Hey, Hillary! Pay Your Interns [View all]

[Divernan]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/23/hillary-clinton-unpaid-intern-millenials-column/28936259/

As the high school girl who slept in a Hillary for President T-shirt for most of 2007, cried when she conceded to Barack Obama, railed at Congress during the Benghazi hearings and was an early follower of Texts from Hillary, I took heart from the 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign had created.

When Hillary announced her second run for the White House, I felt my passion for politics reignite. I quickly applied for and was offered a position as a Hillary for America fellow to work on the campaign. I couldn't have been more excited — until I was told I'd have to move to Nevada and work full time on my own dime.

I couldn't believe my ears. I did not apply as a routine volunteer but as a fellow. Its application process with an elaborate screening and interview process was now revealed to be an ugly lie. If Hillary hopes to inspire young people, to prove she understands our interests she should offer substance to earn our votes.

But it doesn't bode well that a campaign seeking younger voters would callously overlook my generation's biggest struggle: employment. Nearly 14% of us are unemployed. After two straight years of unemployment, I thought things were looking up with a potential Hillary victory. Internships, once a prestigious foot-in-the-door experience, have increasingly been shown to be an abusive way for employers to gain free labor. I had bad experiences at unpaid internships in California and New York. I promised myself when I graduated two years ago to never let anyone do that to me again.

As as been pointed out in repeated articles about Hillary's unpaid campaign "fellows", only young people from wealthy families can afford to work for her campaign.

Meanwhile, Hillary's campaign just hired journalist/Fusion host and Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos' daughter. http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/jorge-ramos-announces-his-daughter-will-work-for-clinton/265511 "I am disclosing that my daughter, Paola, has accepted a position working with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.”

So here's the big question, Is SHE being paid? If so, was she hired and given preferential treatment, i.e, being paid, because of her father's influential position as a news anchor? Or because according to Time magazine, "Jorge Ramos is one of the most influential men in the world." http://www.mediamoves.com/2015/04/jorge-ramos-makes-times-100-influential-list.html

If she (who just graduated from Harvard last month) like other Clinton campaign workers is not being paid, then who's picking up her relocation, cost of living, medical insurance expenses? Reasonably, one would expect it's her father/family. This is the father who states he still talks to her on the phone everyday, but protests he can maintain his journalistic integrity, impartiality, fairness, etc. http://www.latintimes.com/jorge-ramos-letter-daughter-paola-will-melt-your-heart-318583

The reality is that whomever actually subsidizes all the expenses and costs of living for unpaid campaign workers is indirectly contributing to the Clinton campaign, and doubtless in excess of the legal limits on campaign contributions. What stinks about this? Pretty SLICK, huh?

http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/jorge-ramos-announces-his-daughter-will-work-for-clinton/265511