Rebecca Barnett

Rebecca Barnett, our end-of-the-year grand prize winner of the 2021 Think the Vote debate contest, is a rising senior at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. In her winning comment, she responded “Yes” to the question, “Do Unrestrained Individual Investments Harm the Economy?”

“Although unrestrained individual investments can seem very helpful to the economy,” Rebecca wrote, “They harm the economy by increasing the possibility of a short squeeze, causing a large amount of uncertainty that can pull money from the economy, and can cause all types of investors to lose money.”

Her favorite subjects in school are economics and math, and it’s no surprise, based on her answer to the Think the Vote question, that Rebecca intends to study economics in college, and pursue a job in economics or finance. As a future voter, the most important issues to her are equal pay for women, healthcare reform, and racial and ethnic equality.

As far as extracurricular activities are concerned, Rebecca enjoys dance and is a competitive dancer at Rhythm Dance Center. Her greatest influence is her mom who “inspires and motivates me every day,” and Rebecca would definitely follow Amelia Earhart on social media if she were alive today. “It would be cool to follow her flying experiences and see what it was like to be the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.”