Sympathetic lawmakers

The personal wealth of federal lawmakers raises questions about the ability of elected leaders to truly understand the plight of those they represent. Close to half of U.S. senators and representatives are millionaires.

These are often the same people who say now is not the time to worry about student debt relief, universal health care, environmental regulations, economic stimulus, guaranteed postsecondary education, etc. However, they support tax cuts for big corporations, lower taxes for higher earners, and deregulation of banks and lenders. Isn’t that interesting?

In order to see real change, we need to elect real fighters — people who actually care about finding solutions because they’ve faced the problems firsthand. In this country, we have been trained to ask for too little. It’s time to demand more from our leaders and remove those standing in our way from seemingly endless power.

Whether you campaign for someone you believe in or advocate for the issues you care about, you truly can make a difference. You could even run for office.

— Dylan Toth, Schaumburg