Union Rallies and Angry People

"The State Patrol says four organized rallies against budget cuts at the state Capitol last week cost the agency about $50,000 in overtime for extra security staffing, and there is evidence police thought protests were escalating and close to getting out of hand. Last Thursday, state troopers arrested 17 people outside the governor’s office, mostly home care workers cited for disorderly conduct, and one man for an alleged felony assault on two officers. A larger rally drew 7,000 on Friday but had no incidents – although eight troopers lined up in front of the governor’s office lobby’s locked doors at one point in the afternoon." The Olympian 

Last week i had the time to go to the Union rally in Olympia . It was quite the experience to say the least. With the state discovering that they are even further in debt the cuts are beginning to be even more drastic. With cuts in education, public health, and services, it is logical to look into government jobs as well. Union groups "combating" what many of the labor movement call "union busting"  have been creating rallies like this all over the nation.

For some reason community organizers and union bosses think that the more angry people show up at the capital the better. But in actuality it has the opposite effect. The Olympian article above showed the real impact of the rally. One has to wonder do these demonstrations really have an impact on the legislature?  The honest answer is no. Very few legislators' minds are changed my mass hysteria. But then again maybe its good for people to let off some political steam.

For you viewing pleasure picture from the rally are below. 

Robbing the Youth

"A quarter of teenagers were jobless in March, representing a surprising increase from February, even as the unemployment rate for the rest of the population decreased.....The unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year olds jumped back up to 24.5 percent in March, up from 23.9 percent the prior month, according to the latest jobs data from the Labor Department." CNBC's

Sadly during this time of economic recover, one group seems always left out..... the youth. The reality of life is that college degrees are counting for less and less. We are the most "education generation" in history and are still the most unemployed. Even minimum wages jobs are hard to come by. Students who worked through high school to save for college or just to pay for the gas in your car are not even finding the basic jobs they had when they were 16. With all the talk of economic growth and reform, its seems that the next generation is always left out. Don't cut medicare don't revise social security don't even think of cutting wasteful spending just undercut the next generation so that the current one is happy.....  As these recent statics show the future is looking bleak for the people of my generation.

With college tuition on the rise and the unemployment rate increasing for the leaders of tomorrow we are starting to create a very explosive situation among the youth. When your college degree can't even get you a job at Starbucks it makes you wonder what will become of our future? For most of the recent graduates the biggest hurtle is the lack of experience. Most post college level jobs want 3-4 year plus of experience in a field.  Robbing our generation of basic jobs and work opportunities just increase the gravity if the issue. So if we can't get experience and a fourth of us cant get a job what will become of the "entitlement generation".


One would hope that this will act as a catalyst for real change in America.  As one of my favorite political writers said. "The pages of history are not written by the old, but by the youth, for they are the ones fighting in the trenches and protesting in the streets. The youth fight for the future while the old just fight to preserve the present" Eric Hoffer

Reality of High Ed : You can't afford it

"Student loan debt topped credit card debt for the first time last year, and it's no wonder. College costs have skyrocketed over the last decade - rising an average of 6 percent each and every year. Today's college student can expect to still be paying down loans when THEIR kids go to college."  Fox Business

The shocking reality of high education is that we can literally not pay our way throughout college. Unless our parents saved for your education you will have to get loans to pay for high education. If you worked 40hours  every week at a minimum wage job (est $9 a hour) you would only make ruffly $14,000. The cost to go to most state schools is around 17,000-20,000 a year (tuition housing and food). With the reality of high education its no shocker that students loans are plaguing our generation.

With every graduating class there are less jobs and more unemployed college graduates. Sadly its quite common to see students that graduate with four years degrees working at Safeway or Starbucks, while they wait for there "dream job". With the economy in a slump and our government in denial of the size and scope of our debit, the future doesn't look to good for those seeking higher education. Will college still act as a gate keeper for "success" in life? Or will our culture start reshaping the views of the post high school life? One thing is for certain the future of high education will directly impact the future of our nation. The bigger the debt grows so will the cost of higher education.

"At the end of the day, students have to weigh their wishes and wants - all of them - against the cost of education. Because if you pay too much - you'll end up shortchanging your future in other ways, such as delaying marriage, buying a house and having kids." Fox Business

Crisis Averted

I love it in American politics when someone actually does their job there is a celebrate proceeding it. The discussion of late was whether our federal government would be able to figure out a budget for our nation. After days of fear mongering, name calling  and miss information, our legislators got together and did their job. As many of the national paper reported, there was great jubilation and celebrate with the completion of a budget.  But one has to ask, Why are we calibrating the complete of a basic requirement of their job?  Has our government gotten to the point that failure and party politics are a norm and doing you job is now seen as going above and beyond?  That greatly concerns be. I already experienced celebrated mediocrity by going to public school, so its not to surprising they doing it in public service jobs. I just hope they save the champagne for once we balance the national budget.

The End is Nigh.....or Just a day off

The issue on the minds of most legislatures is our massive debt on the state and federal level. Currently the federal government in teetering on the edge, and is looking as though it will have a government "shut down" very soon. What will the government shoot down look like is the topic of interest for many government employees. As the Washington Post and other news organization have reported the government shut down is not as apocalyptic as some of the Representatives try to paint it as. The Washington Post created a short video discussing the impact and events that let up to the potential shut down. (Link: Washington Post Video)

General speaking the only impact of the shut down will be the temporary shutdown of the "non-essential" aspects of government. So fire, police, military, and other such service will go unfazed from the "government shut down". You might not be able to go to the DOL or get audited by the IRS but over all life will go on as normal.  The question in my mind is once this political stunt is over. Which side will come out "on top". Hopefully something constructive will come out of this. But in all reality a government shut down will just be another tool for the campaign session.

The Power of our Generation

“IT BEGINS”, concludes the video launching Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, “with us.” That is, it begins with ordinary, hard-working, upstanding citizens getting together to speak out for what they believe in. And what is that, exactly? A woman in Arizona (Gladys, a caption helpfully informs us) talks vaguely about finding a job, owning a house and putting kids through college. Aside from these unobjectionable goals, however, there is no hint as to what Mr Obama stands for or how he intends to achieve it." (The Economist)

As many of you have already seen Obama has begun officially running for re-election. The interesting part is that his primary focus is on the young voter. With the over whelming majority of college students and young adults having voted for Obama last election it seems like a logical place for his campaign to start. This year however with the unpopularity of some of his actions as president, the margins will not be as high as last election. More people of my generation were left with a feeling of confusion in regards to his presidency. What has he changed for the better?

In a move to recapture his strongest demographic Obama will be hosting a Facebook town hall conference. Where people can post on the Facebook page questions for the president. But one has to wonder why is he putting so much time into the youth so early?

Some political researchers and analysts feel that if Obama doesn't win the youth he might not be able to win reelection. How is that for a interesting thought. Could the very fate of our nation fall on to the shoulder of our generation? With the amount of money and time spent trying to capture the youth vote it might just be true.

With that fact made clear, will our generation help shape our nation come 2012 or will they let the direction of our nation be decided without us?

UW Students visualize the debt.

Last week the Young Americans for liberty chapter at the University of Washington engaged their fellow students on the important of debt reduction. The Student were generally meet with curiosity more then hostility, which is unusual for a libertarian club on any campus. Most onlookers stooped for a brief moment to look and the display. Others took photos and walked up to there booth to learn more about our national debit.

During the event a local school group of 4th grader visiting the campus stopped to learn more about our national debit. The president of the student group explained the danger of over spending and what their future might look like if we don't fix the national debt. A few of the 4th grades tried to pronounce the debit. After multiple failed attempts, the student frustrated proclaimed, "This number is way to high!".

The Visualize the debt event was part of a nation day of protest to try and engage people on the issues surrounding our national debt. The student group was interviewed my MSNBC and the local papers as well.

Its good to see this tough issue discussed so plainly with the community. One would hope that this discussion would not just stop on campuses but would start to be a major focuses for most of the conversation focusing on our future. If a 4th grader could get the message i hope the maybe our legislature would also come to the realization that "this number is way to high!"