The 2012 Presidential election arrives in just under a month. And although HC Pitt knows you’re busy with class, internships, jobs, oh, and let’s not forget a social life… we’ve heard a buzz on campus. It seems collegiettes are talking about the importance of making informed decisions this election. So we thought we’d help you out.
Thanks to Dr. Shannon Scotece and Professor Kristen Coopie Allen of the political science department at Pitt, we created the following political series.
Follow us through a three part series, where we break down the Republican and Democratic party platforms, then address the top two candidates and how they line up with their party’s platforms, and finally, what each of their policies means for you, a young college woman.
The Republican and Democratic Parties’ Platforms: A general breakdown
Size of Government (i.e: government’s role)
Democrats tend to want the government to get involved, meaning they create legislation that regulates. One general ideology behind the policy is to help America’s “low income and vulnerable populations” through programs such as Medicaid, a “federal system of health insurance for those requiring financial assistance”.
Republicans want the government to stay out of the way. For example, let businesses grow on their own, because the government getting involved tends to “hinder competition.” The ideology translates to taxing.
Taxes
Democrats favor high taxes, particularly on the wealthier segment of America, in order to balance the budget and fund government spending, often for government-funded programs. (i.e. Medicare, the National Parks, and health care).
Republicans favor cutting taxes, as they believe in minimizing government-funded programs. Instead, Republicans favor letting the population grow and advance on its own, just as they feel about businesses. Less is more. People will spend their money and stimulate the economy under lighter taxing practices.
Social Issues: Abortion, gay marriage, religious concerns and drug policy are the hot topics in this category.
Democrats tend to favor less regulation, while Republicans favor more.
For Democrats, the freedom of choice is important. Therefore, they favor a citizen’s choice to abortion and gay marriage. They also stand behind less religion in public schools.
Republicans believe that more government intervention is necessary. Therefore they support “the right to life” and are against abortion. The party believes marriage is a union between a man and a woman and does not support gay marriage. The Republican Party favors religion in many aspects of life.
Foreign Policy
Generally speaking, Democrats tend to be more pacifists, while Republicans “tend to favor military action and intervention.” Democrats are known for diplomatic approaches involving negotiation, while the Republican Party prefers an active stance, which often results in an increase on the money spent on defense and war.
Education
Education standards tend to be a relatively bipartisan topic. Candidates from both parties will vary on their stances. However, as far as providing assistance to the needy in order to pay for school, Democrats will tend to be more willing. Republicans tend to want to stay out of the payment of education, and to let the population handle it on its own, just as we described in the section on taxes.
Health Care
Democrats believe that everyone should have access to health care – it is a right, not a privilege. They want the government to work together with private insurers and US citizens to make sure that everyone, even the low income and vulnerable population, is covered.
Republicans prefer to leave health care to the private insurers and the people; individuals can decide what company is best for them and go from there. They do not think the government should get involved in health care, that those private companies should be able to compete for customers.
Democrats do not approve of this approach because they do not trust the private sector to work for the people without the oversight of the government. The government’s oversight is necessary because its final goal is the good of the people, not a large profit. The government must act as a safety net, so that people do not fall through the cracks.
We hope this helps. But acknowledge that politics is no easy topic. Of course we encourage you to check back next week for a debriefing on President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaign platforms. But until then, we challenge you to do your own research by heading to Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s websites. And make sure you head to the polls this November 6 with an informed decision.
Sources:
Multiple Interviews with Dr. Shannon Scotece and Professor Kristen Coopie Allen. Thank you both!
Photo Credit – http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html