ATLANTA– Marco Rubio told the RedState Gathering, a group of conservative activists and donors, that America will have to evolve with the rapidly transforming economy in order to be the top country for jobs by 2020. “This election has to be about the future of America,” said the presidential candidate on Friday.
“Will we or will we not be best place in the world to create job opportunities?’ Rubio, a frontrunner for the nomination, appeals to a wide range of Republicans and has done well in the polls since he announced he would run. One of the younger candidates in the race so far, Rubio addressed issues in his speech that will affect younger generations of Americans, such as federal retirement programs like Medicare and Social Security. He said those programs will need to be cut in order to balance the federal budget. “I’m 44 years old – after last night I feel 45 – and for people younger than me, Medicare and Social Security is going to be different,” he said. “But it’s not too much to ask for younger generations to accept that their Social Security and Medicare will look different.”
He also said America’s higher education system has become outdated and should provide more opportunities for vocational training. “We can’t graduate people anymore with thousands of dollars in student loans and a degree that doesn’t get you a job,” he said. If colleges become more transparent about the paychecks that will come with graduates’ degrees, and if more students go through vocational training, Rubio said America’s economy could be a world leader again in job opportunities by 2020. “If we do these things, we will lead the world in creating the best jobs in the 21st Century,” he said. “And the best new jobs of the 21st Century are going to require more skills than the jobs of the 20th.”
