In my sometimes obsessive reading of CNN.com I came across an article that startled me. Did you know that young Americans between 19-29 are the largest group of uninsured Americans across the nation? Only one half of working young adults are offered coverage through their employers; this compares to nearly 75 percent of those over 30 being offered employer based coverage.
 
Make no mistake — health care is an issue for the Fayette County Young Democrats. It is an issue for all Young Democrats. The reformation of health care in Kentucky and the United States is not only a matter of right, it is also a quality of life issue, as well as a strategic tool in the ability of the Commonwealth to be competitive in the 21st century.
 
Everyday millions of young Americans, 13.2 million according to the Census Bureau in 2007, making the decision of whether or not to pay bills, buy books for classes, defer student loan payments or other bills or buy medicines they are in need of. For so long this issue has been defined as an issue for older America, but there are young people who are forced to make the same gut wrenching decisions their grandparents are on a daily basis.
 
The Republican Party and the political pundits seem intent on attacking President Obama for multitasking. They are so accustomed to the idea of our former President and his inability to function on one issue in a day that it seems dumbfounding that President Obama can focus not only on the pressing issues of the economy, but recognize that unless we focus on reforming health care, education, and issues concerning the environment, we can never truly move forward as a nation. The President’s focus on the reformation of the way health care is delivered and accessed is an important focus especially given the CNN report. We must support our President as he seeks to make it easier for all Americans, and a disproportionate number of younger Americans especially, to afford health care.
 
Historically one of the greatest problems with our delivery of health care is that we often tend to wait until the bottom drops out to declare a crisis. My biggest fear as a young American and a leader in this organization is the if/then rule. If we choose not to act now, if we choose to allow millions more Americans to go uninsured, then what happens when the treatable condition of their youth becomes a chronic condition that in the end costs more for everyone? It is time for strategic investments now so that we might save in the future. There is no better place to start than health care.
 
This is where we can mobilize as an organization. We can call Representative Ben Chandler (D-KY) and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and demand they support the President in his initiatives to reform health care. If you have not read the President’s agenda as it pertains to health care I urge you to take notice at  http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/health_care/.
 
This is how we move forward as an organization: advocating for those issues that matter and avoiding the pettiness that often times finds organizations at these moments. There is simply no time for pettiness because, as evidenced by the statistics from CNN and the Census Bureau, if we do not speak up and step out people suffer. Let us make a difference in all the work we do and in the years to come so that we can look back knowing we helped shape the course of our city, state, and nation.  Only then can we say we did all we could.
 
All My Best-
Colmon