WASHINGTON — Twenty-year-old Jason Patel lives and breathes politics.
“I read a lot of news and politics,” said Patel, a student at George Washington University. “I’d consider myself an avid reader. I’m especially passionate about taxes.”
As a political communications major, Patel attended “Election 2012 and America’s Fiscal Cliff,” a discussion featuring former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who chaired a bipartisan debt reduction commission, and budget expert Jared Bernstein, a Democrat who was an adviser to Vice President Joe Biden who is now a senior adviser at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
While Patel heard the two panelists warn that the country’s current debt would fall hardest upon Patel’s generation, he felt one emotion.
It wasn’t shock. It was appreciation.
Political Communication major Jason Patel (far left) waits in line to shake former Senator Alan Simpson’s hand after his discussion Tuesday.
Michelle Salemi/ Medill
“They really care about the youth and our issues and the issues we are going to face,” Patel said. “What they both advocate is they care about our futures. It was very respectable and I felt appreciated.”
To bridge the generational gap, Simpson discussed his own grandchildren and emphasized the seriousness of the debt the youth will suffer from.
“For any young person who’s doesn’t know what’s going on I feel sorry for them,” Simpson said. “They’re going to get cleaned up.”
Jeff Jacobson, 21, who also attended the discussion, agrees with Patel and values Simpson’s level of candor.
“I felt he elevated the conversation,” Jacobson said. “He really added a level of honesty about what we face. I agreed with a lot he said, even if I’m not Republican.”
But as Simpson demonstrated in the heated discussion, taking political sides won’t solve the deficit problem.
“I’m an American,” Simpson said as the crowd applauded. “It’s not about Republican and Democrats. It’s about the citizens who need to get off their butts and get involved. They are thirsting for truth.”
Patel, whose parents emigrated from India, said he believes this idea reflects the American dream his family followed.
“My parents wanted to live comfortably in the land of opportunity, which this country still is and when they [Simpson] bring out that non-partisan dialogue of ‘we are united and it’s a collective action to bring America out of this hole,’ it is greatly appreciated by myself and others my age.”