At the end of a student’s collegiate career, with what is it that he or she is concerned?
Most of the time the answer to this question is finding a job, and with today’s economy, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for graduates to accomplish this task.
With the Ohio primary upon us, the Ohio University College Republicans had a straw poll in which we asked our members and alumni what issue is most important to them, and 62 percent of respondents said the economy was their primary concern.
The other question we asked was who they support in the race for the Republican nomination for president: 48 percent support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and 26 percent said they support Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
This result does not surprise me because these two candidates have spent a significant amount of time focusing on economic policy and the role of government in relation to it.
Since January 2009, we’ve seen promise after promise broken, out of control government spending, big-government programs shoved down our throats, but most importantly a failure to lead and come up with real solutions to our problems.
We were told that, by passing a $787 billion stimulus plan, unemployment wouldn’t exceed 8 percent. But we all know that, well after it was enacted, the unemployment rate reached 10 percent at one point.
Yes, it has come down since then. Yes, there has been some job creation. But one of the reasons the unemployment rate has dropped so quickly is the continuing decline in the size of the workforce as Americans give up looking for work.
We were told that, by passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “Obamacare,” we could lower the costs of health care and thus make it accessible to more Americans.
Many economists project the act will make it harder for businesses to hire because the cost of an employee’s health care will increase because what businesses will be required by law to cover.
That is just one example of a job-killing policy this president has enacted, and I expect the Supreme Court to strike down this law over the individual mandate when it rules on it this summer.
Truth is, Barack Obama and his agenda have been holding the economy back through policies that deter job growth and create uncertainty.
We need a president who listens to the business community, for example, by lowering the corporate tax rate which stands at 35 percent and reducing the burden of over the top government regulations.
We need a president who believes Americans can make their own success by being honest and working hard instead of the federal government picking winners and losers.
I would encourage anyone who reads this to go out and vote in the primary and make your voice heard. No matter who comes out of the nomination process, that candidate will run against a president with an economic record, and that record will be made clear during the general election.
Dylan Gustafson is the political director for the OU College Republicans.
