College Republican National Committee Speak Up on healthcare reform.

1. Speak Up Memo
The Voice of Young Conservatives
THE WEEK OF MARCH 22, 2010
The Outrage
Used and forgotten. In 2008, young people gave Democrats their vote and in 2009
Democrats showed young people the door. Well it’s time to tell the Democrats to
stop and listen up. From health care to student loan reform, Democratic policies
have consistently ignored the needs of our generation. If we want change, 2010
must be different.
What You Can Do About It
Speak up! As a conservative we must begin to win hearts and minds before we can
win elections. The process starts by educating people about what we truly believe. It
starts with you in the classroom.
We’ll arm you with the facts you need to win the argument. It’s your job to carry the
message on to your campus. It’s your job to speak up! By engaging ourselves in the
debate, we’ll spread the message of conservatism – the message of small
government, Uiscal responsibility, and individual rights – to one campus, one
classroom, and one student at a time.
Over the next Uive weeks the CRNC will be looking into the growing entitlements that
left unreformed will doom this country’s Uiscal future. We must realize that
government is not the solution to the problem…it IS the problem.
This Week’s Theme: Dems’ Reform is a Bitter Pill
The Promise: “We have to pass the bill so that you can Uind out what is in it...” ‐
Nancy Pelosi
The Reality: For once Madame Speaker was exactly right. We did have to pass the
bill to Uind out what was in it. But as new polls show, young adults are not liking
what they are seeing.
Fact 1: Polling Shows Young Adults Do Not Like Health Care Reform
A Rasmussen poll taken a week after the reforms were signed into law Uinds that
A weekly publication by the College Republican National Committee. Copyright 2010.

2. among Millennials:
• 60% believe that the health care plan will increase the deUicit
• 45% believe the plan will have a negative impact on them personally while
only 25% believe it will have a positive effect
• 53% strongly favor in repealing the bill
• 49% say they will vote for a candidate who favors repeal while 46% say they
will support the candidate who opposes repeal
President Obama and congressional Democrats underestimated young adults
concern with the national debt and the economy. Many of us don’t have jobs and
many more of us are looking with trepidation towards graduating into a bad
economy.
When young adults are pinching pennies we expect the federal government to be
forced to do the same. After all, it is rare to see young adults being the Uinancially
responsible ones. More than ever our generation understands the need to get this
country back in the black. We understand that if the nation’s debt crisis is not solved
now then it is our generation who will be the ones stuck with the tab. We
understand that the tab must be paid for through either higher taxes or reduced
beneUits. So when the government pushes a budget‐busting health care plan, rather
than a job creation agenda, it’s easy to see why we’re concerned.
Fact 2: We Want the Government to Create, Not Destroy Jobs
Democrats sold health care reform as an engine for job creation. Barack Obama used
his weekly radio address to say that reform will build a,
“New foundation for our economy to create the good, lasting jobs and
shared prosperity of tomorrow.”
Nancy Pelosi went as far to put numbers behind the promise saying,
“Health insurance reform is about jobs. This legislation alone will create 4
million jobs, about 400,000 jobs very soon.”
Unfortunately companies feel a little differently about the effects of the health care
bill. Among some recent reports of the cost of reform:
• $1 billion ‐ AT&T
• $100 million ‐ Prudential Financial Inc.
• $150 million ‐ Boeing Co.
• $150 million ‐ Deere & Company
• $100 million ‐ Caterpillar
This is money being directly removed from an already struggling private sector that
could have been used to create jobs. American businesses are already face an uphill
battle to remain competitive in the world economy due to our high cost of labor.
A weekly publication by the College Republican National Committee. Copyright 2010.

3. Reducing proUits makes it more difUicult to hire new employees and much easier to
make the decision to shift your labor to other nations.
At the time when we most need to create a pro‐jobs environment the health care bill
is proving to be a job killer.
Fact 3: Young Adults Can’t Afford Democrats Health Care Reform
The bill is also a bad deal for young adults. The AP recently reported that,
Under the health care overhaul, young adults who buy their own
insurance will carry a heavier burden of the medical costs of older
Americans ‐ a shift expected to raise insurance premiums for young
people when the plan takes full effect.
Beginning in 2014, most Americans will be required to buy insurance or
pay a tax penalty. That’s when premiums for young adults seeking
coverage on the individual market would likely climb by 17 percent on
average, or roughly $42 a month, according to an analysis of the plan
conducted for The Associated Press.
Young adults are healthier, and thus cheaper to insure, than older citizens. Prior to
passing reform health care plans reUlected this fact in the cost of health care plans.
However, the Democrats’ plan subsidizes the higher insurance costs of older
Americans by mandating young adults buy more coverage than they may otherwise
need. As one health care expert admitted,
It’s essential that young, healthy people participate because the
requirement that people have insurance “is really a mechanism for
Uinancing health care reform.”
The government should not view Millennials, who have been hit harder than any
other age group during the recession, as a method to Uinance their plan. Although
reforms do include an option to remain on your parent’s insurance to the age of 26
and some subsidies to reduce the costs the bill still has an unfair impact on young
adults. Young adults want the ability to choose a plan that suits their needs at a price
they are willing to pay ‐ not the government forcing them to buy a one size Uits all
plan they cannot afford.
Bottom Line: Health care reform is like a drug where the side effects are worse than
the disease. Simply put, this is one bitter pill young adults should not have had to
swallow.
A weekly publication by the College Republican National Committee. Copyright 2010.