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November, 2008: Student Voter Guide for the 2008 Presidential Election

The Economy

Views on National Security from the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Views on American Justice from the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Views on The Economy from the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Views on Government Services from the 2008 Presidential Candidates

The Economy: The Constitution gives the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce. These days this seems to include about everything within the complex modern economy. Regulatory policy include the environment, Wall Street, and energy. Budget and Taxes includes issues such as the budget deficit and tax reform. Globalization includes issues such as fair trade and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

Below are the issues we looked at associated with The Economy. We have analyzed these issues to develop our views on the two leading presidential candidates, specifically John McCain and Barack Obama. Along side this list of issues, we have provided a section on "What We Think" about the issue and the best candidate to address these issues over the next 4 years. The highlighted issues link to a side-by-side comparison between the two candidates on the key issues that separate them.

Regulatory Policy

• Global Warming and pollution

• Regulating corporations

• Establishing an energy policy

Budget and Taxes

• Spending tax money

• Reforming the tax system and tax code

Globalization

• Environmental responsibility and workers' rights in trade negotiations

• Revise or eliminate NAFTA (and like treaties)

What We Think:
The Economy

We feel that our United States government should limit its role in regulating companies. But in order to prevent catastrophic failures of large companies, there needs to be strong oversight.

The future of our economy largely depends on our energy independence, or lack of. Right now we are largely reliant on foreign sources of energy. We feel it is of the utmost importance to be in control of our energy. This means going after wind, solar, nuclear, hydro-electric, and geothermal just to name a few. However, this does not mean that we should abandon oil. It is still a cheap energy source and in order to decrease foreign consumption, we feel America must increase national production. Bans should be lifted to allow oil companies to drill along our coast, and we should build new refineries (for the first time since 1976). There also has to be understanding of environmental risks, so each location and its inhabitants must be looked at to decide on the safest places to drill.

One of the main problems in our economy is out of control spending by Washington. The government has spent more money than it has, creating a nearly $10 billion national debt. We must get spending under control. We need to spend within our budget and eliminate special interest and pork barrel spending from the American economy.

In order to ensure a safe, positive life after retirement we need to raise social security taxes. The government must obtain tax dollars to fund its budget and we feel that if you are able to contribute more, you should.

NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) is critical to economic prosperity. We disagree with Senator McCain on whether we should revisit NAFTA to ensure labor and environmental standards. But we agree with his views on the budget, on energy, and on government regulation, and therefore choose Senator McCain the best candidate for the economy.

Our Choice: John McCain

Approach: We set out to develop a Student Voter Guide for the 2008 Presidential Election based on what the government of the United States should do for us, the American citizens. By researching the presidential candidates' views and record for each government responsibility, we submit that you, THE VOTER, will have a relatively objective body of information upon which to make an informed decision on Election Day.

— Current Events & Economics Class, Thomas A. Edison High School, Alexandria, Virginia

Author

Comments

Wade D.
10/30/08

On Issue: Energy
Well, let me begin by saying that it's really good to see the final product of our research. I think the energy section is very thorough, which (being 17) I feel will be the most important issue of our generation. With this in mind, I would support Obama because it seems that his approach to energy independence incorporates environmentally-friendly means to reach this goal. McCain, however, seems to encourage the use of natural gas and oil, as well as nuclear energy (which I feel will cause more problems in the future).

Candidate Comparison

Role of Government: The Economy

Issue: Taxes

Barack Obama	John McCain
Direct quote: "There's no doubt that the tax system has been skewed. And the Bush tax cuts — people didn't need them, and they weren't even asking for them, and that's why they need to be less, so that we can pay for universal health care and other initiatives." [Democratic Primary Debate]	Direct quote: "I think the worst thing we can do right now — we've got some shaky economic times — is to increase people's taxes. And I think that what we need is more tax cuts. We need to make Bush tax cuts permanent." [FOX News]
Candidate's stand: • No tax increase for anyone making under $250,000. • Top income tax rate back up to 39 percent. • Tax rate on capital gains hiked from the current 15 percent to 20-28 percent.	Candidate's stand: • Make permanent most of the Bush tax cuts including those that benefit the middle class, such as elimination of the marriage penalty and the increase in child credits. • Keep cuts that benefit the wealthy, such as the elimination of the highest tax brackets. Senator McCain would also double the dependent exemption from $3,500 to $7,000.
Party platform: "We must reform our tax code... [It is] a monstrosity that high priced lobbyists have rigged... [We offer] an immediate middle-class tax cut... Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (payments for low income families)." [Democratic platform]	Party platform: "The Republican Party will put a stop to both social engineering (through taxes) and corporate hand-outs by simplifying tax policy, eliminating special deals, and putting those saved dollars back into the taxpayers' pockets." [Republican platform]

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Candidate Comparison

Role of Government: The Economy

Issue: Regulating Corporations

Barack Obama	John McCain
Direct quote: "The economy does not stand still and neither should the rules that govern it. Old institutions cannot adequately oversee new practices. Old rules may not fit the roads where the economy is leading." [On The Issues]	Direct quote: "In my administration we are going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we're going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place." [Washington Post]
Candidate's stand: • Stronger government involvement in the market. [USA Today] • Tax incentives for corporations that exhibit responsible behavior. [Issue 2008] • Enact a 90-day moratorium on most home foreclosures, requiring financial institutions that take government help to agree not to act against homeowners. [New York Times]	Candidate's stand: • Government should be on the side of corporations, not in the way. [On The Issues] • Supported the "bailout." After the economy is steady again, wants to ensure that the corporations are privatized. [Washington Post] • Purchase troubled mortgages directly from financial institutions and replace them with fixed-rate, government-guaranteed mortgages at [a reduced level[. [New York Times]
Party platform: "We will reform and modernize our regulatory structures and work to promote a shift in the cultures of our financial institutions and our regulatory agencies." [Democratic platform]	Party platform: Nothing specific. [Republican platform]

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Candidate Comparison

Role of Government: The Economy

Issue: Energy

Barack Obama	John McCain
Direct quote: • "I actually think we should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix." [On The Issues] • "John McCain's plan to simply drill our way out of our energy crisis is the same misguided approach backed by President Bush." [Washington Post]	Direct quote: "In a world of hostile and unstable oil suppliers, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025." [Newsweek]
Candidate's stand: • Create 5 million "green collar" jobs. • Invest $150 billion over 10 years to build a clean energy future. • By 2015: one million plug-in hybrid cars. • 10% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2012. • Reduce greenhouse emissions 80% by 2050. • Tax oil company windfall profits. • NO on gas tax holiday for the summer. [Barack Obama]	Candidate's stand: • Expand oil and natural gas production. • $5,000 tax credit for every consumer who buys a zero carbon emission car. • A $300 million prize to whoever invents the necessary battery for plug-in hybrids. • Invest $2 billion annually for clean coal technology. • 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030. • YES on gas tax holiday for the summer. [John McCain]
Party platform: • Energy independence by 2020. • Production of alternative fuels — bio-fuels, geothermal, clean coal, fuel cells, wind, & solar. • Invest in eco-friendly transportation and technology. [Democratic platform]	Party platform: • Bring down the costs of gas and diesel, and create more jobs. • Draw more oil from American sources, using environmentally safe approach. • Invest in nuclear energy. [Republican platform]

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Candidate Comparison

Role of Government: The Economy

Issue: NAFTA

Barack Obama	John McCain
Direct quote: "There's no doubt that NAFTA needs to be amended. I've already said I would contact the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Canada to make sure that labor agreements are enforceable. We have to stand for human rights, and that should be part of the trade equation." [On The Issues]	Direct quote: When he was asked on the National Political Awareness Test, "Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?" Senator McCain stated, "No." [On The Issues]
Candidate's stand: Obama has been somewhat critical of NAFTA. He has claimed to be "overheated" on the issue, as he has called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake." He has drawn back on those words and instead wants to open up dialogue with NAFTA in order to work for the protection of our environment and our workers. He wants to continue NAFTA, but strive for strict negotiations [CNN Money]	Candidate's stand: Throughout his political career, John McCain has been for free trade, including NAFTA. In fact he has even strived for more free trade agreements with Central American countries, and countries along the Caribbean. However, he has referred to the positives of NAFTA as a balancing act between drugs crossing the border, workers' rights, and the environment. While he expresses concern he still wants to expand free trade between America and numerous other countries and has shown little to no signs of to lead us to believe he will reform NAFTA [Republican Party]
Party platform: The platform promotes multinational trade agreements because it will "expand the global economy." But it points out that when negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) our government must assure that their legitimate concerns about environmental, health and safety, and labor standards are addressed. Even though they are for free trade, they feel it should be done in a manner that takes care of the environment and workers. [Democratic platform]	Party platform: Republicans are generally for free trade. They feel that it helps the markets of many countries around the world, including our own in the United States. Many republicans have been for more free trade in our society stating that it will help our economy grow and allow us to gain political allies. Though there is mention of worker's rights throughout the party's platform, no considerable efforts have been made to ensure the safety of the people and the environment. [Republican platform]