Gruskin educates students about fiscal issues
The new Utah State Concerned Youth of America (CYA) chapter opened its first meeting Wednesday night by introducing the man who pioneered the organization, Yoni Gruskin.
CYA is a non-partisan collegiate group focusing on educating young adults about the fiscal situation in the U.S. and emphasizing to them what that means for their generation as well as generations to come. Gruskin is currently attending the University of Pennsylvania where he will graduate in May. Gruskin, the executive director, started CYA his senior year of high school when he said fiscal problems were not nearly as out of control.
Gruskin planned on flying in for the first organization’s meeting but those plans fell through and he joined the group via Skype instead.
“I started in 2007 when debt was almost half of what it is now,” Gruskin said. “This is an issue that is not about numbers, it is about our country and the American dream.”
One of the purposes of this organization is to get this issue on the map, to “create a voice,” he said.
“I know how much we as college students are preoccupied with other things. But this is an issue about how much we take home from our paychecks in the future because of all the taxes that are being used to help pay off the debt. Its about seeing how much our government can help us or if we are just going to drift away and no longer be a dominate country in the world,” Gruskin said.
Eric Levesque, a junior in economics, was the student who decided to bring this kind of realization onto Utah State’s campus. He said he got interested from watching a documentary and seeing a segment about CYA.
“The purpose I see it having is to bring awareness to our nation’s fiscal policies and to educate people because we are the generation that is going to be affected by this. This organization is here to bring us the facts as well as the effects of the policies and from there find fiscal solutions,” Levesque said.
Sophomore Valerie Fuller the VP of Marketing for CYA, said she was interested in joining CYA because of how big the problem is and the fact that it is important to get the information out there.
“This is a problem most college students are overlooking, not realizing the impact the national debt will have on their financial future,” Fuller said. “The CYA gives the students here at USU a way to get involved and have a voice when it comes to our money we will make in the future.”
This is the first semester for Concerned Youth of America on campus after Levesque contacted Gruskin over the summer to see what needed to be done to get a chapter here at USU. The goal for both Levesque and Gruskin is for it to continue to grow throughout the semester and have people start recognizing what it is.
“This is not the last event,” Gruskin said. “Not even the biggest event. Eric is passionate and dedicated and I guarantee there will be bigger events coming. I want to make the Mountain West states the hub of our operation.”
Right now CYA has about 25 different chapters throughout the country but Gruskin is hoping to see that number grow this year as well as set down some ground rules about what exactly makes a CYA Chapter and the official guidelines.
“We do not have a full network yet,” Gruskin said, “but that is what we are striving for.”
When asked by an audience member what CYA has been doing to help the deficit Gruskin said the main thing they are focusing on right now is educating. They have gone to high schools and since students are “mandated to stay in their seats, we get a captive audience,” he said.
Apart from education, CYA has been in the Boston Globe as well as other university newspapers. He said they meet lawmakers and let them know there are young people who care about what they are doing and who are paying attention to what is happening.
As far as politicians go, Gruskin said they are all responding favorably for now, but he said that is probably because he has only shared his issues with politicians who agree with their stance on the issue.
“Every politician is in ‘favor’ of fiscal responsibility,” Gruskin said. “You aren’t going to meet a lawmaker who says they want to continue to spend money our country doesn’t have.”
However, he said now it is time to start doing something. Start pushing politicians to have a stance on specific proposals.
The fist big step is education Gruskin said, and the next step is asking politicians how they are going to help solve the problems.
“Ask them ‘are you in favor of this or not,'” he said. “The first step to good answers and solutions are good questions. We want them to realize that their actions are affecting us, our children and our grandchildren.”
Fuller said there is no point in college students ignoring this problem and they need to realize thinking about solutions now is important.
“The national debt is something we, as a generation, are responsible for whether we want it or not,” Fuller said. “Ignoring it, and hoping it will just disappear is not going to happen. We might as well start thinking about solutions before it gets more out of hand.
Concerned Youth of America is a strictly nonpartisan organization and Gruskin said they have people from the far Left, the far Right and middle ground as well.
“Just because we are nonpartisan doesn’t mean we don’t have teeth or have stances on positions,” Gruskin said, “we just want to make sure things get taken care of, from the Left or the Right, it doesn’t matter.”
Terry Camp, USU’s chairman of the College Republicans said he wanted to join this organization because it doesn’t matter what political party you affiliate with, this problem affects everyone.
“I was interested in joining CYA because it is nonpartisan. I’m the chairman of the College Republicans, but I realize that both parties are to blame for the financial bind we are in. So regardless of who is in power, overspending needs to cease,” Camp said.
Camp said the biggest problem the nation has when it comes to fiscal responsibility is the leaders.
“It is all politics,” Camp said, agreeing with Gruskin that no politician is not going to say the nation doesn’t have spending problems. However, he said, one politician alone can’t fix the problem.
One problem college students can focus on without the help of political leaders, Camp said, is saving.
“It is important for college students to realize that we are in the bind we are currently in because of our inability to save,” Camp said, “saving will save America. We must develop the habit of saving for a rainy day and creating and following a responsible budget.”
Fuller said he agreed that saving is important so less government interventions are needed.
“I want to change the saving habits of Utah State students so they won’t have to rely on the government, but will be self sufficient,” she said.
– megan.b@aggiemail.usu.edu