Young Americans are growing up in an economic system that feels fundamentally out of balance. The cost of basic necessities like rent, groceries, transportation, and insurance has outpaced wages for years. For many, owning a home or starting a family is financially out of reach. The job market is saturated with precarious work, low wages, unpaid internships, and few real pathways for long-term advancement. Even highly educated young people often struggle to find stable, meaningful employment that matches their skills and potential.

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At the same time, student debt has become a defining burden of our generation. Tens of millions of young people begin adulthood shackled by loans they had little choice but to take. These debts limit our ability to invest in our futures, from entrepreneurship to homeownership. Rising inflation, corporate consolidation, and decades of policy choices that favor profit over people have only deepened this crisis. And yet, young workers are producing more, innovating faster, and striving harder than ever.

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We believe the economy must serve people, not exploit them. Economic opportunity should not be reserved for the lucky or the well-connected. We envision a country where hard work leads to stability, where education unlocks possibility, and where dignity and fairness are built into the foundation of every economic system. Infrastructure, urban design, access to transportation, and housing policy must all align with the goal of economic inclusion and mobility. Our generation deserves more than survival. We deserve a future we can build.

Young people are living through a widespread crisis of health and meaning. The mental health epidemic is not a passing phase. It is a reflection of a society that isolates, overwhelms, and overexposes its youngest members. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are surging among youth, with many unable to access the care they need due to stigma, cost, or shortage of professionals.

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But wellbeing is broader than mental health. We are increasingly sedentary, overstimulated, and disconnected from community. Social media and algorithmic manipulation amplify comparison, outrage, and self-doubt. Attention spans are shrinking. Loneliness has reached epidemic levels, even in a hyper-connected world. Digital overstimulation and exploitation are corroding not just our personal wellness but our collective values. Add to this a healthcare system that is expensive, bureaucratic, and inequitable, and the challenge becomes generational in scale.

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True wellbeing requires more than apps and advice. It requires systems that promote social trust, belonging, physical activity, nutritional health, and moral grounding. That means investing in community infrastructure, clean environments, accessible health care, mental health integration in schools, better regulation of social platforms, and national dialogue on shared purpose. We believe a healthy generation builds a healthy nation, and health is not a luxury. It is a shared responsibility.

Education in America is facing a profound identity crisis. Our schools are often underfunded, overcrowded, and misaligned with the realities of modern life. Young people are graduating without the tools to understand their government, manage their finances, pursue purpose, or think critically about the world. Standardized testing dominates. Real-world preparation is often an afterthought. In many schools, students spend more time on compliance than on discovery.

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Meanwhile, college has become a debt trap. Tuition and fees continue to rise while the value of a degree becomes less certain. Career training, trade programs, and life skills are either stigmatized or underdeveloped. There is no coherent pipeline from school to self-sufficiency. Education is not just about academics. It should be about producing citizens who are resilient, informed, curious, and capable of navigating life.

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We believe education must reflect the complexity of the world we’re inheriting. That means teaching civics, ethics, digital literacy, logic, personal development, and practical skills. It means rewarding teachers, reducing administrative bloat, reimagining school culture, and designing curricula that inspire critical thinking. It also means ensuring safety, dignity, and mental health supports in every learning environment. A strong democracy depends on a prepared and principled generation. That preparation starts with a better model of education.

Technology defines our generation's reality, but young people have almost no say in how it is built, governed, or monetized. Social media platforms are engineered for addiction and engagement, not well-being or truth. Our attention is harvested for profit. Our personal data is commodified, sold, and weaponized by companies that face little oversight. AI and automation are rapidly transforming work, creativity, relationships, and reality itself: with no clear safeguards in place.

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Digital spaces have become our new public square, but without the protections that physical civic spaces offer. Deepfakes, misinformation, surveillance capitalism, and algorithmic bias are undermining trust, autonomy, and democratic participation. Children are exposed to manipulative design, inappropriate content, and developmental harm long before they can understand or consent. Revenge porn, digital harassment, and the rise of AI-generated exploitation demand urgent response.

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We believe technology must serve the public good. That means ethical regulation, transparency in design, and a digital bill of rights for users. It means protecting autonomy, promoting digital literacy, and democratizing tech governance. The internet is not a toy. It is infrastructure. And AI is not just innovation. It is power. If we do not humanize our technology, we risk dehumanizing ourselves. Young people must be at the center of shaping the digital future.

Trust in institutions is at historic lows. Many young people feel shut out of political processes that prioritize special interests, partisan showmanship, and performative leadership over real problem-solving. Voter suppression, disinformation, and gerrymandering distort representation. Congressional dysfunction and polarization fuel apathy and hopelessness. Even when youth show up, it often feels like their participation is ignored or co-opted.

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But young people are not disengaged. They are disillusioned. They see through the rhetoric and demand systems that deliver real outcomes. Youth deserve meaningful power, not just symbolic inclusion. That means proportional representation, electoral reform, transparent governance, campaign finance reform, and a more functional, accessible political system. Civic education and dialogue must be reinvigorated. Free expression should be protected, not politicized.

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We believe democracy should work for everyone. Government is not a game. It is a moral contract. Civic power must be restored to the public, and especially to the generation that will live longest with the decisions being made today. LYV is committed to breaking through polarization, advancing structural reform, and ensuring that civic life reflects real participation, real fairness, and real accountability.

The environment is not just a political issue, it is a living reality that affects every part of our health, safety, and future. Young Americans are growing up in a world with poisoned water, polluted air, disappearing biodiversity, and collapsing ecosystems. Microplastics are in our bloodstreams. Wildfires, toxic waste, degraded soil, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals are part of daily life. Environmental harm is not abstract. It is physical, personal, and rapidly accelerating.

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While climate change dominates headlines, the full scope of ecological harm includes unsustainable resource use, overconsumption, poor waste management, and the erasure of wild spaces. Industrial farming, corporate pollution, and weak regulatory enforcement have allowed long-term risks to be ignored. Our generation did not create this crisis. But we are tasked with solving it.

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We believe sustainability is about stewardship, not sacrifice. Clean air and water are rights, not luxuries. Local and national governments must protect ecosystems, fund conservation, reduce pollution, and invest in energy systems that do not destroy the planet. That includes new technologies like nuclear recycling, but also simple practices like brush maintenance to prevent wildfires. We deserve a future that is livable, not just for humans, but for all life. Protecting the environment is not about politics. It is about survival, justice, and respect for the only home we share.