Mr. President, How Will We Work?

You know, when I first decided to attend college, I assumed that our country’s leader would be working hard to ensure a good economy for the rising generation. When I invested my money and time for four years, I thought that I would be entering a more stable economy on the other side of my education. I know I’m not the only one who thought that. The National Center for Education Statistics determined that 21 million Americans were enrolled as full-time college students in 2010.

But now here we are, recent graduates or still anticipating our degrees. This should be an exciting time in our lives, but things appear gloomier than ever for us.

The numbers are in, and it looks like by 2021 the Affordable Care Act will reduce work hours so much that an equivalent of about 2.3 million workers will be eliminated. Many employers are choosing to change their full-time workers to part time in order to avoid complying with Obama’s health insurance laws, or are simply hesitant to hire at all. And how could they not with the weight of the ACA on their shoulders?

The younger generation does not have the job experience our elders do. We have not yet been given the opportunity to prove ourselves, to develop a resume, to know what it is to work hard at a full-time job. This is a country which used to breathe freedom and opportunity. We shouldn’t be lacking in such a fundamental necessity.

In a time where a renewal of communities and families is more necessary than ever–when a solid work ethic needs to be developed and our generation is expected to begin to replace the workers in our parent’s generation–I think I speak for many when I say that we have questions.

Mr. President, how will we work? How will you make it possible for us to sustain ourselves reasonably? How will we begin our own families, be active in our communities and mature into the citizens America needs if you are making it so difficult for us to succeed? Is this the hope you had for this country?

We need answers, and we need them quickly. Yet, Mr. President, you are silent.