On Wednesday, President Obama announced a plan to provide much needed assistance to recent graduates who are struggling to make ends meet. The new “Pay As You Earn” proposal would give millions of students new options with their student loans such as lowering their monthly payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income, capping payments and allowing for debt forgiveness after 20 years of payments and the ability to consolidate loans in order to reduce interest rates.

All of these proposals represent significant investments in the most vitally important resources of our economic future: young people. Young people are responsible for the innovation and imagination that will keep the legacy of American ingenuity alive well into the 21st century, and President Obama’s proposals will help promote that innovation.

In a Bloomberg column published on Oct. 24, Harvard economist Edward Glaeser wrote, “any Republican or Democrat who wants to repower our economy must recognize that the nation’s future depends on its human capital, far more than infrastructure or energy or finagling with the tax code.” We cannot wait for Republicans in congress to come around to the idea that investing in our economy can mean more than cutting taxes for the wealthy and the corporations. We need action now.

Check out this video to learn more about the new policy and go here to help President Obama by spreading this message to your friends and family.