. Smith said. "In many states that are getting into financial problems, they often balance their budgets on the backs of students.

"What it ends up doing is increasing the cost of education significantly, forces students to take another job, another loan or drop out of school," he said.

This is a great article on the debt burden placed on college students trying to earn a place in the middle class, and it is dominated by quotes from people working with the 80 Million Strong Coalition. Great press in advance of next week's summit.