ELECTION TIME!!

The election is finally here. Through the research we have done and the discussion we have undergone in order to contribute unbiased posts to our blog, the authors have come to independent decisions concerning which candidate we choose to endorse. Hopefully our blog has proved helpful in outlying the candidate’s stances and providing thought provoking discussion concerning what issues we as young people hold most important. We acknowledge that voters may view issues other than those we have discussed, more pertinent. This being said, we believe that voters should cast their ballot based on whatever issues they deem most important. Thank you for following our blog. If you feel compelled, please let us know which differing issues YOU hold most significant, which candidate you feel has the approach that would most benefit you and people like you, and why.

Fair Taxes....Fair to Who?

Americans love their money. But can we have our money and keep it too? Whose right is it to decide where our money goes and how much of it should be taken? This brings us to the issue of income tax and the candidates plans concerning it.
Obama's overall tax plan is to give tax cuts to the middle and lower class, with more significant cuts to the lower class. He also proposes a tax increase for upper class citizens.
McCain's overall tax plan is to give tax cuts to all citizens with larger cuts for the wealthy.
Below is a chart the gives the statistics behind these proposals.

Here is the information behind their plans, but the question is are these plans "fair"? What is "fair"? Should people who earn more be charged more for taxes?
Another thing to consider is the value of the dollar in different areas of the US. Real Estate in locations like North Carolina is significantly less than real estate in California. Therefore, a citizen who earns $300,000 in North Carolina may be considered wealthy, but in California they might be seen as middle class. Should this be a concern when deciding income tax and to what extent?

A Further Look at the Economy

One issue needing reform that is being debated in this year’s Presidential campaigning holds arguably the greatest concern by voters due to its possible drastic impact on America’s future financial stability. This subject of trepidation is our nation’s struggling economy, and the measures that need to be taken in order to promote fiscal bolstering and economic prosperity. Both party candidates are ensuring the voters that they will enact policies to reform and reestablish our free market system. From the point of view of college students, the authors of this blog have determined which components of the country’s monetary hardship we deem most influential to our current state, and wish to discuss why these problems have arisen as well as the differing ideas proposed by John McCain and Barrack Obama to fix them. Our established areas of apprehension are; seemingly unrestricted gas taxation, minimum wage and its affect on inflation and consumer spending, the availability of student loans and financial aid, and initiative being taken to establish cleaner energy sources and to reduce harmful effects on the environment.

The collapse of financial institutions such as Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, and the buying out of banks like Wachovia, due in part to the rapidly increasing foreclosure and bankruptcy rates that have come with the housing crisis leave us asking; What can be done by America’s leaders to guarantee loan availability and reliability?

Obama’s approach:

· Obama and Biden present the possibility of an “American Opportunity Tax Credit”. This refundable credit will cover the first $4,000 of college education costs for most Americans, as well as up to two-thirds of additional tuition costs at a average public college or university. Recipients of this credit would be required to conduct 100 hours of community service. This policy seems almost too good to be true. What are some underlying effects of this plan, and where is the funding for this credit coming from?

· The Democratic ticket is also proposing a “streamlined” approach to financial aid by adding a box that can be checked on tax forms that will enable families to automatically apply for financial aid. This would seem to increase efficiency of the federal aid application process, but would complex new government programs be needed to make this possible? If so, where is the funding for increased federal institutions come from with promised tax breaks for the middle class?

McCain’s approach:

· McCain and Palin offer different reform possibilities to help the funding of those pursuing a higher education. They have proposed the further development of lender of last resort capability, intending to increase the ability to fund of the federal student loan system, and state that they will demand the highest standard of integrity for participating private lenders. All of these intentions are great, but the detail of what else must be done to allow for restrictions is not developed enough for analysis of side effects.

· McCain is also suggesting that there are far too many tax benefits not being claimed by eligible families due to complexity. Greater efforts to reduce the tax burdens of families sending children to college by reducing the effort needed to obtain the benefits would certainly increase consumer spending abilities. In addition to increased ability to obtain tax benefits, the GOP also proposes a student loan continuity plan. They suggest that recent credit crunch will impede sustainable loans from one semester to the next, and is enlisting the help of all state governors who would anticipate loan availability problems and in turn ask for an expansion of lender capabilities. Once again the information concerning how this will be achieved is not presented. Please feel free to shed any light on this subject if possible.

Another part of each of the candidates plans involves proposals about labor and wages. As college students that often work low paying jobs where minimum wage is important, this is certainly an issue that concerns us.

Obama's approach
Obama's proposes to raise the minimum wage to match inflation and to ensure that full time workers can support their families.
Some things to consider about this proposal:
While we certainly find this proposal beneficial to us as college students working jobs were minimum wage often determines our pay, we have to consider, if Obama raises the minimum wage will it be profitable for the average American? What, if any, is the causal relationship between raising the minimum wage and more jobs going overseas?

McCain's approach
McCain's economic plan focuses less on wages and low paying jobs, and more on job flexibility. McCain supports the Family Friendly Workplace Act which works to make schedules more flexible for people so that can more easily balance time between job and family. He is also working to make it possible for men and women to take leave to care for a newborn.
Some things to consider:
While McCain's proposals about the workplace have less of a direct effect on us as college students, will it be beneficial to American families? Is there a possibility that companies could be burdened by these schedule changes?

Another issue involved in the future economic plan is the issue of clean energy. As young adults, we are the future of America and a future of clean energy is important to us. Energy will have a greater impact on our lives then the many elderly citizens voting and it is important for us to consider this aspect of the economy carefully.

Obama's approach
Obama's plan is to work with industries and large companies to find more environmentally friendly ways to manufacture. He also proposes creating commercial scale renewable energy which will open up new job opportunities for Americans. There will be programs to train Americans for jobs with clean technology.
Some things to consider:
As the future generation this will help to open up new jobs for our growing population and support companies that are striving to keep our environment intact. However, who will run and organize these job training programs? Will the benefits to the environment outweigh the costs? Will the jobs produced by this proposal be worth the possible growth in government debt?

McCain's approach
McCain plans to put a large sum of money towards advancing nuclear power, clean coal technologies, and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.
Some things to consider
These advancements will certainly help the future of America which is important to our young generation. However, we must once again consider whether the benefits of possible improvements outweigh the economic costs. Will these ever be able to be produced on a commercial scale so that they can have real effects?


These proposals hit on some key parts of McCain's and Obama's economic plan that specifically relate to us as a young generation of college students. We find that some people strongly agree or disagree with and can sometimes become closed minded about. It's important that we raise questions like these for both candidates in order to determine who really has the better plan for our economy. Feel free to comment on any of these ideas that we have brought up and to try to find answers to these questions as we will be doing the same. If there are any other questions you would like to raise about the presidential candidates' plans for the economy then feel free to ask them and we can all explore the answer together.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hey, my name is Bekah and welcome to my blog. I have created this blog with the hope of learning more about each of the presidential candidates in the upcoming election. As an undecided voter, I want to make a well informed decision about which candidate is best suited to run our country and raise some questions that we can all explore together. Do you have any information that could benefit myself and others in the search for answers about each candidate? Please comment and share specific information regarding their plans for the economy. Do you think economy should be an issue in this election? How do you feel about each candidates plans for economy?