[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1338-S1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY WINNERS
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, since 2010, I have sponsored a
State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. This
contest gives students in my State the opportunity to articulate what
issues they would prioritize if they were President of the United
States.
This is the contest's 15th year, and I would like to congratulate the
475 students who participated. It is truly heartening to see so many
young people engaged in finding solutions for the problems that face
our country. To my mind, this is what democracy is all about.
A volunteer panel of Vermont educators reviewed the essays and chose
Justason Lahue as this year's winner. Justason, a junior at Burr and
Burton Academy, wrote about the impact of social media on youth mental
health. Ari Glasser, a junior at Essex High School, was the second-
place winner. Ari wrote about the influence of billionaires on American
politics. Ely White, a senior at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High
School, was the third-place winner, with an essay on political
polarization.
I am very proud to enter into the Congressional Record the essays
submitted by Justason, Ari and Ely.
The material follows:
Winner, Justason LaHue, Burr and Burton Academy, Junior
Social media is deteriorating adolescent mental health, yet
the United States' government is treating the situation like
a social experiment; our government is waiting to see what
will happen despite the mounting evidence that social media
has dangerous effects. Until we apply evidence-based
regulations to limit social media use, adolescent well-being
is in jeopardy.
The current evidence of harm is compelling. A 2023 Gallup
survey found that teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours on
social media daily. Alarmingly, a longitudinal study
involving 6,595 adolescents revealed that spending over 3
hours daily on social media doubled the risk of poor mental
health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression. These are
not studies in isolation: a systematic review of 13 studies
also found that unhealthy engagement of social media was
correlated with depression, anxiety, and psychological
distress.
While these studies demonstrate correlation, there are also
indicators of causality. Numerous studies highlight how
limiting social media use can improve mental health. A
randomized controlled trial reported that reducing social
media use by just 30 minutes daily lessened depressive
symptoms in college students. Another study involving
adolescents showed that ceasing social media use for 4 weeks
resulted in a 25-40% improvement in subjective well-being
(e.g., life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety) when
compared to psychological interventions such as therapy.
Social media use can worsen adolescent mental health, while
lessening use demonstrates the opposite effect. Adolescent
brain development is most active from ages 10 to 14. However,
the arbitrary and rarely enforced `internet age' currently
set at 13 exposes immature brains to a world of
entertainment, inappropriate content, and harassment. Given
these biological factors and the evidence of potential harm,
a more appropriate age for adolescents to access the internet
is 16 years of age.
I propose a bill called the Youth Mental Health Protection
Act. This act would target a root cause of social media-
related youth mental health issues by changing the legal age
of `internet adulthood' (i.e., when one can sign up for most
online platforms, consent to terms of service, and share
personal data). This act would make 16 the legally required
age to access social media, similar to obtaining a driver's
license in most states, another privilege requiring complex
thinking and decision-making. Finally, the Youth Mental
Health Protection Act would hold social media companies
liable by requiring age verification prior to account
creation.
Requiring age checks would likely lessen the negative
effects of social media on adolescent mental health, however,
this is just
[[Page S1339]]
one step the United States government needs to take to solve
this crisis. To counteract the harms introduced by this
ongoing social experiment, policy-makers need to act now.
Enacting the Youth Mental Health Protection Act and
prioritizing further research on the effects of social media
is imperative to safeguard the mental health of our nation's
youth.
Second Place, Ari Glasser, Essex High School, Junior
President-elect Donald Trump has so far nominated over a
dozen billionaires to his cabinet, with a combined net worth
of over $400 billion-more than ten times the GDP of the state
of Vermont. In addition, Elon Musk, the richest man in the
world, was one of Trump's strongest supporters during the
election campaign: He donated a staggering $277 million to
Trump and other Republican candidates, according to CBS News.
It is clear that the ultra-wealthy control a growing share of
both political and economic power in the United States,
holding disproportionate sway that erodes the power of the
American people. The expanding influence of the billionaire
class is one of the greatest challenges facing America today.
The recent trend of billionaire influence is reminiscent of
the Gilded Age, a time when an incredibly wealthy group of
industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller presided over vast
monopolies while the government struggled to break them up.
Meanwhile, the urban masses worked long hours with deplorable
conditions and little pay. It was a kind of oligarchic
society, one where these ``Captains of Industry'' wielded
immense political and economic influence. Today, America is
in a sort of Second Gilded Age-complete with drastic wealth
inequality and a dangerous level of influence by the ultra-
wealthy that is becoming ever nearer to oligarchy. Just 735
billionaires hold more wealth than the bottom half of all
American households.
In order to reduce the concerning level of billionaire
influence, many reforms must be enacted, but perhaps most
important is a wealth tax. This could raise trillions of
dollars for the government while also reducing the wealth and
influence of billionaires over time. One such proposal would
be Senator Bernie Sanders' plan, which would implement a
progressive wealth tax, starting at one percent on net worth
over $32 million, up to eight percent on net worth over $10
billion. According to Sanders, this plan would cut in half
the wealth of billionaires over just 15 years, greatly
reducing wealth inequality and the power of the top 0.1
percent.
In addition to reducing the economic power of billionaires,
their political influence must be reduced through the use of
campaign finance reform-most importantly, overturning the
2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. This
case eviscerated campaign finance regulations and essentially
allowed unlimited contributions to political groups known as
super PACs, such as the one Elon Musk donated to. While it
may be difficult, passing a proposal such as the We the
People Amendment would reverse the Citizens United decision
by putting an end to the antidemocratic concepts that money
equals political speech, and that corporations are people.
While there is no simple solution to ending the dangerous
influence of billionaires in American politics and the
economy, through important legislative action such as a
wealth tax and campaign finance reform, America can stop the
encroachment of oligarchy on its society.
Third Place, Ely White, Leland and Gray Union Middle High School
Abraham Lincoln once said, ``a house divided against itself
cannot stand.'' Speaking solemnly of the dire state of
division in the United States leading up to the Civil War, it
is now over a century later that his words resonate once
more.
Political polarization has grown in the past decade in the
United States, transforming healthy debates of ideas into an
endless battle of ``us'' against ``them.'' Division has
infiltrated into all facets of American life, a political
landscape where compromise is rare and partisan loyalty is
prioritized. This deepening division threatens the ideals of
our democracy, making it nearly impossible to address the
critical issues that face our country today.
A 2022 NBC News survey revealed that 80% of Americans
believe the opposing party ``poses a threat that, if not
stopped, will destroy America.'' This growing divide is
evident in the 2018-19 government shutdown, when a standoff
between Democrats and Republicans over border wall funding
caused a 35-day gridlock. With neither side willing to
compromise, 800,000 government workers went unpaid, and
federal services became disrupted. Heightened polarization
has normalized the prioritization of party loyalty over
national needs, a theme of officials refusing to seek bi-
partisan solutions even with critical federal services,
workers, and decisions at stake.
Beyond our boardrooms and capitals, division based on
political views has become synonymous with what it means to
be American. Pew Research Center's 2022 report on
polarization shows that 72% of Republicans view Democrats as
more immoral than other Americans, and 62% of Democrats say
the same about Republicans. Political identity has become
tribal in nature, a defining characteristic of one's morality
and values. Political polarization strains relationships in
families, communities, and workplaces, the American
Psychological Association reporting that 38% of adults
avoided conversations with people of opposing political
views.
Addressing solutions to America's political division is
complex. Specific systemic reforms, however, can help reduce
polarization by shifting the incentives that drive division.
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a system that allows voters to
rank candidates in order of preference, the votes for the
lowest-ranking candidate then redistributed to voters' next
choice until a majority is achieved. RCV would encourage
candidates to appeal to broader ranges of voters rather than
just their base, incentivizing politicians to take moderate
stances rather than extreme party-driven positions. Reforming
the closed primary system by adopting open or top-two systems
would force candidates to appeal to a broader electorate,
reducing the influence of extreme partisanship and
encouraging more moderation. Integrating civic education and
media literacy into our schools and communities could also
work as a grassroots solution in helping individuals evaluate
information and recognize bias in misinformation and
ideological chambers.
The future of our democracy depends on our ability to
bridge divides and prioritize unity over partisanship. We
must rebuild trust, restore faith in our institutions, and
create a government that serves all Americans. Change begins
with us- and we call and act for a system that brings us
together, not tears us apart.
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