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P R IN T :
Wednesday, Oct17,2012
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Opinion: First Presidential debate,
Can’t we all just get along?
I CAMPAIGN
COMMENTARY
Felicia Skriver
News Editor
Anyone flipping through the
channels on TV would have stum­
bled upon the first Presidential
debate early this month. The
theme o f the first debate was
domestic issues in the U.S.
The first subject on the agenda
was employment; how many jobs
does the runner plan to create if
elected? Both candidates agreed
that one of the central questions
o f this campaign is how does one
reduce the national deficit, and
make the investments that need
to be made, without reducing the
number of jobs available?
Obama’s administration did
not raise taxes in the last four
yearsf the hope was that by sus­
taining the number from going
up it would trickle down and
stimulate thè amount o f hiring.
By keeping the amount o f taxes
from rising, the people are able
to go spend more money. That in
effect raises business, and then
that business can potentially hire
more workers. Obama stuck to
his pledge to not raise taxes, yet
according to Forbes, the Supreme
Court ruled that the requirement
of having health insurance is a
tax, Obamacare is a tax in itself
because everyone is- required to
have health insurance regard­
less o f whether or not it can be
afforded.
T h is in creases the am ount o f
m onCy th e m id d le class has
pay .for the standard o f living.
Romney stated that he would
not raise taxes on the middle-
class. His plan is to keep taxes
low, but minimize loopholes and
deductions for the rich so that
the revenue stays up and the
deficit down. This turned in to a
heated part in the debate. Obama
stated that economists that have
reviewed Romney’s tax plan
said Romney’s plan would hot
work at reducing the deficit with­
out burdening the middle-class
somewhere down the line.
“The fact is that if'y o u are
lowering thè rates the way you
dèscribed, Governor, then it is
not possible to come up with
enough deductions and loopholes
that only affect high-incomè indi­
viduals to avoid either raising the
deficit or burdening the middle
class,” said Obama, “It’s math.
It’s arithmetic.’’
Romney kept repeating the
fact he was going to minimize
loopholes for the rich; however
he failed to mention the specifics.
Are these loopholes going to cre­
ate enough revenue to reduce our
$8 trillion dollar national deficit?
The debate then shifted to
how one would reduce the
national debt. The Romney-Ryan
campaign has already said they
would reduce the number of gov­
ernment employees as well as cut
all programs, deèmed unneces­
sary to spending.
“Well, .first of all,.I will elimi­
nate all programs by this test, if
they don’t pass it: Is the program
so critical it’s worth borrowing
money from China to pay for it?”
said Romney, during the debate.
“And if not, I’ll get rid o f it.” The
Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget however projects
with reasonable assumptions,
that by 2025 the public debt
will increase by 91 percent if we
continue current spending habits.
. A $4 million debt reduction plan
is to be presented to Congress by
the President two days'before the .
elections are to take place. .
Social Security was one o f
the only subjects that the two.,.
agreed upon. Both agreed that
senior citizèns and the handi­
capped depend on these funds,
and the elders have a right to'the
■fund s th e y -v e -w o rk e d -to w a rd s a ll -
theyjre lives;.
The two painfully disagreed
when it came to healthcare.
Romney stated that a lot of things
about Obamacare didn’t make
sense, and yet Obama stated it
was practically the same plan as
Romney’s plan in Massachusetts.
The contrast between the two
on domestic issues was very
apparent. The second debate
was held in. a town hall setting
where citizens ; selected by the
Gallup Organization were able
to ask questions about the can­
didates views about foreign and
domestic policy. At press time
the debate had not yet happened.
f A forward-thinkingE
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Do you know your presidents?
ACROSS
3. The 4th president
6. The 7th president
9. Eisenhower / The 34th president
11. The 14th president
12. The 21st president
13. Bush / The 43 rd president
16. The 9th president
17. The 42nd president
19. Kennedy / The 35th president
20. The 23nd president
22. The 37th president
27. The 2nd president
29. The 1st president
33. The 15th president
36. The 27th president
37. The 5th president
38. Hayes / The 19th president
39. The 33rd president
40. The 22nd president
41. The 41 st president
42. Johnson / The 36th president
43. The 40th president
DQWN
1. The 8th president’
2. The 39th president
4. The 17th president
5. The 28th president
7. The 31st president
8. Garfield / Thé 20th president
10. The 44th president
14. The 26th president
15. Polk / The 11th president
18. Grant / The 18th president
21. The 13th president
23. The 3rd president
24. The 30th president
25. Harding I The 29th president
26. The 6th president
28. The 25th president
30. The 38th president
31. The 16th president
32. The 10th president
34. The 12th president
35. Roosevelt / The 32nd president