Let's Continue the Discussion......

So with all the political commotion and after discussing different topics with different people, I decided to post information regarding the top issues surrounding the political debates. During each presidential election, there is usually two-three issues that are at the forefront of voters minds. Historically, since I have been born, the main issues of presidential elections has been affirmative action/minorities in the workplace, social security, and taxes. During the 2008 presidential campaigns the biggest issues are Iraq, Health care, the Economy, and Immigration. Immigration has always been an issue but more so in the last couple years since 9/11.

The reason why I'm posting detailed information regarding the aforementioned issues is because a lot of people have strong opinions about them without knowing the details. Since this is a very historical presidential election, I figured it would be appropriate and important to discuss these topics accurately.

(Note: There is a lot to assessing these issues, but here is just a brief assessment of these complex issues)

The Economy

When it comes to the current state of the economy, the U.S. is now in a state of recession. A recession is when unemployment is high. Many American citizens blame the economy on the Bush Administration. But this is only partially true. In economics, the economy is cyclical meaning that it naturally increases, then naturally decreases, then naturally increases, etc.... When Clinton was in office the economy just happened to be in it's natural increasing state so when Bush came into office, it was the time where the economy was naturally suppose to be in a decreasing state.

This does not mean that the Bush Administration should not take any responsibility for the economy. According to economic theory (the RBC Theory), government intervention exaggerates these increases and decreases. So when Clinton was in office, even though the economy was suppose to naturally increase, the increase was substantial because the Clinton Administration had good ideas. The Bush Administration has made the natural decrease in the cycle just as substantial.

The main problem with the economy is this: Americans culturally live above their means. Back in the day, women left their homes and entered the workforce to increase their household income. But because Americans value financial prosperity, they had to find more ways to increase their income so that they can live above their means. So they started working more hours. We are considered one of the most workaholic countries in the world. When working more hours stopped allowing consumers to live above their means, they started borrowing. Now everyone is in debt. Debt has led people to decrease spending. When people stop spending, businesses stop profiting. When businesses stop profiting, they increase prices to offset costs. They later discover that increasing prices is pointless because no one is still buying so they decrease prices so consumers can buy in. But they still need to offset costs....so they lay people off.

What I Think: Intuitively, it seems that to stimulate the economy, the government needs to find a way to get people out of debt. Not only do they need to find a way to get people out of debt, they need to make it harder for people to borrow...and they need to make laws to stop credit card companies from targeting young consumers. The war has effected the economy not just as far as spending is concerned, but it has decreased consumer expectations of where the economy is headed. When consumer expectations decrease, people also spend less...and the whole cycle that I described above occurs ending in lay offs.

In addition, taxes should increase with income. The wealthiest should pay more in taxes (percentage wise) than those who make less. After talking to a lot of people around my age, I have discovered that many of them do not fully understand the necessity of taxes. As much as we may hate that our disposable income is the net income as opposed to our gross income from our paychecks because of taxes, people need to understand that taxes fund the government so that it can be put back into the community. I go to school in Pennsylvania where they have a 7% tax on goods as opposed to my hometown in Maryland where the tax is 5%. Even though PA has higher taxes, they only tax things such as soda and candy whereas in MD they tax just about everything accept for medicine. Because of this, in my opinion, PA is relatively poor. They have to take out $52.00 every January from everyone's paychecks just to keep the public schools from shutting down. Almost every year since I have been there, the city has run out of salt to salt the streets when it's snowing. How can a city run out of salt? Paying taxes is important for the whole. It is collectivism that is very looked down by an individualistic American society.



Health care

In the U.S., co pays and deductibles have significantly increased. This is due to the fluctuations in the economy. Health care is closely tied to employment. Approximately 71% of Americans have employment-based health insurance. Because consumers are spending less and businesses are making less, businesses have to offset costs by making their employees responsible for health care costs. The reason why health care is employment-based is because businesses get deductions for providing health care benefits but because of the state of the economy, these deductions are not as significant as they once were.

What I think: There is a big debate about having Universal Health care. I think that ultimately the government should work toward providing universal health care but it is not the immediate answer. The answer is to not make health care so employment-based because it gives too much power to corporations and ties the fluctuations in health care too closely connected with fluctuations within the economy. In addition, if they fix the economy, they fix health care.


Immigration

Immigration has always been ongoing debate but its significance has been highlighted since 9/11. In the past, border patrol has been increased in Texas and California to decrease the amount of illegal immigrants. The current state in question now is Arizona. The government has been using Arizona as a "test" state for immigration laws. Through Arizona, the benefits and disadvantages of immigration are clearly defined because it shows the impact of immigration on a grander scale.

The influx of immigration in Arizona has shown significant alleged problems. There has been an increase in crime, increase in welfare and medical expenditures provided by the government, and a large decrease in the school system. Many of the schools in Arizona are largely populated with native Hispanics. This has held back many American children because teachers have to take the time to significantly slow down teaching to make sure that all students are caught up. Since the majority of immigrants do not speak English fluently the task is a very large feat. It also cost the government more money to make sure that Hispanic students are taught English.

As far as welfare and medical expenditures are concerned, hospitals do not turn away people. So if an illegal immigrant does need medical care, the hospital provides it. Because many illegal immigrants are poorer than the average American, the crime rate among them is higher (statistically the poor committs more crimes...intuitively that makes sense).

It has been a long standing argument that immigration decreases the availability of jobs for American citizens and they keep the minimum wage low.

On the flip side of the argument, businesses feel that allowing illegal immigrants into the country is necessary because it is cheap labor. They feel that certain positions that immigrants are willing to take are not wanted by American citizens so they do not understand what the big problem is. When the government began cracking down on businesses who hired illegal immigrants, some businesses completely moved over seas because labor costs were too high. When businesses move out of the country, it also has the same effect as allowing immigrants into the country in that it decreases jobs for American citizens and decreases tax revenue.

In recent years, the governement has made tougher laws against employers who higher illegal immigrants. This year, there is speculation that the government is trying to change the law which states that if a child is born in the U.S. and both of their parents are illegal immigrants, then that child is not automatically considered an American citizen. This law has caused a lot of controversy in that it may be deemed as unconstitutional.

What I Think: I'm a big believer in INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY! If you want to be in the United States so badly, then go through the process and become a citizen. It's that simple. Everyone has to grind to make the life they want for themselves...even as a citizen. Therefore, an illegal immigrant should not be an exception to the rule. If they want a better life for them and their children and that's why they come to the U.S.....then they should do it the right way. By coming into the country illegally they are breaking the law. Point blank. As a black person, I'm oppressed in my own country and if I want to build the life I want, I have to have the hustle. Some of my friends have that illegal hustler spirit while others are on their grind but are doing it the right way. It's an annoying process...and some ways unfair....but it's a necessity.

Some people may say "well that's all fine and good but what do you do with the illegal immigrants who have been here for years before the government crackdown?". It is these illegal immigrants who have brought their five year old children over with them and their five year olds are now eighteen and in college. The government crackdown has caused many of these families childrens to have to quit college because they are no longer elligible for government funding and has sent many families on the run across the U.S. Many illegal immigrants now have to take lower paying jobs becauses employers are getting the heat.

All I have to say to that is.....the government is enforcing the law. There is nothing wrong with that, it's what they are suppose to do. I do not understand how someone resides in the U.S. for damn near a decade and does not try to become a citizen...or at the least, have their child become a citizen. If it is that important to be here, then why not go through the process. If the government were not paying attention to drug dealers and then one day they decided that they were going to really crack down on drug dealers...is there something wrong with that? I'm not saying illegal immigrants and drug dealers are the same....but both are hustlers with justification. Regardless how justified they may be, they are law-breakers. What else is there to say?