Forward for the Forty-fourth
Forty-fourth President Barack Obama is the first African American to step foot into the White House as the commander in chiefm of the United States. Running for a second term, the Democratic presidential candidate has a multitude of ideas for America that were addressed throughout his campaigns, convention speech and debates. His main points revolve around the economy, tax issues, healthcare, gay rights and abortion.
One of the major issues America is currently flustered over is the poor economy. Internationally-speaking, President Obama supports China’s rise to power as long as it is peaceful and has announced that he will not do anything to interfere. He has maintained positive American-European–especially in the United Kingdoms–and Palestinian relations. Nationally, he has cut from several divisions, encouraging government support for sections like education. Futhermore, tens of billions of dollars were cut from the military. Obama also stresses the significance of lowering the federal budget deficit.
In regards to tax cuts, Obama desires to continue the Bush-era tax cuts to those married and making less than $250,000 and those single who are making less than $200,000 annually, though Republicans have demanded him to continue the tax cuts for wealthy Americans as well. He supports welfare, particularly financial support for the needy. Obama promotes the “Buffett Rule,” which will charge a 30 percent tax rate towards everyone making over a million dollars per year. This rule was named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who mentioned he paid less taxes than his secretary.
Obama’s healthcare reform, or more commonly known as Obamacare, is also an important subject in today’s discussions. He believes that every American requires a healthcare plan and advocates this through Obamacare. This bill has many functions; specifically, it ensures that insurance companies will cover people with pre-existing conditions. The independent Congressional Budget Office published a report informing that compared to the present coverage system, Obamacare will lower costs of healthcare over a ten year period.
In more controversial topics, namely gay rights and abortion, Obama also has straightforward stances. He openly supports gay marriage, and in an interview with ABC News on May 9th, 2012, Obama announced, “It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” He repealed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, which kicked out openly gay soldiers from the military. Obama also strongly supports women’s rights. He is “pro-choice,” allowing the female to choose between abortion or to keep the child.
Being a liberal politician, Obama is more willing to discard traditional values, for instance, prohibiting gay marriage. He has consistently stayed true to his views, and his campaign slogan of this election expresses his purpose this time around: “Forward!”
Jenny Lee
Staff Writer