The Economy

Democrats will put the economy to work for all Americans through innovation, development, and assistance.

What are we up against?

• Poverty among young people age 18 to 24 is higher than the national average. Nearly 18 percent live below the poverty line.
• The earnings of full-time workers under 36 are lower today than they were a generation ago.
• Young workers are more likely to hold jobs that have benefits such as health care or pension plans.
• Outsourcing and downsizing has eliminated well playing middle management positions where young people typically would begin their career.
• Prices are on the rise despite declining wages. In-state tuition and health care costs, for example, are skyrocketing.
• Debt, often starting with student loans but continuing on due to a poor job market, is severely hampering young Americans economic well being.
• Predatory payday lending, and other forms of high cost credit target young people and make it difficult for debt to be paid down.
• Due to lower paying jobs, crippling debt, and the high cost of rent - young people often are trapped in a prolonged rental cycle, unable to save enough money for a home of their own.

A vote for Democrats is a vote to jump start our economy and provide support to young workers.

• Train American workers to give them the skills they need to innovate and create high-demand green technologies that will not only create millions of jobs but seriously tackle the issue of climate change.
• Create a green collar focused jobs program focusing on disadvantaged youth.
• Invest in green collar jobs by increasing funding for training and hiring of workers.
• Provide tax assistance and loan guarantees to domestic auto manufacturers to build fuel-efficient cars and trucks in the United States.
• Double federal funding for basic scientific research to foster home-grown innovation and ensure American competitiveness.

• Cut taxes for working families by providing a $500 per person or $1,000 per family tax credit for middle class Americans.
• Ensure that $4,000 of college education is free for most Americans through a fully refundable tax credit.
• Allow low-income families to reclaim 50 percent of their child care expenses through a tax credit.
• Automatically enroll workers who aren't offered a retirement plan in a direct-deposit IRA account.
• Enact paid family leave.

• Protect homeowners by fighting mortgage fraud by increasing funding for law enforcement programs, criminally penalizing mortgage professionals guilty of fraud, and requiring the mortgage industry to report suspicious activity.
• Provide counseling to homeowners to help them avoid foreclosures.
• Help Americans facing foreclosure through no fault of their own by creating an assistance fund.
• Establish a credit card bill of rights that:
  • creates a credit card rating system,
  • bans unilateral changes without written consent,
  • doesn't allow companies to increase interest rates on old debt,
  • prohibits interest on overhead fees,
  • prevents companies from raising interest rates due to failure to pay a different creditor on time.

These are just some of the policies, accomplishments, and solutions that Democrats are already pursuing. We know there are other great ideas out there, this list is by no means exhaustive. Share your thoughts, ideas, and solutions by submitting a comment below.