This year sparks a new Presidential Election; President Barack Obama is up for re-election representing the Democrats, The Republicans are narrowing down candidates and currently, I think the stronger representatives of the bunch are Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney. The 2012 Presidential election should be quite interesting as the struggles of high unemployment, gas prices, foreclosures, and health issues linger throughout the United States of America. Going forward, I think there are 5 key issues each candidate should focus towards to winning the upcoming 2012 Presidential Election; job creation, healthcare, gas prices, foreclosures on homes, and popularity. Each issue discusses the problem(s) and provides the people’s perspective.
Job Creation: The Problem: Thousands of jobs are lost each week resulting to thousands of people surviving on U.I. benefits, and extensions granted by the Federal Government. Several people have tapped into their personal investments or retirement funds such as 401k accounts to stay afloat, while others are less fortunate. Although new jobs are developing, it’s not enough to balance the growing population and job closures/layoffs due to the economic downturn. The People: The older generation miss having that stable career job salary, and the newer generation struggles to get jobs due to the significant increase of competition. Currently, the demand of jobs are simply much higher than the supply of jobs available. We the people need to hear a feasible plan regarding this issue from the Presidential candidates, and its important the governors of every state are able to accommodate the plan in some way. At this point, The American people deserves an honest answer.
Health Care: The Problem: Nearly 50 million people living in the United States have no health insurance. America citizens pay nearly 2x times what citizens of other countries such as Canada pay in health insurance, yet US lags behind in infant mortality and life expectancy. Furthermore, the cost of health insurance continues to rise with little to no incentive or tax benefit. The People: Although much has changed to ensure more citizens have access to health insurance due to President Obama’s Health Care Reform, and businesses receive bigger tax breaks, there are a few questions that remain. The cost of health insurance continues to rise for employees, which forces workers to consider dropping parts of health insurance’s available. Also, the health care coverage’s that are available to employees does not provide grade A services or medications needed for the average worker. And depending on the health circumstances, you may or may not be covered for that particular service, even when you have full health insurance. The presidential candidates have to revise and implement better incentives for those who need insurance as well as the small-business owners.
Gas Prices: The Problem: Gas prices have become a nationwide headache and currently known as “pain at the pump.” High gas prices not only chip deeper into citizens pockets, it forces businesses to increase prices on their goods to maintain steady profits. The problem with gas prices is that no one seems to have much control over the forever fluctuating prices that can change significantly over the course of a day. The People: I’m not sure if we need to tap into our natural reserves to lower prices temporarily, but there needs to be a clear drawn out plan providing stability for gas prices. No one enjoys paying $35.00 for a fill-up, then paying $50.00 for a fill-up a few weeks from now. If gas prices continue to rise it will become very important that all cars provide better miles per gallon because 17-25mpg, won’t work.
Foreclosed Homes: The Problem: Since foreclosures of homes surged +75% in 2007, several hundreds of thousands of families continue to foreclose on their homes each year. As result of year after year foreclosures, the property value of homes have declined significantly which drops the revenue in urban and rural areas throughout the country. Furthermore, since the demand for new single-family homes have declined, families are shifting rapidly to renting more apartments and condos, respectively. The People: If another bail-out occurs the people need to be ensured the bail-out benefits them directly. Some local municipal governments have increased their tax-rates to generate more revenue, which increases taxpayers bills. Foreclosures are always an immediate sign indicating an economy is headed for the worst. Presidential candidates need to address this issue with concern to show they understand the struggles of American citizens and what initiatives are currently available to the public. 32% of homes foreclosed was due to loss of jobs, while 25% resulted from health issues.
Popularity: The Problem: President Obama has set a new tone while elevating the bar towards future victory Presidential elections. President Obama is a unique president; Law degree for Harvard, young, plays basketball with UNC Basketball Players, uses modern technology to encourage youth to get out and vote, has an unlimited amount of celebrities on tour to encourage people to vote, has a beautiful outspoken wife Michelle Obama, and the news/media crews love the Obama’s. If that’s not enough good publicity, Obama gets additional points for using Twitter and being supported by Facebook. And just when you thought President Obama has ranned out of style, he proved he could sang, just the other day! The People: The republican candidates will have their work cut out for them in attempts to prove they are cooler and more down to earth than Obama. Furthermore, it is vital for these candidates to become relevant with the public, which gives an extra edge and likability going forward in this upcoming 2012 presidential election.
Other Key Factors to consider going forward:
- President Obama is currently endorsed by Harvard, Google, Microsoft Corp, Comcast.
- Mitt Romney is currently endorsed by Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse Group, Morgan Stanley, HIG Capital, Barclay.
- Newt Gingrich is currently endorsed by Rock-Tenn Co, Poet LLC, First Fiscal Fund, Pull-A-Part Inc, Amway Alticor Inc.
YOUNG N EDUCATED 