Reader offers Sen. McCain, Obama's political stances

10/31/08 - To the Cigar,

We hope to inform students of each candidate's stance on the top four issues they voted most important in our survey "What Turns You On...In Politics." This information is from an unbiased point of view to inform URI students.

Sen. Barack Obama has a plan to fix the budget and economy crisis by first protecting consumers with a Credit Card Bill of Rights and reforming mortgage rules to prevent foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Obama's plan to get out of Iraq would put $12 billion a month back into the American economy. Obama wants to change the stimulus plan to include the unemployed and seniors, and he voted against limited credit to 30 percent because 30 percent is still too high.

Obama plans to move minorities into home ownership and global marketplace.

Sen. John McCain believes one of the most important steps to protecting the economy is to bail out Bear Stearns. He also believes it is important to impose financial discipline to revive the economy. McCain wants to reform insurance to cover violent weather patterns. McCain said that Republicans have forgotten how to control spending, so he will stop out-of-control spending by using veto power.

Obama wants to bring GOP and democrats together to make healthcare affordable. He will also tackle insurance companies on reimbursement and drive them to lower costs. Obama thinks it is important to make medical insurance more affordable to young people and thinks that making terminally ill people consider money is wrong.

Barack Obama wants young adults under the age of 25 to be able to stay on their parents' health insurance and then no one would be turned away by insurance companies based on prior illness or conditions as well. He believes it is important to spread the teaching of abstinence and the distribution of condoms to lower the spread of AIDS. Another thing Obama wants to do is preserve Medicaid and SCHIP during economic downturn.

McCain wants to harness market competition for comprehensive reform and preserve the quality of healthcare by individual responsibility. McCain also wants to give individuals $2,500 refundable tax credits for healthcare. He thinks that the United States should be able to reimport drugs from Canada and include a health savings account in healthcare reform.

Obama does not want a tax increase on anyone earning less than $250,000 and tax cuts for anyone earning less than $75,000. He also wants to raise capital gains tax for fairness, not for revenue. Obama says he will raise taxes for the rich and give a stimulus package of $500 and Social Security supplement. He will potentially restore progressive tax and close loopholes and give relief to seniors. He will also give tax incentives to create jobs at home instead of offshore.

McCain will once again use his veto power, this time to deny any tax increase. McCain will create a tax package with a spending restraint and reform the tax code so that no one trusts. He believes it is more important to cut spending than to start a no-tax pledge. McCain said he will provide a double child tax credit and add family incentives. And McCain will replace employer -provided benefits with a tax cut.

Obama is pro-choice. However, he is undecided on whether life begins at conception or birth. Obama wants to restrict late-term partial birth abortion. He thinks it important to teach teens about abstinence and contraception, and wants contraception to be made accessible and affordable for low-income women. Obama thinks it is important to keep a woman's right to choose. Obama also wants to further stem cell research; stem cells offer promise to cure 70 major diseases.

McCain is pro-life and an advocate for the Rights of Man everywhere. He wants to prosecute doctors who perform abortions, not the women receiving them. McCain holds the belief abortion is OK for a woman raped and thinks that "family conference" is extremely important for a family of a daughter considering an abortion. McCain also opposes partial-birth abortion and public financing, but he does, however, support federal funding and further research of stem cell research.

Hopefully this will help those students who are undecided to make an informed decision by Nov. 4.



Mikaela Aymee