Young People Absent in U.S. Health Care Debate

During their summer recess, President Obama and many members of Congress have traveled around the country holding town hall-style meetings on health care. These politicians aim to win support for recent health care reform proposals. Participation and attendance at the town halls has been impressive. Proponents and critics have turned out in large numbers throughout the country. Last Wednesday I joined the crowd at one of the gatherings. Although the venue was full of interested voters I was also surprised that one important group lacked representatives. In particular, few 20-30 year-olds showed up.

Last week Rep. Rick Larson held a town hall meeting in my hometown of Everett, Washington. Like other town halls, this one was packed. The day before the meeting organizers changed the venue from a conference room to a minor league baseball stadium. Over 2,000 people attended. Despite the large crowd I was surprised to observe that few appeared younger than 40 years old. Only one was clearly younger than 30.

Perhaps the meeting's 5PM start time explained the dearth of young people. Many 20-30 year-olds were likely working during this time. Or maybe they failed to show because they no longer read the local print version of the newspaper that published the venue change details. More likely, apathy kept them away. This disinterest is unfortunate since people aged 20-30 will enjoy (or suffer) the long-term consequences of short-term health care policy decisions. As one of the most important domestic political discussions, young Americans should take a more active role in the debate. Hopefully others of my generation will join the next town hall.

Photo credit: Mark Mulligan/Everett Herald