The Youth Vote and the Virtues of Free Enterprise
August 20, 2012
By Herman Cain
Dear Young Voters of America,
You shouldn’t feel bad.
You were not the only ones who drank the Kool-Aid and voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Back then, with the economy suddenly collapsing amid the stench of toxic mortgage assets, Obama and the Democrats did a very effective job of convincing voters that free-market capitalism was responsible for the problem. With his soaring rhetoric and seeming empathy, he was able to convince many of you that he would be a president who “gets it,” (whatever that means), and that he would end the reckless deregulation and unbridled pursuit of profits that had led us to economic collapse.
Young voters who had not yet spent time in the work force, and had never experienced the business world, were sold on these notions.
Reality bites, doesn’t it?
Young people who voted for Obama are now leaving college to face poor job prospects, and carrying record levels of personal debt – often from those oh-so-enticing student loans Obama keeps telling them it’s such a great idea to take out. And that’s before we factor in your share of the soaring national debt run up by Obama and his friends in Congress.
Welcome to the real world, huh? No job, lots of your own debt to pay back, and a pretty hefty share of Obama’s debt as well. No wonder your generation doesn’t think you will do as well as your parents.
But even though it’s easy to demonstrate that Obama has failed, I understand that you are not going to automatically vote for Mitt Romney because he is the alternative. Nor should you. You shouldn’t vote for anyone unless they give you a positive reason to do so. You need to know what would be positive for you about a Romney Administration.
The answer lies in electing a president who, unlike Barack Obama, actually understands the power of free enterprise – not only to provide opportunity but ultimately to lead the growth of America’s economy to a point of strength that we can solve our massive economic problems.
But before I got touting free enterprise, I have to acknowledge something I saw recently that troubled me to no end. It was a survey showing that 43 percent of young Americans have a positive impression of socialism. 43 percent! That tells me that too many young people do not have a good understanding of the true nature of free enterprise, and that’s a shame because the free enterprise system contains the answers to every economic challenge we face as a nation, and as individuals.
The truth is that even with the economy limping along, and even with debt levels these students are carrying, you can overcome it all if you learn how to access opportunity and make the most of it. There are countless examples of young people who forced doors open, then took advantage of the opportunity to achieve great things. The real unemployment rate is about 15 percent, and that is horrendous, but that still leaves 85 of the real work force gainfully employed. So it’s not as if a smart, hard-working young person can’t find any opportunity at all. The Obama economy creates a serious obstacle, but there are always obstacles to success, and people who are committed to excellence overcome them.
Do you realize that virtually every exciting innovation, or solution to a problem, comes from entrepreneurs in the private sector? Those devices that young people carry around came from free-market capitalists. So did the homes and cars you’ll be buying soon.
The same is true with those jobs you’re trying to find. There would be a lot more jobs if Obama would stop blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, because jobs come from the private sector, especially crucial sectors like energy – where it’s not a scandal that companies operate profitably, despite what Obama would have you believe. Businesses invest in workers when they’re confident about the nation’s economic future, and their present lack of confidence is the result of Obama’s policies, which is largely borne of Obama’s hostility toward the very job creators who could give young voters the start they seek toward bright futures.
Free enterprise offers you far more than the promise of government handouts from a president who didn’t deliver on any of his promises in his first term, and has pretty much tapped the nation out trying to make it look like he was.
If you really want to succeed in life and overcome the obstacles facing you, embrace free enterprise and strive for success. Of course, if you do that, you will become Obama’s enemies – just like all successful people. So it would be wise to start by sending Obama to an early retiremen
