I am a parent. I am a graduate. I am an employee. I am someone who suffers from a mental illness. Like countless others, I am burdened by heavy debts from education and healthcare. I ask myself daily - how am I to provide and educate for my children, our future, when my earnings are consumed by healthcare premiums, student loans, hospital bills, and doctors' visits?

It is this personal agony that propels this petition - a call to lower the profound healthcare costs and make education free. The nominal cost of healthcare in the United States is the highest on the planet. Not only that, but the country also ranks first in healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP, with nearly 17% of the economy tied up in this single sector [source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services].

The American system forces our college students – who are just starting in their life – to drown in debt. As referenced by Forbes, the total student loan debt in the U.S. is a staggering 1.7 trillion dollars, impacting approximately 45 million individuals – a debilitating cycle that we must break.

My story is one of millions. It doesn't need to be this way. The time is now, more so than ever, to prioritize individuals over excessive profit and bureaucratic systems. We ask for immediate action to lower healthcare costs and make education free. The future of our nation and the well-being of our children hang in the balance. Please, sign this petition and stand with us in advocating for affordable healthcare and free education.