In 2008, young people voted in historic numbers to choose a new path for America. Four years later, we’ve accomplished a lot together—but there’s more work to be done.
Here’s a comprehensive look at the choice for young Americans in this important election.
The economy and jobs:
Before President Obama took office, the U.S. economy was losing more than 800,000 jobs a month. Today, instead of losing jobs, we’re creating them—5.4 million private sector jobs over 32 consecutive months of growth. We’re not there yet, but we are on the right track.
Mitt Romney’s plan would derail that progress. It would take us back to the same top-down economic policies of the last decade that crashed our economy and punished the middle class.
Health care:
President Obama’s landmark health reform allows young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26. That means 3.1 million more young Americans now have health coverage. An estimated 12.1 million young adults will be covered once health reform is fully implemented. When it comes to women's health, President Obama believes a woman’s health care choices are personal decisions, best made with her family and doctor—without interference from politicians.
Mitt Romney has promised to repeal Obamacare on “Day One,” ending all the benefits of health reform and putting insurance companies back in control. He also believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, and he said he’d be “delighted” to sign a bill that banned all abortions.
College affordability:
President Obama doubled funding for Pell Grants and successfully fought to keep federal student loan rates from doubling, helping make a college education more affordable for millions of students.
Mitt Romney would roll back student loan reforms and end the tax breaks that President Obama put in place for families paying for college. His advice to students worrying about how to pay for college is to “shop around” and “borrow money from your parents.”
Foreign policy:
President Obama responsibly ended the war in Iraq and is committed to bringing the war in Afghanistan to an end.
Unlike the President, Mitt Romney has no plans to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. He called it “tragic” when the President ended the war in Iraq and our brought troops home.
Equal pay:
The very first bill President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps women fight back when they don’t receive equal pay for equal work.
On the other hand, Mitt Romney won't say whether he would have signed the Fair Pay Act into law, and he hasn't taken a stand on the Paycheck Fairness Act.
The environment:
Under President Obama’s watch, the Environmental Protection Agency has enacted the first national standards to cut down on mercury emissions and other dangerous air toxins from coal- and oil-fired power plants.
Mitt Romney, unlike President Obama, sided with polluters over public health and opposed the Mercury and Air Toxics rule. Romney would also strip the Environmental Protection Agency of the power to regulate carbon dioxide.
Fuel efficiency:
President Obama implemented historic new fuel efficiency standards that will double vehicles’ fuel economy by 2025. That means we’ll be breathing cleaner air, importing less oil, and saving money at the pump.
Still, Mitt Romney opposes the President’s fuel economy standards—and Paul Ryan voted against them.
Equal rights:
President Obama is the first sitting president to personally support marriage equality, and he repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” so that gay and lesbian service members can now serve our country without hiding who they are.
Mitt Romney would enshrine discrimination into the Constitution with an amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples, and he opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Spread the word
There you have it: From equal rights to the environment, from foreign policy to creating jobs here at home, the choice is clear. The election is only two days away. Share this with your friends to make sure they know the President is fighting for us.
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