The Can Kicks Back (TCKB) is a non-partisan Millennial movement to defeat the national debt and reclaim our American Dream, with a mission to educate, organize and mobilize young Americans to promote a sustainable and generational equitable federal budget.
TCKB was launched in November 2012 by five young people concerned that politicians were destroying the American dream. With over 100 local chapters in 38 states and thousands of supporters from across the political spectrum, TCKB is fighting for the future of young Americans, fighting for the same economic opportunities enjoyed by their parents.
The growing gap between federal spending and revenue over the long-term means our country will neither be able to afford the promises it has made in the past nor pay for needed investments in the future. This imbalance impacts everyone and everything we care about and represents the biggest challenge facing today’s young people.
The national debt is not just a political issue – it is also a moral issue. Decisions that are being made (or not made) by leaders today means that millennials will face a diminished future of more debt, fewer jobs, higher taxes and a lower standard of living. Inaction will result in millennials being the first generation in our history to inherit a country worse off than their parent’s.
The unemployment rate for young adults is 16.1% – 8.5% higher than the national average. Underemployment for young adults is double that of older workers. The percent of 18-24 year olds in the labor force recently reached its lowest point in 4 decades. Over 4.7 million young adults were underemployed in 2012 as they had to compete with older more experienced workers forced to stay in the workforce longer.
The effects of chronic unemployment will be felt for decades. Roughly 2/3s of lifetime wage growth takes place in the first 10 years of your career, resulting in a generation with less savings and wealth, and less equipped to deal with problems resulting from our long-term debt.
Over the past several years, Congress has created tremendous uncertainty amid fights over how to deal with our spending. This uncertainty trickles down to businesses that are unable to plan due to Congress’s inability to create predictable tax in spending policies, resulting in fewer jobs.
Young adults who are lucky enough to even find a job often make less because businesses are able to offer less in this highly competitive market. Lower wages coupled with increasing costs of everything from education to energy, means our future will look very different from the standard of living our parents experienced.
Over 34% of our national debt is held for foreign governments which Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen believes is the most “significant threat to our national security. And, as our debt continues to grow, other countries are swooping in to buy a stake in our government, gaining influence over our economy, reducing financial and global security.
Washington has kicked the can down the road far enough on our growing national debt. Join the Millennial movement to reclaim our American Dream. It is time to put national interest ahead of special interest.
If you are worried about the future of America, please visit their website at the link above and sign their petition. Better yet – get involved!
“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish then to live as slaves.” Winston Churchill
