College of Saint Benedict sophomore Stephani Kortan writes in The Record:
Many of my best friends are McCain supporters, yet when I ask why they support him, they have consistently avoided justifying any of his policies. They honestly don’t know about his policies or stances on issues. Political support — no matter the candidate — must only come after careful deliberation of his or her issues and his or her policies.To help you become a knowledgeable and responsible voter, I’m going to give you a brief rundown of each candidate’s stance for a few key issues in the upcoming election:When it comes to taxes, McCain supports tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 and would maintain cuts to capital gains tax and cut corporate tax from 35 percent to 25 percent.Obama’s tax plan offers permanent tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans while simplifying the tax code, closing corporate tax loopholes and reforming the current regressive tax structure.In the education department, McCain supports school competition and vouchers as ways to improve quality of education and give parents a choice in schools.Obama supports increasing Head Start and Early Start funding to cover more at-risk children and a $4,000 annual tax credit for higher education.When dealing with the environment, in 2005 McCain voted against funding renewable energy and standards requiring 10 percent of electrical energy to come from renewable sources by 2010.Obama supports policies reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent, investing $150 billion over ten years to renewable energy and requiring 25 percent of all energy to come from renewable sources by 2025.To all Americans voting in the next election, I ask these questions: Do you know the issues that each candidate stands for? Are you satisfied with where the country is headed? Or do you want change for our country to move back in the right direction?Once you have answered these questions, you’ll see the choice is clear: Barack Obama is the right candidate.As college students, we are truly the future of this country. After we graduate, most of us will be working or spending more money on college loans to get through grad school.We can decide how our futures play out. Do we want to pay more in taxes and to have our school loans and the unemployment rate keep increasing? Or do we want our economy back to where it was 10 years ago? Maybe we should get our government out of huge debt by stopping the spending of $10 billion a month in Iraq.To me, there is no choice or debate about whom I’m voting for. This country is ready to make a difference in the lives of its citizens and ultimately the world. This country is ready for change.When Nov. 4 rolls around, be ready to make the change and to make history.We’ve come to a turning point in our country’s history. The time has come for a new person to rise up and lead us. That leader is Barack Obama.
Many of my best friends are McCain supporters, yet when I ask why they support him, they have consistently avoided justifying any of his policies. They honestly don’t know about his policies or stances on issues. Political support — no matter the candidate — must only come after careful deliberation of his or her issues and his or her policies.
To help you become a knowledgeable and responsible voter, I’m going to give you a brief rundown of each candidate’s stance for a few key issues in the upcoming election:
When it comes to taxes, McCain supports tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 and would maintain cuts to capital gains tax and cut corporate tax from 35 percent to 25 percent.
Obama’s tax plan offers permanent tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans while simplifying the tax code, closing corporate tax loopholes and reforming the current regressive tax structure.
In the education department, McCain supports school competition and vouchers as ways to improve quality of education and give parents a choice in schools.
Obama supports increasing Head Start and Early Start funding to cover more at-risk children and a $4,000 annual tax credit for higher education.
When dealing with the environment, in 2005 McCain voted against funding renewable energy and standards requiring 10 percent of electrical energy to come from renewable sources by 2010.
Obama supports policies reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent, investing $150 billion over ten years to renewable energy and requiring 25 percent of all energy to come from renewable sources by 2025.
To all Americans voting in the next election, I ask these questions: Do you know the issues that each candidate stands for? Are you satisfied with where the country is headed? Or do you want change for our country to move back in the right direction?
Once you have answered these questions, you’ll see the choice is clear: Barack Obama is the right candidate.
As college students, we are truly the future of this country. After we graduate, most of us will be working or spending more money on college loans to get through grad school.
We can decide how our futures play out. Do we want to pay more in taxes and to have our school loans and the unemployment rate keep increasing? Or do we want our economy back to where it was 10 years ago? Maybe we should get our government out of huge debt by stopping the spending of $10 billion a month in Iraq.
To me, there is no choice or debate about whom I’m voting for. This country is ready to make a difference in the lives of its citizens and ultimately the world. This country is ready for change.
When Nov. 4 rolls around, be ready to make the change and to make history.
We’ve come to a turning point in our country’s history. The time has come for a new person to rise up and lead us. That leader is Barack Obama.
One of the greatest ways to get involved and turn your enthusiasm for Barack into action, is to join Students for Obama.
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