Republican candidate Ryan Binkley from Texas visited the Memorial Union to speak with students and potential voters on his plans if he wins the 2024 presidential election. In his introduction, Binkley referred to himself as the “Republican alternative for socialism.”
Political division was a topic Binkley spoke on frequently at Wednesday’s town hall.
“We have to pick some things that are important to all of us as Americans, [things] that are important to Republicans, Democrats and independents, and focus on those things,” Binkley said to the Daily.
Binkley said he wants to start a job movement in “urban America” when speaking on his plan for inflation and how it has and continues to affect college students. Binkley spoke about how 50% of young adults are forced to stay at home with their parents due to not being able to afford prices to live alone, saying that “nobody should have to do that if they don’t want to.”
He continued to explain how inflation caused stressors on young people.
“Inflation is what’s destroying the wealth of young people, college students, the poor and the middle class today. We’ve got to stop inflation, and we can do that by balancing the budget,” Binkley said.
The federal budget and the economic state of the country are other topics Binkley said are on his radar. Binkley said if he wins the presidency, from day one he wants to focus on the economy.
“[National debt] is about $33 trillion,” Binkley said. “The bad news for you and me, particularly you, is that in about six years we are going to be about $50 trillion in debt. That means we are adding to our debt about $2 trillion a year.”
Binkley also spoke on changing the country through young adults volunteering.
“One out of six kids are reading at the eighth-grade level in urban America. Would you give three hours a week, maybe five hours a week, and just mentor one person?” Binkley said.
Binkley said he wants to make it more known to teens that there are options other than college, such as vocational training.
When asked about how he plans to address the current education system, from kindergarten to higher levels, Binkley said he wants to prepare our kids to succeed at a global level.
“K–12 education is really falling behind. We’re not really even in the top 20 in reading or math anymore,” Binkley said.
Binkley said he plans to get students involved in college and vocational programs and start the mentoring program to help the kids who need some extra assistance.
A big question among college students for presidential candidates is what they can do to help with the cost of tuition. When Binkley was asked about this, he agreed that something must be done about the rising costs.
Binkley’s idea to help with this issue is cheaper, hybrid classes, where students can go online some days and in person others. According to Binkley, under his plan, a student can still get an education but also work.
