Democrats, Young Voters Deserve a Policy Agenda That Supports Their Future

Via this Marshall Plan, lawmakers would expand low-income school funding and incentivize resource equity between classrooms. They’d pour resources into counselors, restorative justice, school-based health services, enrichment programs, and tutoring. And, recognizing that kids need safe and stimulating spaces 24 hours a day, they’d steer money into out-of-school programming like mentorship, youth centers, and summer jobs.

Third, a “futures agenda” would provide a pipeline that lifts all students into economic opportunities — and ensures that these opportunities offer workers dignity and respect. Young voters don’t just want work. They want work that matters. And they want work that treats them like humans.

To build these pipelines, lawmakers would continue supporting loan and tuition assistance, as well as “baby bonds” programs that make college and other investments affordable. They’d robustly fund community and public colleges, our main engines of economic mobility, and use these institutions for targeted, accessible trainings in green technologies. 

To address economic dignity, they’d champion labor protections like a strong right to organize. They’d advance tax and monopoly reforms that address income inequality and keep companies like Ticketmaster from gaining too much influence. And, perhaps most importantly, they’d consistently center Black and brown communities that have historically been denied these investments. 

Finally, this futures agenda would include a real plan for safe and liveable neighborhoods. Students can’t learn when they’re afraid of violence or climate disaster. And economic mobility is limited when housing stock is unavailable and disconnected from opportunity. 

Lawmakers would address these issues through evidence-based programs — like violence intervention, civilian crisis response, gun control policies, and community projects — that prevent violence and harm before they happen. They’d champion programs that protect communities from climate change. And, to make neighborhoods accessible and affordable, they’d make dramatic investments in housing supply, quality, and affordability, as well as transit that connects all homes to high-equality employment. 

These policies wouldn’t happen overnight. But adopting this “futures agenda” would offer a glimpse of what voters might expect — and, crucially, hold politicians accountable to. After all, social change never happens on its own. If we want either party to adopt these ideas, we’ll need to keep up a steady drumbeat online. We’ll need to demand this agenda during every forum and debate. We’ll need candidate pledges, publicly committing support. 

We’ve moved mountains before. It’s time to flex that power once more. Not just because it’s good politics, but because it’s the future that all of us deserve.

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