m***@use.net
2008-10-26 12:25:57 UTC
The 10 Biggest Differences Between Obama and McCain That Will Affect
Your Daily Life.
AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.
The next president will influence everything from your Internet access
to your ability to pay medical bills.
When the polls open in 18 days, voters will be faced with a stark
choice in presidential candidates -- a choice that ultimately comes
down to one question: What do you want the next four to eight years of
your life to look like? Because the next president will shape the
issues that affect the way we live our day-to-day lives.
The future of Social Security, health care, education, income,
employment, civil rights and democracy itself all hang in the balance.
And the two candidates are worlds apart in their visions for the
country.
From the fate of the Supreme Court to the future of Internet access,
here are the 10 most important differences between Sens. Barack Obama
and John McCain.
1. Who They Want to Tax
Tax cuts targeted at the wealthiest Americans during a period of
runaway spending -- with hundreds of billions of tax dollars spent on
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- have resulted in massive federal
deficits.
Both Obama and McCain say they'll control spending and cut taxes, but
they are miles apart on the question of who would get those cuts.
According to an analysis of his tax plan by the Tax Policy Center,
Obama would cut taxes on the 95 percent of filers who make less than
$227,000 per year and raise taxes on the 5 percent whose incomes
exceed that amount. Compared with current policy, Obama's tax plan
would increase government revenues by $627 billion over the next 10
years.
McCain would make Bush's "temporary" tax cuts on the wealthiest
Americans permanent. His plan would cut taxes on top earners by
$23,000 per year. He would cut taxes for all other Americans as well,
but his cuts would only be deeper than Obama's for those earning
between $112,000 and $227,000 -- about 20 percent of the population.
Compared with current policy, McCain's tax plan would decrease
government revenues by $595 billion over the next 10 years, meaning
that new spending cuts would be necessary to avoid growing the deficit
even larger.
2. How They Would Shape the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court regularly hears cases on everything from personal
injury to sexual harassment to environmental health -- cases that set
legal precedents and can affect our day-to-day lives for decades, even
centuries.
Our next president could name as many as three new justices for the
bench. John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter are all
likely candidates for retirement, which means the new picks would be
replacing three of the court's four moderate- to liberal-minded
justices.
If Obama becomes president, the political calculus of the court will
probably stay the same. If McCain becomes president, you can count on
an influx of conservative ideology.
First up on the chopping block would be Roe v. Wade. McCain has
already promised that much. And if something happens to McCain and his
running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, takes his place, watch out. Not only
does she want Roe overturned, she has made it clear that there should
be no exceptions even in cases of rape or incest. Under her watch, a
12-year-old raped by her father would be forced to bear the child. For
all of conservatives' talk about values, it's hard to imagine a worse
way to start a family.
3. How They View Democracy
One of the biggest and clearest differences between Obama and McCain
concerns voting rights. The Obama campaign believes in expanding the
right to vote and has registered millions of new voters in 2008. The
McCain campaign and the Republican Party believe in limiting voter
turnout and have taken many highly publicized steps in swing states to
suggest that Obama loyalists are plotting to vote illegally.
The McCain campaign has been criticizing voter registration efforts by
the low-income advocacy group ACORN as an attempt to steal the
election. The group registered 1.3 million voters in 2008, mostly
young people, people of color and other working-class constituencies.
State Republican parties, GOP prosecutors and sympathetic groups have
been pursuing litigation and other legal tactics in key swing states
-- notably Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan -- concerning the validity of
voter rolls in order to create bureaucratic hurdles for election
officials. This can only complicate the voting process on Election Day
and create a climate to discourage new voters from casting ballots.
4. How They Want to Change the Health Care System
Middle-class Americans are now being priced out of health care. Nearly
a quarter of Americans lack adequate health insurance to cover medical
expenses, now the number one cause of family bankruptcies.
The current system is unsustainable, and the candidates' proposals for
fixing it are as different as night and day. Obama's plan would
drastically reduce the number of uninsured (from 47 million to about
18 million) and would require children to be covered; McCain's plan
would have little effect on the uninsured population. Obama's plan
would allow individuals who currently have employer-paid health
insurance to keep their benefits; McCain's plan would begin the
dismantling of the entire employer-paid system. Obama would create an
additional social safety net: a public health plan that would give
people without access to insurance through an employer or entitlement
program like Medicare guaranteed coverage with the same comprehensive
benefits that members of Congress now enjoy. McCain doesn't favor
safety nets. Instead, he would place a $3.6 trillion tax on workers
over the next 10 years and use revenue from that tax to give people a
credit ($2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families) to purchase
insurance on the open market. The trouble is, the average family
policy costs $12,000, and it's much harder for an individual to
negotiate good prices than an employer.
Perhaps most importantly, Obama's and McCain's health care plans
reflect different philosophical approaches to human health. Obama has
stated that he believes health care should be a right. McCain has
stated that health care is a responsibility. That puts Obama in touch
with the philosophy behind universal health care (guaranteed in every
developed nation but ours) and puts McCain out of touch with the needs
of everyone but the wealthy.
5. Their Plans for Iraq
An early opponent to the invasion of Iraq, Obama's current plan seeks
a phased withdrawal that would last until 2010 -- although he has said
he will revise his strategy depending on the facts on the ground.
Beyond 2010, Obama says he will leave a "residual force" in place "to
conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq
and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel." He also
intends to retain control of Baghdad International Airport and the
Green Zone, and keep the U.S. embassy in place.
McCain has famously declared that the United States will remain in
Iraq until "victory" is achieved -- even if it takes another 100
years. He has long refused to name target dates for troop withdrawals,
claiming that it would be tantamount to giving terrorists a timeline
for defeat. More recently on the campaign trail, however, he has
claimed that Iraq can be "won" by 2013. Still, he has said he reserves
the right to reassess the situation upon taking office.
6. Their Views on Energy
Both Obama and McCain talk a lot about a new energy future for the
United States and weaning ourselves off dependence on foreign oil. But
the two candidates have a different take on how to get us there.
While Obama has pushed for renewables like wind and solar, McCain has
failed to make any meaningful move in that direction, missing all
eight votes this year in the Senate to support renewable energy.
Instead, McCain strongly advocates nuclear power and believes it will
play an important role in addressing climate change. While Obama has
given lip service to the issue, saying he supports "clean and safe"
nuclear power, McCain has pledged to "set this nation on a course to
building 45 new reactors by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of
100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of
America."
The serious flaw in McCain's nuclear ambitions is that the world's
leading scientists are calling for immediate action on climate change.
Serious results need to occur in the next five to seven years, but a
nuclear plant would take a least a decade to get on line.
Plus, experts from MIT and elsewhere say that more than 1,000 new
nuclear reactors would be needed to come close to being a real
solution to climate change -- an unrealistic goal, even if you ignore
nuclear energy's other drawbacks of safety and expense.
7. How They Treat Our Vets
With American soldiers serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq -- and
with thousands more scheduled to be shipped to Afghanistan -- the
current burden on our military men and women is unprecedented.
Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs is in the midst of a
scandal over its systematic blocking of veterans benefits and shocking
attempts to cover up PTSD and suicide rates. The result is a serious
health crisis among American troops.
Obama has helped pass laws designed to assist homeless veterans and
improve care for wounded veterans. He has received an 80 percent
approval rating from the Disabled Veterans of America and a B+ rating
from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
McCain's record on veterans' issues is abysmal. He was given a D
rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the
Disabled American Veterans reports that he has voted for legislation
benefiting veterans only 20 percent of the time. McCain voted against
health care funding for veterans in 2003, '04, '05, '06 and '07. And
unlike Obama, McCain refused to support the Webb GI Bill, which was
critical to ensuring that soldiers who enlisted with the hope of
eventually going to college would be able to do so.
8. What They Think America's Young People Should Know About Sex
The United States has some of the most frightening rates of teen
pregnancy and STI transmission in the industrialized world: Each year,
almost 750,000 teen girls become pregnant, and 1 in 4 teen girls has
an STI. The Bush administration's response has been to fund sex-ed
programs that don't actually teach kids about how to practice safe
sex.
McCain agrees with the commander in chief's failed approach to sex
education. When asked by reporters in March of last year whether he is
in favor of abstinence-based programs, McCain replied, "I think I
support the president's policy."
McCain's position is reflected in his voting record. In 2006, McCain
voted against a Senate proposal that would have funded teen-pregnancy
prevention programs and sex education about contraceptives.
Obama is a proponent of comprehensive, age-appropriate, science-based
sex education. Obama supports the Responsible Education About Life
(REAL) Act, which would devote federal funding to science-based,
medically accurate and age-appropriate information about safe sex. He
was also a co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act, a measure that
would increase funding for family planning programs and sex-ed
programs that combine teaching abstinence with methods of safe sex.
9. Internet Access
You couldn't ask for a clearer difference between McCain and Obama
than the one on the issue of whether the Internet should be kept as an
open public space. Quite simply, Obama is for preserving the open
nature of the Internet, while McCain favors private control over it.
Telecoms and tech corporations have stealthily positioned themselves
to seize control of the Internet from the public, primarily through
deceptive multimillion-dollar lobbying and PR campaigns that attempt
to reshape public understanding of how the Internet works, who owns it
and what role the private sector plays in keeping it open. In order to
ensure that broadband networks are open to all producers and consumers
of Internet content on fair and equal terms, Washington needs to enact
a series of legal safeguards to protect from market encroachment on
public space.
10. Their Views on the Global Market
Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain is calling for dismantling the
trade regime built up over several decades during both Republican and
Democratic administrations. But their big difference on trade policy
is this: Obama rejects the idea that the status quo is acceptable,
while McCain argues that we need much more of the same and that anyone
who believes differently is a knee-jerk protectionist.
Obama has not sponsored the Trade Act of 2008, a bill being pushed by
the Fair Trade Caucus, nor has he called for a dramatic change in the
underlying philosophy that has guided policy makers in recent years.
But he has criticized globalization that "favors only the few" and has
called for amending NAFTA, if necessary, in order to protect American
workers. He also favors closing tax loopholes that reward companies
that offshore jobs, supporting firms that create U.S. jobs and
improving transitional assistance for workers displaced by foreign
trade.
McCain, on the other hand, supports current trade policy. He has
argued against agricultural subsidies, a key issue for anti-poverty
campaigners in developing countries, and suggested that "fast-track"
authority -- which allows trade treaties an expedited trip through
Congress -- is an overreach by the executive branch. But he insists
that trade is all about opportunity, that NAFTA has had an
"unambiguously" positive impact on the U.S. economy, and that the
status quo must be continued.
Your Daily Life.
AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.
The next president will influence everything from your Internet access
to your ability to pay medical bills.
When the polls open in 18 days, voters will be faced with a stark
choice in presidential candidates -- a choice that ultimately comes
down to one question: What do you want the next four to eight years of
your life to look like? Because the next president will shape the
issues that affect the way we live our day-to-day lives.
The future of Social Security, health care, education, income,
employment, civil rights and democracy itself all hang in the balance.
And the two candidates are worlds apart in their visions for the
country.
From the fate of the Supreme Court to the future of Internet access,
here are the 10 most important differences between Sens. Barack Obama
and John McCain.
1. Who They Want to Tax
Tax cuts targeted at the wealthiest Americans during a period of
runaway spending -- with hundreds of billions of tax dollars spent on
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- have resulted in massive federal
deficits.
Both Obama and McCain say they'll control spending and cut taxes, but
they are miles apart on the question of who would get those cuts.
According to an analysis of his tax plan by the Tax Policy Center,
Obama would cut taxes on the 95 percent of filers who make less than
$227,000 per year and raise taxes on the 5 percent whose incomes
exceed that amount. Compared with current policy, Obama's tax plan
would increase government revenues by $627 billion over the next 10
years.
McCain would make Bush's "temporary" tax cuts on the wealthiest
Americans permanent. His plan would cut taxes on top earners by
$23,000 per year. He would cut taxes for all other Americans as well,
but his cuts would only be deeper than Obama's for those earning
between $112,000 and $227,000 -- about 20 percent of the population.
Compared with current policy, McCain's tax plan would decrease
government revenues by $595 billion over the next 10 years, meaning
that new spending cuts would be necessary to avoid growing the deficit
even larger.
2. How They Would Shape the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court regularly hears cases on everything from personal
injury to sexual harassment to environmental health -- cases that set
legal precedents and can affect our day-to-day lives for decades, even
centuries.
Our next president could name as many as three new justices for the
bench. John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter are all
likely candidates for retirement, which means the new picks would be
replacing three of the court's four moderate- to liberal-minded
justices.
If Obama becomes president, the political calculus of the court will
probably stay the same. If McCain becomes president, you can count on
an influx of conservative ideology.
First up on the chopping block would be Roe v. Wade. McCain has
already promised that much. And if something happens to McCain and his
running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, takes his place, watch out. Not only
does she want Roe overturned, she has made it clear that there should
be no exceptions even in cases of rape or incest. Under her watch, a
12-year-old raped by her father would be forced to bear the child. For
all of conservatives' talk about values, it's hard to imagine a worse
way to start a family.
3. How They View Democracy
One of the biggest and clearest differences between Obama and McCain
concerns voting rights. The Obama campaign believes in expanding the
right to vote and has registered millions of new voters in 2008. The
McCain campaign and the Republican Party believe in limiting voter
turnout and have taken many highly publicized steps in swing states to
suggest that Obama loyalists are plotting to vote illegally.
The McCain campaign has been criticizing voter registration efforts by
the low-income advocacy group ACORN as an attempt to steal the
election. The group registered 1.3 million voters in 2008, mostly
young people, people of color and other working-class constituencies.
State Republican parties, GOP prosecutors and sympathetic groups have
been pursuing litigation and other legal tactics in key swing states
-- notably Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan -- concerning the validity of
voter rolls in order to create bureaucratic hurdles for election
officials. This can only complicate the voting process on Election Day
and create a climate to discourage new voters from casting ballots.
4. How They Want to Change the Health Care System
Middle-class Americans are now being priced out of health care. Nearly
a quarter of Americans lack adequate health insurance to cover medical
expenses, now the number one cause of family bankruptcies.
The current system is unsustainable, and the candidates' proposals for
fixing it are as different as night and day. Obama's plan would
drastically reduce the number of uninsured (from 47 million to about
18 million) and would require children to be covered; McCain's plan
would have little effect on the uninsured population. Obama's plan
would allow individuals who currently have employer-paid health
insurance to keep their benefits; McCain's plan would begin the
dismantling of the entire employer-paid system. Obama would create an
additional social safety net: a public health plan that would give
people without access to insurance through an employer or entitlement
program like Medicare guaranteed coverage with the same comprehensive
benefits that members of Congress now enjoy. McCain doesn't favor
safety nets. Instead, he would place a $3.6 trillion tax on workers
over the next 10 years and use revenue from that tax to give people a
credit ($2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families) to purchase
insurance on the open market. The trouble is, the average family
policy costs $12,000, and it's much harder for an individual to
negotiate good prices than an employer.
Perhaps most importantly, Obama's and McCain's health care plans
reflect different philosophical approaches to human health. Obama has
stated that he believes health care should be a right. McCain has
stated that health care is a responsibility. That puts Obama in touch
with the philosophy behind universal health care (guaranteed in every
developed nation but ours) and puts McCain out of touch with the needs
of everyone but the wealthy.
5. Their Plans for Iraq
An early opponent to the invasion of Iraq, Obama's current plan seeks
a phased withdrawal that would last until 2010 -- although he has said
he will revise his strategy depending on the facts on the ground.
Beyond 2010, Obama says he will leave a "residual force" in place "to
conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq
and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel." He also
intends to retain control of Baghdad International Airport and the
Green Zone, and keep the U.S. embassy in place.
McCain has famously declared that the United States will remain in
Iraq until "victory" is achieved -- even if it takes another 100
years. He has long refused to name target dates for troop withdrawals,
claiming that it would be tantamount to giving terrorists a timeline
for defeat. More recently on the campaign trail, however, he has
claimed that Iraq can be "won" by 2013. Still, he has said he reserves
the right to reassess the situation upon taking office.
6. Their Views on Energy
Both Obama and McCain talk a lot about a new energy future for the
United States and weaning ourselves off dependence on foreign oil. But
the two candidates have a different take on how to get us there.
While Obama has pushed for renewables like wind and solar, McCain has
failed to make any meaningful move in that direction, missing all
eight votes this year in the Senate to support renewable energy.
Instead, McCain strongly advocates nuclear power and believes it will
play an important role in addressing climate change. While Obama has
given lip service to the issue, saying he supports "clean and safe"
nuclear power, McCain has pledged to "set this nation on a course to
building 45 new reactors by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of
100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of
America."
The serious flaw in McCain's nuclear ambitions is that the world's
leading scientists are calling for immediate action on climate change.
Serious results need to occur in the next five to seven years, but a
nuclear plant would take a least a decade to get on line.
Plus, experts from MIT and elsewhere say that more than 1,000 new
nuclear reactors would be needed to come close to being a real
solution to climate change -- an unrealistic goal, even if you ignore
nuclear energy's other drawbacks of safety and expense.
7. How They Treat Our Vets
With American soldiers serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq -- and
with thousands more scheduled to be shipped to Afghanistan -- the
current burden on our military men and women is unprecedented.
Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs is in the midst of a
scandal over its systematic blocking of veterans benefits and shocking
attempts to cover up PTSD and suicide rates. The result is a serious
health crisis among American troops.
Obama has helped pass laws designed to assist homeless veterans and
improve care for wounded veterans. He has received an 80 percent
approval rating from the Disabled Veterans of America and a B+ rating
from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
McCain's record on veterans' issues is abysmal. He was given a D
rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the
Disabled American Veterans reports that he has voted for legislation
benefiting veterans only 20 percent of the time. McCain voted against
health care funding for veterans in 2003, '04, '05, '06 and '07. And
unlike Obama, McCain refused to support the Webb GI Bill, which was
critical to ensuring that soldiers who enlisted with the hope of
eventually going to college would be able to do so.
8. What They Think America's Young People Should Know About Sex
The United States has some of the most frightening rates of teen
pregnancy and STI transmission in the industrialized world: Each year,
almost 750,000 teen girls become pregnant, and 1 in 4 teen girls has
an STI. The Bush administration's response has been to fund sex-ed
programs that don't actually teach kids about how to practice safe
sex.
McCain agrees with the commander in chief's failed approach to sex
education. When asked by reporters in March of last year whether he is
in favor of abstinence-based programs, McCain replied, "I think I
support the president's policy."
McCain's position is reflected in his voting record. In 2006, McCain
voted against a Senate proposal that would have funded teen-pregnancy
prevention programs and sex education about contraceptives.
Obama is a proponent of comprehensive, age-appropriate, science-based
sex education. Obama supports the Responsible Education About Life
(REAL) Act, which would devote federal funding to science-based,
medically accurate and age-appropriate information about safe sex. He
was also a co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act, a measure that
would increase funding for family planning programs and sex-ed
programs that combine teaching abstinence with methods of safe sex.
9. Internet Access
You couldn't ask for a clearer difference between McCain and Obama
than the one on the issue of whether the Internet should be kept as an
open public space. Quite simply, Obama is for preserving the open
nature of the Internet, while McCain favors private control over it.
Telecoms and tech corporations have stealthily positioned themselves
to seize control of the Internet from the public, primarily through
deceptive multimillion-dollar lobbying and PR campaigns that attempt
to reshape public understanding of how the Internet works, who owns it
and what role the private sector plays in keeping it open. In order to
ensure that broadband networks are open to all producers and consumers
of Internet content on fair and equal terms, Washington needs to enact
a series of legal safeguards to protect from market encroachment on
public space.
10. Their Views on the Global Market
Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain is calling for dismantling the
trade regime built up over several decades during both Republican and
Democratic administrations. But their big difference on trade policy
is this: Obama rejects the idea that the status quo is acceptable,
while McCain argues that we need much more of the same and that anyone
who believes differently is a knee-jerk protectionist.
Obama has not sponsored the Trade Act of 2008, a bill being pushed by
the Fair Trade Caucus, nor has he called for a dramatic change in the
underlying philosophy that has guided policy makers in recent years.
But he has criticized globalization that "favors only the few" and has
called for amending NAFTA, if necessary, in order to protect American
workers. He also favors closing tax loopholes that reward companies
that offshore jobs, supporting firms that create U.S. jobs and
improving transitional assistance for workers displaced by foreign
trade.
McCain, on the other hand, supports current trade policy. He has
argued against agricultural subsidies, a key issue for anti-poverty
campaigners in developing countries, and suggested that "fast-track"
authority -- which allows trade treaties an expedited trip through
Congress -- is an overreach by the executive branch. But he insists
that trade is all about opportunity, that NAFTA has had an
"unambiguously" positive impact on the U.S. economy, and that the
status quo must be continued.