Running with the Student Liberty Party, Steven G. is running for President in the Fall 2016 election. You’ll recall his initial candidacy statement: My name is Steven Gonzalez and I am here today to express why I should be voted as the next president of the United States of America. You see, we at the Student Liberty Party believe that there is no “I” in CHANGE. There is an “e” in CHANGE and more importantly, in WE. I am from a middle class Hispanic family with both parents retired, and my mother legally disabled. The only way to pay rent and bills is to wait for checks in the mail. I practically spent the whole summer trying to land a job and failed. The sad part with that was not that I failed to land a job, it was that the work economy is so skewed and confusing that most people usually believe that they have wasted their money and time trying to get a job and fail. Think about it; how many times have you thought that you were running low on funds for transportation and clothing all for an interview just to be told ‘no’ or nothing at all? Some of you probably never got a call back just to hear ‘no’. With the way the work economy is, it is hard to get an opportunity for a job interview and extremely difficult to actually land a job.
Many people believe that college is truly the only way to avoid financial problems in the later years and have a long lasting job. As you all know, this is not always the case as most students end up in massive debt. I am here to change this. With YOUR HELP, we can improve the economy and the work force. More jobs means more money and that my friends, is what the American Dream is all about. No more of looking for entry level jobs that, oddly enough, require at least a full year of experience just to work a register or sell a product. No more of students being fresh out of high school and having to struggle to find a well paying job. WE have to fix this so that our generation and the many generations to come won’t have to suffer like we are suffering. VOTE for the STUDENT LIBERTY PARTY so that together, WE, can make a change in the workforce in order to make change for our wallets. ”
Additionally, Steven is interested in fixing the job market for all. Check out his research here:
“Most people believe that the near end goal of life is attending a prestigious school, obtain a degree, and get a great job with big pay and long term benefits. That may have been the ideal simple way of living in the past, but now, it has become harder to accomplish in today’s world. Funding a job has become more difficult, especially for teenagers that graduated after highschool and college going students. Picchi declares in “Why can’t your teen find a summer job” what employers look for in their potential employees. Hamm claims in “Why You Should Consider Trade School Instead of College” that most college students don’t enter the workforce until after they acquire their bachelor’s degree. The Bureau of Labor Statistics details in “Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age” that the unemployment rate for youths shift but steadily decrease throughout the past couple of years. Education gives us the tools to work in practical jobs, but mostly leaves empty handed when we actually try to find jobs. There can be ways to overcome this however.
Teenagers constantly struggle to find jobs during and after high-school and they feel that school does not really equip them for work. Picchi uses information Chauncey Lennon’s report on JPMorgan Chase’s statistics to explains how young people find it more difficult to find work. She states, “Employers are looking for people with specific experience, more maturity and more education,” Lennon said.” Picchi uses Lennon’s stats to show that teens are usually at an disadvantage because most have never worked in their lives. She later goes on to show how older people mostly get jobs that are considered to more suitable for teens. This quote shows inversely proportionate high school education is to employment because most teens deny the chance to work while their in school. Teens also state that most times they refuse to work because their parents insist that they focus on their studies in order to get to a good college. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows how the unemployment rates for youths has increased from 4.8 in May 2016 to 5.1 in September 2016. The increase may seem small but these numbers indicate how bad the work economy has gotten in a short period of time. More and more youths are 16 are sadly adding to the statistic and there’s very little they can do about it. While school increases knowledge on how the mechanics work, it does not shield you from being at an disadvantages of your environment. The combination of Picchi’s statistics and the Bureau of Labor coincide with how youths, ranging from 16 to 26, are without any proper form of work.
A popular argument about college education is that teens and young adults should be find jobs after graduating from college. The sad truths are: college is not for everyone, not everyone that goes to college graduates, and the cost of a college education is absurdly high. Hamm believes that traditional colleges forces students to take classes that have nothing to do with a person’s major stating that “a four-year program usually makes you take classes outside of your major to fulfill credit requirements.” While this claim may not seem credible, many college going students can attest to their universities requiring them to take random classes at the start of their freshman year, claiming that they had no choice in the matter of their schedule. Hamm claims that vocational schools provide more benefits than a traditional 4 year college. He even goes to state how most students in a 4 year college do not chose a major until the end of their sophomore years, which leave students undecided on what to choose for a major since they have spent 2 years on remedial courses. A claim like this can be relatable to many students in CUNY schools, especially in Lehman College. The BLS shows that while the unemployment rate for both men and women ranging from 16 to about 19 years old was high last year, not much has changed from 2015 to 2016.
When applying for a job, it is difficult to know what skills are needed to be considered as a good choice for being picked. Some may believe that having practical skills are needed, while others believe that knowing who to talk to is the real key to success. Picchi declares that a definite skill to have in all fields of work is communication. She states that in order to find opportunities for work, all you really need to do is “Ask a wide network of people, including neighbors, acquaintances, classmates and friends if they know about opportunities.” Many people, including myself can give testimonies on how asking people is a big help in finding job openings. These jobs provide you will the opportunity to build your skills, and begin to build your network of people. The same can be said in Hamm’s case because vocational school builds on your skills on a very practical level. This wide range of skill building will help someone find jobs more easier than someone that never worked and mostly went to school.
If I am elected, I will start to rework the way education can benefit students. A good balance of hands-on and mental techniques would really students into well rounded individuals.”
Steven did not hold back on his desire to take this country to new places writing, “Now some of you may or may not know of my political standing, or the message I am trying to put forth. Do not worry for I will clear all of that up in the next few minutes. Now, I may not be the first in my family to got to college and certainly will not be the last one to attend university, but my family does understand the importance of hard work, education, and options. In my time while taking a leadership class in my freshman year of college, I have met with those who have dealt with people coming from all walks of life. One of the most rememberable things said to my class was “You cant build someone else’s home, if your home isn’t strong”. This simply means that if your living conditions and financial status are not stable, you have no business trying to help someone else.
You see my colleague in the Student Liberty Party, Ms. Walker, believes that better access to education towards lower class families will lead to a more beneficial society. While I do agree that better access to education for all families is a great idea, getting there will take some time. Ms. Walker details great ideals but does not provide for a way to achieve said ideals. My temporary solution for this is to let children know that they have options. The key word is options. The thing is, there is more than one way to become financially stable and afford education. Children in Brazil focus their time in mastering the art of ‘footbol’, which may lead to them becoming players for a proper national team and great financial status. The same applies for most Caribbean countries that use sports as an access point to elevate their financial status. There are also records of poor children teaching themselves in their spare time, and eventually building high school to grad school level engineering structures, without a degree. Some of you may recall a picture floating around social media of a poor boy in Africa that taught himself engineering and properly built a windmill, providing his area with electricity. If I am elected president, I will make sure that families know that while free access of education may take some time to get passed, there are other ways to make their mark on the world.”
Are you ready to cast your vote?
