BU econ professor runs for president, hopes to mobilize young voters

“We have been engaged for six decades between two parties that are solely out for themselves.”

That is the problem Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff sees with today’s political environment, and it’s the reason he is running to be the next president of the United States as an independent write-in candidate.

The 65-year-old’s campaign comes four years after his first attempt in 2012. Now, alongside his running mate Edward Leamer, an economics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, the duo’s platform is targeted at saving the younger generation from debt crises and combating policies that solely benefit older people.

To fix the nation’s debt problem, Kotlikoff said he hopes to alleviate huge tax brackets created by fiscal programs such as the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

“Look at health care for example,” he said. “You try and cover everybody and give everybody a basic policy … but if you leave all the bills or at least most of the bills to future generations to pay, that’s a very bad thing, especially if we keep those bills off the books … like congress has been doing.”

Ethan King, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said a more competitive and diverse candidate field is a hopeful sign for American’s future.

“The two-party system is obviously very broken,” he said. “Right now it seems that in the future, both the Republican Party and Democratic Party will fracture. So the viability for a third party candidate right now isn’t great, but since we’re seeing at least the dismantle of the two party system, there is a start there, and maybe we’ll see more in the future.” 

Kotlikoff said he recognizes it’s difficult for independent candidates to get their messages out, but he has found social media helpful in gaining popularity, and he wishes for young people to use similar tools to spread the word.

“Young people have this megaphone — social media connections that they have with each other,” Kotlikoff said. “This is an opportunity for young people to take control.”

In this particular election cycle, independent candidates like Kotlikoff and third-party candidates may have a unique opportunity to reshape the political landscape, said Max Abrahms, a political science professor at the Northeastern University.

“If you look at the American public’s views of the two feature party candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, they are very negative,” Abrahms said. “So a third-party [candidate] would create an opportunity for a change, but historically unfortunately that has only happened in theory.”

A few BU students said they are still suspicious of Kotlikoff’s chances.

Stacy-Anne Parke, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she found Kotlikoff’s proposals refreshing, but “most people want to vote for either Clinton or Trump.”

Adam Weddle, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said independent candidates will only take votes away from Clinton, making Trump would be the ultimate winner.

“For right now, third parties remain as a nice idea,” he said. “But until fundamental changes are made to the country’s political system, they aren’t going to do much for the election.”

Kotlikoff, on the other hand, stressed that he is as legitimate as Democratic and Republican party nominees, despite being a write-in candidate.

“The only difference between our candidacy … is when you look at the ballot, there’s going to be a space to write in ‘Laurence Kotlikoff’ for president, whereas Clinton and Trump’s names will already be printed,” Kotlikoff said. “So the only difference is who embosses the name onto their voting ballot.”