Gawker. Ugh.

I am a defender of you and your trashy ways most of the time. But sometimes you folks just suck.

This is one of those sucky times.

Enter this snarky headline: Hillary Clinton Offers Student Debt Deferral to Those Who Need it Most: Startup-Launching Americans

Gawker seems to find fault in a new policy proposal rolled out by Hillary Clinton to give start-up founders and entrepreneurs a leg up by offering them three years of student debt deferral while they work to build their businesses.

Their article offers little in the way of substance other than just hating on start up culture and making fun of failed companies.

The plan by the Democratic frontrunner also calls for the same deferrals to apply to the first 10 to 20 employees at a start-up company.

As the Clinton campaign notes, many young people want to be entrepreneurs: “more than half of America’s millennials say they want to start a business—but barriers like student debt and a lack of access to credit are holding young people back.”

The government should do everything it can to encourage small business development and to help young people get the space to build great things. The economy is rapidly shifting and the jobs of tomorrow will be created by the young minds of today.

Gone are the days of straight line career paths and ladders that go only up.

Clinton’s plan is a good one for a number of reasons.

First, it recognizes that the economy is changing faster than we can even imagine and creates a real solution to a problem facing many young entrepreneurs.

Secondly, it seeks to level the playing field for the heavily white, male dominated start up culture (that is largely centered around one geographic location in California).

From the Clinton plan: “Additionally, for young innovators who decide to launch either new businesses that operate in distressed communities, or social enterprises that provide measurable social impact and benefit, she will offer forgiveness of up to $17,500 of their student loans after five years.”

As a young start up founder with a whole bunch of student loans, I totally understand why this is important.

Would it really do the economy a long term benefit for all young people with an entrepreneurial sense to be forced to work for companies that may not exist in five years just because of the burden of their student loans? How does that really do anything to help?

The reality is that many young people out of college are basically free of most costs.

They can afford to live very cheaply, typically have few real responsibilities (like children or a mortgage, for example) and are therefore perfectly positioned to take risks.

Those risks can help diversity the economy and move the country forward.

I’m not a defender of traditional start up culture but Clinton’s plan will actually help diversity what that culture is like in America by allowing more people to participate in it.

It will act as both an economic and social policy.

Of course, the way Gawker looks at things, you would think Clinton is trying to put a foosball table in every home.

From Gawker: “Student debt forgiveness is an essential piece of the puzzle for getting Americans who dropped out after watching The Social Network sophomore year back on their feet, and Clinton should be applauded for embracing it.”

Frankly it is much less risky starting your own business than drawing a paycheck from such a risky endeavor such as Gawker.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.

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