Where do the candidates stand on the issues that matter to you? Below, you can find the positions of the 2008 Presidential candidates and links for more information.
Economy:
McCain: Fixing the economy begins with lowering costs - 1) Cut the individual tax rate, dividends and capital gains taxes, estate taxes, and corporate taxes, 2) Boost energy production to drive down electricity costs, 3) Reduce healthcare costs that burden small business owners, 4) Increase America's access to open markets, and 5) Reform unemployment insurance to retain, relocate, and assist the unemployed.
Obama: Fixing the economy begins with investing in America's future - 1) Create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to spur job creation through infrastructure needs, 2) Eliminate all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses, 3) Make long-term investments in education, language training, and workforce development, and 4) Create a national network of public-private business incubators.
Foreclosures:
McCain: Offer the opportunity to swap the existing mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects their homes' market value.
Obama: Declare an immediate moratorium on foreclosures and stop mortgage fraud.
Healthcare:
McCain: Reform healthcare by 1) Working with states to create a model that ensures care for high-risk patients, 2) Ensuring healthy competition among hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies, 3) Providing a direct refundable tax credit ($2,500 for individuals, $5,000 for families) to offset the costs of obtaining insurance, 4) Investing in new technologies to reduce redundancies and medical errors, and 5) Encouraging preventative care to reduce chronic illnesses and chronic care costs.
Obama: Reform healthcare by 1) Requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, 2) Establishing a National Health Insurance Exchange to allow individuals and small businesses to buy afforadable health coverage and providing a tax credit for those who participate, 3) Creating a new Small Business Health Tax Credit, 4) Lowering drug costs by allowing the reimportation of drugs and increasing the use of generic drugs, and 5) Requiring coverage of preventative services.
Immigration:
McCain: Reform the immigration system by 1) Securing the borders, 2) Preventing employer abuse by creating an Electronic Employment Verification System to check a worker's identity and eliminate the hiring of illegal immigrants, 3) Implementing temporary worker programs for various classes of hi-tech and labor-intensive workers, 4) Improving the speed and accuracy of FBI security checks, 5) Eliminating the family backlog, and 6) Reuniting families and ensuring that children do not immigrate against their will or intention.
Obama: Fix the immigration system by 1) Securing the borders, 2) Removing incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, 3) Providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine and learn English, 4) Promoting economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration, 5) Eliminating the family backlog, and 6) Improving the speed and accuracy of FBI security checks.
Affirmative Action:
McCain: Against affirmative action. Supports measures that prevent public colleges and universities and other state agencies from considering race in admissions or hirings.
Obama: Supports affirmative action but does not believe in quotas. Affirmative action cannot be applied without looking at the whole person, not just race or gender.
Education:
McCain: Improve the quality and affordability of education by 1) Making current programs work better together, 2) Building quality Centers of Excellence in Head Start, 3) Ensuring quality instructors and a comprehensive curriculum, 4) Consolidating and simplifying federal aid programs, 5) Simplifying tax benefits programs, 6) Empowering parents with the choice to send their children to a different school, and 7) Recruiting quality teachers.
Obama: Improve the quality and affordability of education by 1) Reforming and funding No Child Left Behind, 2) Recruiting and retaining quality teachers, 3) Creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to ensure the first $4000 of a college education is free for most students, 4) Providing high schoolers greater access to college courses, 5) Improving opportunities for English-language learners, 6) Supporting learning opportunities for immigrants, and 7) Making math and science education a national priority.
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