By Lynne Stevens
The Graham Star
It is clear that young adult voters have a lot on the line this election cycle.
A large concern among young adults is climate change, and the effects they are watching unfold all over the country and world. For the most part, they do not feel their government is doing the massive infrastructure changes that will be required to make a difference, as the climate gets more unpredictable and the cost to fix the damage they cause rises.
These concerns increase dramatically when confronted by a damaging climate event in their own community.
They watch as communities are being torn, jobs lost, families displaced and insurance companies forced to charge high premiums leaving homes uninsured. It is important to note that when North Carolina’s east coast gets hit by hurricanes, our insurance costs go up to help cover it – even without a weather event in Graham County.
A current attempt to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act in the House of Representatives – if passed – will retract incentives for clean energy and research, which can pave the way to efficiency in solar, wind and electric/hybrid cars.
Importantly, the act reduces significant taxpayer subsidies to the pharmaceutical industry and finally allows Medicare to negotiate some Medicare drug prices. This has been a decades-long fight against pharmaceutical lobbyists.
A repeal would affect millions who benefit from a cap on insulin costs and an out-of-pocket cap on Medicare drugs. Without consistent Medicare and Social Security funding for aging parents, how will adult children be able to cover the benefit cuts?
Forward thinking? Yes, but when deciding who to vote for and which candidate best represents your well-being and that of the country, good citizenship will require some critical thinking and research.
It is easier than you think. OpenSecrets.org is a great source to find out who is giving a candidate money.
Most of us understand when a large amount of money is bestowed to a candidate through dark money Political Action committees or other sources, they expect something in exchange.
Both political parties take the money, but it is worth a look to see who your candidate is taking it from.
If the favorite candidate is taking money from a major oil company, that is a clue that addressing climate may not be very important.
Perhaps a candidate takes money from groups that support sensible gun control and as a college student, you want to feel safe on campus.
That brings us to voting records and how to find them.
Politicsthatwork.com has an easy to understand format which gives a brief description of a bill and whether the politician voted ‘aye’ or ‘nay.’
Not knowing the voting record of the candidate you favor is like taking a shot in the dark, so to speak.
It is more important than ever for our upcoming, young adult political leaders to think for themselves and take a “knowledge is power” approach to the ballot box.
It is easier than ever.
Lynne Stevens is a new bi-weekly columnist for The Graham Star. She is a resident of Robbinsville and can be reached via email, geminga@mailfence.com.