By Ashley Young

I’m always excited when I have a new episode of “Scandal” on my DVR; I know that the drama and juicy plot twists will keep me entertained. Olivia Pope is a “fixer,” perfectly dressed and brilliant, and she will cross any line, often side-stepping the law, on behalf of her high-powered clients in Washington, DC. Olivia and her associates like to think of themselves as “gladiators in suits,” because they fight relentlessly, fixing jaw-dropping crises. And they always win.

When I started working at the Young Invincibles (YI) this fall, I realized that my generation is living in the midst of an equally challenging, though less juicy scandal – the economic crisis. So maybe it’s not a compelling premise for prime-time television, but young adults ages 18-34 are drowning in post-degree debt, have a hard time finding good-paying, long-term jobs without that degree and struggle to pay for necessities such as health insurance. YI has set out to fix that.

We’re not as stylish as “gladiator” Olivia Pope over here, our clientele is not nearly as high-powered, and we’re certainly much more law-abiding, but I’d like to think that the team at YI is working to become the “gladiators” that young America needs; crafting solutions and advocating on behalf of a generation that is the future of this country.

We get that fixing these problems is not something that can be wrapped up quickly, let alone during a one-hour time slot, but YI has proposed concrete solutions that could improve the economic outlook for young people in the near future. A few of the proposals include:

• Providing relief for private loan borrowers and simplifying student loan repayment programs to help students get out of perpetual debt;
• Creating 500,000 more AmeriCorps jobs to give young adults the work experience necessary to start a career, while serving their country; and
• Fully expanding Medicaid to provide 8 million uninsured young adults access to care so they can focus on building their lives and careers, not whether they can afford health insurance.

We’re tackling the economic issues that have created a crisis-like situation for this generation’s youth. While young adults are seeing some progress with the unemployment rate dropping in recent months and health care reform offering more options, the crises are ongoing and progress is not as easy to maintain as the viewers’ attention during an episode of “Scandal.”

So will you join us?