Bush Vs. Kerry

The 2004 presidential election has created a political atmosphere throughout America. This neck and neck race between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry has brought the issues Americans are concerned about to the table and allowed each candidate to convince Americans they have the solutions. Through the many campaign ads and various debates, we have heard the different ideas and beliefs of each candidate and the policies they plan to implement to resolve these current social issues. Some the many social problems discussed in this election include the economic state of our country and plans for the War in Iraq.

In this paper we will discuss both President Bush and Senator Kerry's position on the economy and the War in Iraq. I believe that these are important issues because they both have a huge impact on the country as a whole and have the potential to be detrimental to the continued success of the U.S. Our economy has been in recession for the past several years and our deficit have soared, creating a lack of job for millions of Americans. Although some economic growth has appeared in the last two years, we need to understand the complexity of this issue as the decisions of our next president can either amplify or lessen this progression. It is important to be informed of what our president plans to do to provide the means necessary to strengthen the middle and lower class. Secondly, the War in Iraq has become "the deadliest U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War" (USA Today. May, 24). Many Americans feel that the safety of the U.S. is being compromised. The Pew Research Center found "40 percent of Americans rate international and defense issues as the most important problem" facing our country (U.S. News & World Report. Sept. 13 p 22). Many are concerned as to whether a draft will be reinstated, while others worry about the billions of taxpayers' dollars being put into the war as each day passes. It is essential that we are aware of these issues and vote based on the understanding of the candidate's plan to resolve these problems.

President Bush's plan to strengthen the American economy has three main focuses. He hopes to "encourage consumer spending that will continue to boost the economic recovery, promote investment by individuals and businesses that will lead to economic growth and job creation, and deliver critical help to unemployed citizens" (Republican National Committee). In order to achieve these goals, Bush plans to speed up the 2001 tax cuts. This would make all of the 2001 tax reductions effective this year. In addition, this proposal would reduce the marriage penalty now as opposed to 2009, raise the child tax credit from $600 to $1,000 per child now instead of 2010, and move several million Americans into the lowest tax bracket of 10% now instead of in 2008. Bush believes these reductions would greatly aide the middle-class family and boost economic recovery. In order to encourage job-creating investments, Bush plans to end the double taxation of dividends and increase incentives for small businesses to grow. In the practice of double taxation, the IRS taxes a company on its profits, then taxes the investor who receives the profits as dividends. By eliminating double taxation, Bush plans to put about $20 billion dollars a year back in the economy. Finally, Bush hopes to help the unemployed of America by extending unemployment benefits and creating new Re-employment Accounts. These accounts, which anticipate to help about 1.2 million Americans, will allow unemployed workers $3,000 for job training, transportation, and childcare while finding a new job. Ultimately, Bush wants to continue in our growth from recession to recovery and then turn that recovery into prosperity (Republican National Committee).

On the issue of the War in Iraq, Bush continues to advocate his position that the U.S. must act, whether alone or in a coalition, to attack terrorists before they attack us. Bush "calls Iraq 'central' to the war on terrorism," and is determined to secure peace and stability there (Time Magazine. Nov 1 p 16). He plans to do so by training the local Iraqi forces to take over the policing of the country. Bush also plans to ensure that elections occur in Iraq in January. Currently there are 98,500 Iraqi security forces trained, but by the end of this year Bush hopes to have 125,000, and 200,000 by next summer. Currently, with the use of the trained Iraqi security forces and reconstruction aid, Bush is trying to take control of the rebel-held towns (Time Magazine. Nov 1 p16). At this point Bush doesn't intend set a timeline for withdraw of American troops or change his course of action, rather he lays out the steps being made to transition into a democratic peaceful Iraq. These steps include "working with the United Nations in naming the interim government leaders, eliminating security threats and bolstering Iraqi police, and rebuilding the country while focusing on reconstructing infrastructure" (USA Today. May 24)

Kerry's plan to develop the American economy is based on four principles, which are, "create good-paying jobs in America, strengthen middle-class families by cutting taxes and lowering health and energy costs, restore America's competitive edge, and cut the deficit and restore economic confidence" (Democratic National Committee) In order to do so, Kerry intends to end the tax breaks for companies who create jobs overseas. In addition, he plans to implement A New Jobs Tax Credit, which would help create new jobs because it would pay employers a share of payroll taxes for any net jobs created in their business. Kerry hopes to strengthen the middle class by making permanent middle-class tax cuts. In addition, he plans cut health premiums by up to $1,000, making employers more competitive. Kerry also says he will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.00 by 2007. In the third part of his plan, restoring American's