It’s election year.  And it seems to me that every four years when the presidential candidates storm the nation and try to hammer their ideology and reforms into the heads of American citizens, all they seem to do for us high schoolers is cause heated arguments and unnecessary tension.  They come saying how they are going to make our country better and how “every person matters”.  Right.

But, there are those students who seem to find the need to express their opinions to everyone they meet.  When one of those people meet someone of opposite view points who are also set firm in their beliefs, you get a forty-five minute class period of continuous arguments about how one party is better than the other.  And then there are the people who simply don’t care whether or not the democrats win the election or vice versa.  Why should they spend their time thinking about the leader of our country when it won’t affect them anyways?  The classic response from the vault of immense wisdom is that since we are the future of the nation, we should be educated about the people who dictate our future.  That response clearly doesn’t work, but I think this answer is enough to convince anyone to become involved.  The president controls the economy and health care.  The better the economy is, the more jobs there are the more likely you will be to have one of those jobs, and that means more money in your pocket.  Health care is obviously health care; you literally can’t live without it.  So, for all you aspiring debaters, here is some fuel to feed the fire.  For all you people who don’t care, here are some facts for your next current events project and of course, all you people stuck in the middle here something to help you form an opinion about what is going on in our country.

If you didn’t already know, this year’s presidential candidates are Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, and the current President of the United States, Barack Obama.  The first of the two major subjects that create the divide between these two candidates is the economy.  Although America isn’t technically in a recession anymore, an ABC News Poll states that seventy-five percent of Americans think the economy is still in a recession and almost half say there has been no improvement, which is why the economy plays such a big role in this election.  The two main aspects of the economy are jobs and taxes.  In his first term, President Obama tried to get the economy flowing by increasing unemployment benefits and putting money directly towards paying teachers and police officers.  President Obama put forth a plan that cuts taxes for anyone who makes less than    $250, 000 a week.

According to Romney in his 2011 introductory letter, “Washington has become an impediment to economic growth.”

“People at the high end, high income taxpayers, are going to have fewer deductions and exemptions. Those numbers are going to come down. Otherwise they’d get a tax break,” Romney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today.

“I want to make sure people understand, despite what the Democrats said at their convention, I am not reducing taxes on high income taxpayers.”  Romney believes that by encouraging an increase in hiring he could stimulate small businesses.

The other big issue is on the topic of health care.  Both candidates have their own proposed plan.  On one hand you have Governor Romney’s plan that gives states the authority to decide on how to approach the health care.  On the other hand you have President Obama’s plan that tightens restrictions on insurance companies and gives incentives to buy health care.  According to Time Magazine, “The plan includes a new federal health insurance regulatory board that will review rate increases and block those it deems unjustified.”

Basically, there is a major divide in beliefs; Mitt Romney believes in capitalist ideas, while President Obama leans more on socialist concepts.  Governor Romney’s plans will try to boost big business and stimulate small businesses, while President Obama will give more control to the government and try to stimulate the economy with government funding.  Well, at least that’s what they say will happen.  Now that you know the basics of what is going on up in Washington, you can form opinion based on the actual facts instead of what the guy next to you is yelling about.