MyDecision2008 What's Yours?

JOBS
Young people are financially stressed and unemployed.
But politicians WON'T respond unless you VOTE.
When 1990s economic bubble burst so did the job prospects of many young Americans. But the downward trend of economic opportunity at the entry level is not a recent phenomenon. Real earnings for young people have been decreasing since the early -1980s.
You know the story. Part-time jobs are increasing while outsourcing is draining away a lot of entry-level positions. For a lot of people, breaking into the workforce and getting on a career path is a real challenge when they have piles of debt, high rent, and no health insurance.
Here are some more statistics on jobs, the economy, and young Americans:
• About 18% 1 of 16-19 year olds can't find jobs. Same goes for 9% of 20-24 year olds.
• The jobless rate 2 for 16-19 year olds today: 56.1%. For 16-19 year old African Americans: 75.1%. For 16-19 year old Hispanics: 66%.
• One-sixth of young adults, ages 18-24 are unemployed and not enrolled in school.
• Hourly wages have fallen by 17.4% for male high school graduates and by 4.9% for women.
• 69% of young adults know someone who was laid off from their job in the past year.
• There are 1.4 million part-time workers who would rather have full-time work.
• The average credit card debt among indebted young adults (18-24) has increased 104% in the last decade.
• Of indebted young adults, ages 18-24, 13.5 percent are in debt hardship 4 along with 12.2 percent of 25-29 year olds.
• Only 34.7% of entry-level jobs provide health coverage and pension coverage has fallen to 20%.
EDUCATION
• Published prices for college costs are up 35% in five years -- the largest increase of any five-year period in the past 30 years.
• In December 2005, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which cut $12 billion in federal student aid money. Part of the plan includes a hike in interest rates on Stafford federal student loans (rose from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent on existing loans and to 6.8 percent on new loans) and PLUS loans taken out by parents (from 6.1 to 7.4 percent on existing loans and to 8.5 percent on new loans).
GLOBAL WARMING
• A warming trend of about 0.7 to 1.5°F occurred during the 20th century. Warming occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and over the oceans. 1 Debate exists in the scientific community as to how much this is a result of human activity, and how much it is the result of a natural phenomenon--but there is no debate about whether it is happening.
• According to the World Health Organization, if this warming trend continues, deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.
• The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade. Scientists estimate that global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide .
• According to the EPA, an increase in average temperature can increase the chances of severe droughts. It may also affect the frequency and intensity of other severe weather, such as storms, hurricanes, and floods.