How to Get Dominick Costantino's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Honesty

To get my vote on Election Day, a candidate must have certain qualities. First of all, I want someone who is honest. There are so many politicians who get caught in lies throughout an election campaign. I like and admire candidates who remain true to themselves throughout a campaign and keep their stance on issues the same. I also like a candidate who is down to earth. So many politicians are high class and act like they are better than everyone else. Why should someone with so much wealth be representing a country that is mostly middle class and lower? It’s alright to have money, but I don’t agree with flaunting it. I’m sorry but no one cares how much money you make in a year.

Education

An issue that is very important to me is education. I am a full-time college student and every year my financial aid goes down. We need more funding for higher education. There are so many young Americans in our country who are extremely bright, but just cannot afford to pay for a college education. Education needs to be a priority at all levels. The government needs to make sure there is enough funding so young Americans have a change to compete for jobs with other countries like China. The candidate who I vote for will prioritize education.

Healthcare

Another issue that is important to me is healthcare. I am a supporter of Obama’s current health care plan. Because of his plan, I am covered under my parents insurance until I am 26 years old. I cannot imagine what life would be like without insurance. I had to go to the emergency room in January, and my bill would have been $14,567 if I didn’t have insurance. Who can afford those type of bills? Also, I am considering going to graduate school after Wilkes to further my education. I will be able to go without worrying about healthcare because I am covered for six more years. I will not vote for any of the Republican presidential candidates because they all want a full repeal of “Obama Care.” This issue is extremely important to me and I cannot look past it when voting.

Gas Prices

The price of gas is ridiculous. Pretty soon the American people are not going to be able to drive because gas prices will be so high. For some, the price of gas might be restricting them from going on vacations, paying for prescription drugs, going to the doctors, etc. There is no reason why the price of gas should be as high as it is. From my understanding, a majority of our oil comes from places in the world that we are currently protecting or places that we protected. Since our soldiers are risking their lives to make peace in these countries, we should be able to get oil for hardly anything. Why should the other countries become rich and Americans suffer? If the price of gas keeps on rising, I don’t see how the American economy will ever recover. It really ticks me off that none of the politicians really care about the high price of gas. Just because you are all millionaires and can afford to fill up your tank no problem, doesn’t mean that the average working American can!

Jobs

Since I will be graduating from college in two years, jobs is another important issue for me. So many of our companies have gone overseas. Our government needs to bring these companies back to the United States so that Americans can have jobs. So many Americans want to work, but there is just not enough jobs out there. The government should reward those companies that move their headquarters back to the United States. The government should also reward products that are made in America. A majority of the products we buy are made in China. We all need jobs and a candidate that tries to create millions of jobs will get my vote on Election Day.

Eliminate Political Ads

One thing I cannot stand is political ads. Ever since I was in elementary school, I hated election season because of all the negative and stupid advertisements on television. From an early age I realize how cruel some of these ads are. Throughout my years of education, I learned how much money is spent on a campaign. Sources say that this presidential campaign will cost more than any of them in the past. I think there needs to be a regulation on how much a candidate can spend on a campaign. Billions of dollars are wasted each year just to get elected into a political office. We could do so much good for the world is this money was spent on other things. If we put all the money being spent on this Presidential election towards cancer research, we would have a cure. Millions of Americans would be able to live because there would be a cure to the disease that kills so many mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles. We could also feed, clothe, and house every single homeless person in America with all the money that is spent. We should start thinking about making this world a better place and stop with all this nonsense of advertisements that promote negativity. Our country could be a great place if individuals had different priorities.

Dominick Costantino
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2012