I want people to be able to own insurance if they wish to, and to buy it for themselves and perhaps keep it for the rest of their life and to choose among different policies offered from companies across the nation. I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep people healthy. It also means if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. If someone doesn’t give me the good service I need, I’m going to go get somebody else to provide that service to me.

Mitt Romney

Oh Mitt, it’s not that easy. Of course you like Donald Trumping people; that’s easier when you have options and don’t employ diplomacy.

The State of Young America

Some interesting breakdowns here. An excerpt:

Jobs & The Economy

  • Only workers with at least a BA degree saw earnings increase over the last generation
  • Median earnings for young African-Americans are 75% of the earnings of whites; 68% for Latinos
  • Young women earn less than men at every level of education.
  • Twenty-nine percent of 18-24 year olds and 16% of 25-34 year-olds are underemployed
  • The percentage of young adults with jobs is at its lowest point in a generation

Higher Education

  • Average tuition is three times higher today than in 1980
  • Two out of three students graduate with student loan debt, at an average of over $24,000 
  • African American students are more likely to take out student loans, and to graduate with higher debt levels
  • The student loan default rate rose 31% over just 2 years.

Health Care & Coverage

  • In just 10 years, employer-sponsored insurance dropped 12.8% for workers 18-24 and 8.5% for workers 25-34.  
  • During the recession, uninsurance rose among both 18-24 and 25-34 year-olds.  
  • Young people of color are disproportionately likely to lack insurance.
  • Recent reforms to the health care system have begun to reverse that trend, as 1 million young people under the age of 26 joined their parent’s plan in the last quarter of 2010 and the first two quarters of 2011

Cost of Living

  • 41.3% of 25-34 year-old households spend more than 30% of their income on rent 
  • The share of young adults living with their parents increased
  • Levels of credit card debt among those ages 25 to 34 rose 81% since 1989, to an average of $6,255 in 2007

Raising A Family

  • The labor force participation of mothers rose 25% since 1980
  • Just 11% of all workers had access to paid family leave benefits
  • Center-based child care fees for two children exceeded annual median rent payments

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