Young Adults Ask Congress for Aid

[question everything]

AUGUST 5, 2009, 4:40 P.M. ET

Young Adults Ask Congress for Aid

By SARA MURRAY
WSJ

Young adults, hit disproportionately hard in the current recession, are asking Congress for targeted aid to help them recover. Unemployment rose to 15.2% in June among 20-to-24-year-olds, compared with 9.5% for the population at large. Such a disparity is evident in every recession. But this time, the problem is compounded by rising education and health-insurance costs that have left many young adults saddled with high debt and among the ranks of the uninsured.

This dreary picture has led advocacy groups for young people to form a coalition called 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs. It's pushing a legislative agenda devoted to young Americans, partly on the argument that, without help, the group will be a continuing drag on the economy.

Topping the list of their requests: extending dependent status in health-insurance programs to the age of 26; and increased aid for educational expenses, such as college-loan forgiveness for medical professionals working in rural areas. "We're not looking for special handouts or special treatment," said Mathew Segal, one of the group's co-chairs. "I can say we've been hit hard, and I can say we've been underrepresented in the discussion." The plea for more help on health insurance might be the most attainable goal, because versions of the health-overhaul legislation being debated in Congress have provisions aimed at keeping younger people on their parents' insurance plans for longer. Young people account for nearly 30% of all uninsured people, even though people aged 19 to 29 make up 15% of the population.

Economic data have shown that young people who try to enter the job market in a recession are plagued with lower wages and higher unemployment for years. The fact that Americans just now reaching working age represent a sizable demographic bubble exacerbates the problem. Asking for some extra help may not be out of line, said David Blanchflower, a Dartmouth College economics professor. "It's perfectly reasonable to think about targeted spending to a particular problem," he said. "The danger is if you don't do that, you have a lost generation. You certainly don't want a large cohort of people that a smaller cohort of people behind them have to pay for," Mr. Blanchflower said.

(snip)

The Obama administration already has taken some initiatives for younger Americans, who often are credited by many with providing President Barack Obama with his margin of victory in last year's election. Two-thirds of voters under 30 went for him in November. The administration's income-based loan-repayment plan, which aims to reduce or eliminate student loan payments, went into effect this month, and a proposal to increase Pell Grants and widen the government's role in student-loan direct lending is under discussion. President Obama also has said he will devote $12 billion to community colleges to yield another five million graduates by 2020. College students pay nearly 29% more for a four-year public college now than a decade ago, adjusted for inflation.

(snip)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124950144045408729.html (subscription)

[bluestateguy]

1. Extend the grace period on student loans

Currently it is 6 months after graduation. That should be upped to 12 months.

Also, there should be some circumstances under which student loan debt can be discharged in a bankruptcy.

[Hello_Kitty]

2. I'm glad this is being addressed. Young adults can't afford insurance and are being scapegoated.

I've posted about this at length here. It is shocking to me how DUers, who are supposed to be progressive, are repeating talking points that liken young uninsured people to the "welfare queens" of the Reagan era.