Lincoln stresses election to UA students

By: James Baker

Posted: 10/1/08

Although many students believe politics don't have an effect on them, college students have more to lose and more to gain than anyone else in this election, Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

Lincoln, the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Senate at age 38 in 1998 and the youngest senior senator in the Senate, welcomed the current increase in voter registration.

"It's wonderful, particularly among college students and youth," Lincoln said. "The reason is this wonderful country we're in has a government designed only to work when we participate.

"It takes, on average, eight to 10 years to do the more complex legislation and get it going," Lincoln said. "In 10 years, students will be starting businesses and families, and so they have more at stake a decade from now than my generation."

Lincoln, in the middle of her second term as an Arkansas senator, also said pivotal legislative issues like health care affect everyone in the election.

"We're still basing our health care delivery on a 40 or 50 year system based on acute, not preventive, health care," she said.

The World Health Organization's latest annual rankings of world health care quality has the U.S. at No. 37 with more than 75 million Americans believed to be uninsured or lacking sufficient health insurance.

France tops the list with a successful, socialized healthcare system, while Colombia, a nation plagued by government corruption, paramilitaries, the War on Drugs, poverty and FARC came in at No. 22, out of 190 countries.

"I could see working as a staffer I had more at stake and how long it was taking people as far as bickering," Lincoln said. "That's why it's so important to get young people energized about the political process," she said.

Lincoln also said the current financial crisis and the administration's plans for a $700 billion bailout should trickle up instead of down, and taxpayers should be given a stake in the companies.

America did spend $85 billion with AIG and got equity, as taxpayers have an 80 percent stake, Lincoln said.

"Some of the debt is really bad, but some is just bad, and bad debt is very marketable to investors," which is how the economy rebounds, Lincoln said.

"When the markets stabilize, taxpayers should receive benefits because they're providing the capital to give these companies the opportunity to get back on their feet," she said.

Lincoln also said excessive executive compensation should be halted. Both Democratic and Republican legislators are in agreement for some restrictions as the government looks to buy devalued assets from the numerous failed financial companies.

Henry Paulson, treasury secretary and former chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., reversed his statements from Tuesday when he said restrictions would hinder starting the fund.

Paulson conceded Wednesday the issue of executive compensation should be addressed in the legislation, as Congress struggles to find a solution to the failures of Wall Street.

For students, financial crises seem like an everyday occurrence as many struggle with loans and debt.

The 110th Congress approved the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a plan supported by Lincoln, which stands to support low- and middle-income students as the largest increase in new student aid and benefits, $20 billion, since the G.I. Bill.

The bill will forgive loan debt for students who commit to public service, reform the student loan system and make student loan debt more manageable at no cost to taxpayers.

Lincoln also supports the 21st Century G.I. Bill, which will expand educational opportunities for veterans.

"We've really pushed for the G.I. Bill," Lincoln said. "We didn't just want to improve for troops, but for the guard and reserve."

In an age when students flock to basic-cable pundits for news or get headlines from their cell phones when they're not in class, work or school activities, Lincoln said she believes the fervor for political involvement has helped motivate college students to become educated.

"I think students are beginning to realize they have the most at stake," Lincoln said. "Globally and domestically, our decisions are paramount."

Lincoln also said she understood the difficulty for students in getting enough information to make decisions.

"If it wasn't my job, it'd be tough as a working mom," Lincoln said. "It's something students have to try and make time for."

Lincoln recommended students go online and research candidates along with their votes and positions.

Lincoln, a moderate Democrat, said she's "proof in the pudding you don't have to lean far on either side." and called herself a "practical Democrat, looking for solutions and results."

"I'm not here to create a work of art, but to help along a work in progress," she said.

Lincoln, who has worked with the "Gang of 10," a group of five Democrats and five Republicans who jointly work on legislation, said Obama has encouraged such a bipartisan approach.

Lincoln also said that although she certainly has respect for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for being a working mom, "she has yet to show us, and answer the questions to show us, she's qualified to be a vice president," Lincoln said.