Students and Government

On one level, election night is tailored for the modern college student. It allows – nay, demands – that you stay up late watching election results on TV.

Some college students watch the elections like it is their job. But others are left bored and confused.

You can see old people talking on TV anytime on C-SPAN. Besides, who knew there was even an election coming up?

Not many young voters.

The president’s youth-fueled coalition was abandoned in droves, leaving the heavy lifting to the nation’s ponytailed English professors (and we all know those guys aren’t built for that).

Being a Democrat is sexy and exciting, but being a Republican is staid and tepid. Which name is supposed to make me feel superior again, Connolly or Fimian?

College students can get on board with being a Democrat. It’s easy to feel superior with a “Yes We Can” sticker on your shirt but it’s also easier to stay home and download music instead of going out to vote.

The last presidential election showed us that young people get involved when what is asked of them is simple – vote Obama – and the reasons are boiled down to one word – change.

The midterm election shows us that when things get more nuanced, America’s youth stays at home.

So how will this election affect the nation’s young public? The two largest effects will be in health care and student loans.

Outright repeal of the president’s signature health care legislation is a tall order for the incoming Republican House majority. With only one chamber of Congress, it is unlikely that they will be able to send any repeal bill to the president’s desk. Even if they did, their numbers are not sufficient to override a veto.

What is more likely is a little trimming around the edges. Where unnecessary expenses are included, they can be cut out. This would seem to target college students’ favorite provision: automatic coverage by their parents’ health care plans until the age of 26.

When Obama spoke at the Patriot Center earlier this year, his biggest applause came when he promised to further infantilize college students. Once, college students demanded to be viewed as adults. Now, they demand to be treated as children.

Cost-conscious Republicans will attempt to make the health care law less expensive by stripping down the increased length of coverage.

Obama might take the youth vote for granted to agree to this rollback, so college students should prepare to meet the “real world” earlier than their late 20s. Secondly, the president’s proposal to greatly expand federal control of student lending could be threatened by the more conservative Congress.

The mortgage-lending debacle that resulted in federal acquisition of massive amounts of government-sponsored enterprise debt has left Republicans leery of strong-arming lending decisions.

If private student lenders ramp up their debt offerings to students and the employment market stays soft, millions of recent graduates will default on their obligations, requiring a government bailout for student loan originators.

If the additional lending comes from the government directly, the already-unmanageable federal debt picture becomes even more bleak.

At the extreme, Republicans might advocate tying student financing to future earnings potential. Instead of funding artists and engineers equally, perhaps some consideration should be given to the value of what is being learned.

Treating adults like adults and expecting loans to be productive – these are the crazy economic policies of incoming Republicans.