Rock the Vote: Gimme Gimme Gimme

I get Rock the Vote emails, and I'm constantly amazed at the misinformation, the simplistic rhetoric, and the obvious slant. The one today, though, really caught me--first in a moment of disbelief and next in a moment of disgust.

Zombyboy [We're on a first nickname basis],

Why should you vote? Because you’re up to your ears in debt, and the government CAN do something about it.

But it won’t, unless you make the politicians pay attention by voting.
The rising cost of college is staggering. Two thirds of students graduate with debt, and their average burden exceeds $19,000. Even students who don’t leave college with a degree have tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

And as tuition rises, so do credit card bills. Average credit card debt increased 104% in the last decade for 18-24 year olds.

It’s getting out of control. We need to take a stand.

We need more grants. We need lower interest rates. We need longer grace periods.

You’re sick of all this debt. But politicians WON’T respond unless you VOTE.

So get out and vote, and bring some people with you who wouldn’t vote otherwise.

In other words, Rock the Vote is using the same strategy that politicians often adopt with senior citizens: vote so that you can get free stuff. Instead of drugs, non-means tested Medicare benefits, and a Furr's Cafeteria on every corner, RTV wants to deliver more free education money (delivered from the Ever-Present Magical Money Fairy), even more time to slack off without paying back the bills incurred, and less credit card debt.

When did they get the idea that they were owed all of this? I paid (and still pay) for my college out of pocket. I didn't qualify for grants, although I did happily accept all the low-interest loans that I could, and ended up with $14,000 in college debt. The repayment terms have been remarkably flexible, with Sallie Mae willing to work with me through all sorts of interesting situations, but with me still paying and paying and paying.

It was the cost that I accepted for getting myself a step or two closer to some of my goals in life--and closer to a slightly better paycheck, too.

I never once had it in my head that anyone owed me an opportunity to get ahead. I always assumed that it was my opportunity to seize--and without work and sacrifice, I would never reap the benefits.

But Rock the Vote takes the other side of the argument: if you can have someone else foot the bill, then that's just gravy. Rock the Vote is the perfect voice for everyone who believes that government exists to hand out free stuff and that the wealthy should pay the way for the rest of us. In other words, people who would do well to grow up and learn to pay their own way.

Rock on, dude.

Posted by zombyboy at October 20, 2004 04:55 PM