And the Winners Are ...
And the winners are…
In our crowd-sourced Ask the Candidates contest, as part of our Kids 2012 campaign, hundreds of our readers suggested fantastic questions about child and youth issues, and voted for the ones you would most like to hear the candidates answer during the Florida debates on January 23 and 26.
There were tons of great questions that could generate thoughtful discussion on the issues voters care deeply about. We shared the five top-voted questions with the presidential candidates and the hosts of the debates:
1. A big part of saving our economy is ensuring that the next generations get a solid education. What is your plan to address Pell grants and other programs to increase access to college for low-income students?
2. More than one in five children in America lives in poverty, a rate that is on the rise. What will you do to reverse this disturbing trend in quality of life for our kids?
3. Do you believe the Federal Department of Education should receive accountability from each state of how the Federal Department of Education money is spent in each state and how this money has improved the quality of education in each state? Do you believe each school should receive the same amount of money per student in every state in the United States?
4. We talk a lot about taxes and corporate bailouts but there's a huge economic issue that we aren't hearing enough about: youth employment. Summer jobs aren't just about cash in your pocket for Apps, they help determine which kids have skills to get hired into careers with room to advance. So many working-age kids are unemployed or can't find work to support themselves and families. This is a critical issue, how do you propose to fix it?
5. How would you restructure education funding so all schools in my state have the money they need to educate kids and prepare them for life -- not just schools in rich areas?
These are great questions that deserve real answers, in Florida and beyond.
Please take a moment to sign our petition on Change.org and send a message to every candidate that child, youth and family issues matter to Americans.
You asked the right questions. Now demand real answers!
