Election+of+08+-+Economy

**The Economy**
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 * __During the Election__**

The state of the economy, which had begun falling apart in 2007, due to the bank failures, was //the// issue on everyone's mind during the election. Everyone has their opinion on what exactly happened to cause the huge recession, but the main concern was how it was going to be fixed, and who would fix it. Throughout their campaigns, the candidates expressed their plans and views on managing the economic crisis.

Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both had similar views, but each with a few differences on how they were going to handle it. Clinton's main plan was to increase federal taxes and "regulatory policy" to help promote the ailing U.S. economy. She also made it clear she wanted to help preserve the oil and steel-producing industries, as they are a vital source for American income. Also, her plan "Rebuild America" was aiming to create 3 million new jobs throughout America plus a $10 billion emergency fund created to help out the "decaying infrastructure", as well as the public transportation systems within the U.S.

Obama's plan during the election included a $75 billion dollar stimulus package which was directed mainly towards prolonging the limit for unemployment insurance and strengthening state governments. He also wanted to include a tax cut for those with under $150,000 as their annual income and up to $4,000 in aid for college students struggling to pay for tuition. Obama also hoped to give relief for those involved in the thousands of foreclosures on houses in 2008, and provide a $250 tax-cut for workers and a $250 bonus for senior citizens.

As for the Republican candidate, [|John McCain], his ideas were fairly different from those of the Democrats. In his stimulus package, he wanted to cut corporate tax rates by 10% (from 35% to 25%), allow government funding for up to 10,000 local projects and give a tax credit of $2,500 per person for health-care insurance. Another important idea was to create the MFI (Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust), which would work along side with bankers to buy back bad loans and later re-sell them during a period of time when the market would improve.


 * __Now__**

Since Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, he has accomplished a number of things that have already and hopefully will in the future, help out the bad economic situation in America. Beginning in early 2009, Obama signed the [|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] (a.k.a. the Stimulus Package) which provides $787 billion towards health care spending, education, tax breaks and "direct assistance" for the public. In March 2009, when the automakers' GM and Chrysler began dwindling, Obama doled out loans to both companies, but when their struggle kept up, he decide to create the[| Car Allowance Rebate System] ("Cash for Clunkers") in June 2009. This temporary solution became a large success, and even caused many previously laid-off workers to be rehired. Since then, the economy has had a growth rate of up to 5.7%, the largest jump in six years. Hopefully, because of President Obama's stimulus package and other laws he has passed, America and the public will see a growing and more stable economy in the very near future.



Cartoon Clinton's Plan Obama's Early Plan McCain's Plan Obama's Economic Accomplishments
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 **Additional Topics for Election of '08:** Vocabulary AP PARTS Health Care Iraq War Domestic Policy Obama's Political and Personal Life