Democracy Matters gives teenagers a voice when it comes to politics

Poughkeepsie Journal
Feb. 23, 2019
By Nachman Kaul-Seidman

More than a dozen teens led the inaugural Hudson Valley Stands Up rally in the City of Poughkeepsie on Sunday, which was attended by more than 100 community members and included speeches and a march. Local high school students describe why they’re pushing for a change in gun laws.

Today, we’re faced with a lot of big issues which demand our response: climate change, gun violence and many other pressing problems which are no doubt detailed in this newspaper. Yet in these urgent times, our government rarely acts.

Why don’t we do anything? One might guess that the political partisanship which divides our country stops us. But in fact, the vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans agree on many key issues. Seventy-three percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening and 70 percent agree that we should move toward producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewables, according to reports. Most Americans want gun control and some basic measures, such as background checks, have approval ratings as high as 80 percent. In spite of this, we’re not getting anything done. There’s a disconnect between citizens and the elected officials who are supposed to represent us.

Money is getting in the way. Corporations spend money to advocate policies that are in their best interests, but not ours, and politicians listen. For example, policies that combat climate change by supporting renewable energy or electric vehicles would decrease demand for oil, and therefore hurt oil companies. So, the oil and gas industry spends more than $100 million on elections each year. The NRA, which receives tens of millions of dollars from gun manufacturers, threatens politicians who might support gun control with expensive advertising campaigns against them. In 2016, the NRA spent $54 million on elections, according to reports.

Most people don’t have a staff of well-compensated lobbyists, and can’t launch advertising campaigns on TV. So how can we ordinary citizens compete against multi-billion-dollar corporations? By banding together and fighting to get big money out of politics. That’s what organizations like Democracy Matters do. Democracy Matters is composed of student chapters in high schools and colleges across the country. As a high school student who cannot yet vote, I’ve often felt that I lack agency in the political process. Democracy Matters gives teenagers a say in politics. According to Executive Director Joan Mandle, “Democracy Matters empowers young people to understand the dangers of big money in politics and to engage in formulating and working for solutions.” As a member, I have certainly felt this. With Democracy Matters, I have spoken to my state representative, educated my peers and learned more about these important issues.

We’re making progress. In New York, the new legislature has passed sweeping reforms, including closing the LLC loophole, which has allowed companies to donate up to $65,000 per candidate through Limited Liability Corporations. On the national stage, HR1 — the For the People Act — will create public financing for elections (where the federal government matches donations 6-1, up to a $200 per donation), require super PACs to reveal who their donors are, and make social media companies disclose who spends money on political advertisements on their platforms. However, HR1 is unlikely to pass the senate or to be signed by the president.

In short, we need to keep pushing.