How come a working 16-year-old pays taxes but is not able to vote? No Taxation Without Representation. It was James Otis who said in the wake of the American Revolution, “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” That’s one of this country’s founding principles, one that I and so many other Americans hold to be just. And…
Observing the United States in the 1830s, the French political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his Democracy in America that “the position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in one.” Tocqueville was observing the exceptionality of American society, with its…
Sometime in the past week was the tenth anniversary of my first attempt at running away from home. I was just as much an adult ten years ago as I am today. The difference is that ten years ago it was legal to hit me, vanish my relationships, and sequester me from society. I look…
Every day that I have the presence of mind to remember it, I am so grateful and so excited and so relieved to be a legal adult. I can associate with whoever I like, with no fear that I will bond with them only to be barred from seeing them later. I can read any…
Next month brings with it another campaign for president, and that means it is time for NYRA to once again look into the issue of campaign contributions from young people. This is an issue NYRA has followed since 2002 when the Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance bill was introduced that ultimately became the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act…
2016 brings with it another campaign for president (admittedly it has been going full tilt for months now), and that means it is time for NYRA to once again look into the issue of campaign contributions from young people. This is an issue NYRA has followed since 2002 when the Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance bill was…
Sky high unemployment. Astronomical government debt. A fragile environment. Rapidly rising college tuition. Our country, and our world, face massive problems, massive problems that according to venture capitalist Andrew Lerner are caused principally by the older generation. The first step to fixing this problem is understanding the severe discrimination young people face. Andrew Lerner’s new…
All the child advocates out there, all the parents’ groups, all the public interest people… they have one supposed goal. They must protect children. They must help children. They must do all they can, even things the children might not like right now, for the children. Sure enough, there are people who may think NYRA…
Without a vote, donating to political campaigns is one of the few ways for youth to take an active role in the political system. Recognizing this, the Supreme Court ruled recently to overturn a ban on campaign contributions from young people. The Federal Elections Commission is taking advice from NYRA’s legal advisor, Keith Mandell who…
In early 2002 the US Congress passed the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act, which made contributions to political parties or candidates by individuals under 18 illegal. On December 10, 2003 the Supreme Court struck down this onerous provision of the Campaign Reform Act. Some candidates for President haven’t gotten the message yet. Despite the fact it…
