In order to prepare you as best we can for the upcoming election, The Spectrum has broken down each candidate's platform to help you make an informed decision in the voting booth on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
President Barack Obama platform breakdown
Economy
a Obama characterizes his economic plan as long-term. He plans to invest in education, small businesses, clean energy and infrastructure.
a He wants to cut taxes by $3,600 for the average middle class family.
a He wants to ensure millionaires aren't paying lower tax rates than middle class families but instead pay the same rate as under President Clinton.
Jobs
a Under Obama, there were 31 continuous months of job growth. During that time, 5.2 million were added to the private sector, including almost 500,000 manufacturing jobs - the most growth since 1997.
a He will eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs overseas and provide incentives for companies to create jobs in America.
a Obama said he is standing up for American workers and businesses in the global market place by addressing China's unfair trading practices through a new trade enforcement unit to level the playing field.
a Signed tax credit laws to encourage businesses to hire unemployed veterans.
Education
a Obama intends to cut tuition growth in half over the next decade. He wants to double campus-based student aid and give incentives to schools that successfully keep tuition growth down.
a He capped repayments on federal student loans at 10 percent of income.
a He has invested $2 billion in community colleges and is proposing new partnerships with community colleges to train workers for already existing jobs.
Foreign Policy
a Obama has "responsibly ended the war in Iraq" and is bringing troops home from Afghanistan.
a His plan intends to end the war in Afghanistan by 2014.
a He will use the savings from ending the war to reduce the deficit and use the rest to "engage in nation-building here at home."
a He gained the support of Russia and China to pass international sanctions against the Iranian government.
a He consistently stands up for Israel.
Health care
a Obama added free preventative care to Medicare and closed the "doughnut hole" saving seniors an average of $600 last year.
a He is stopping insurance company abuses by giving millions of Americans more economic security.
a He said he has made Medicare more efficient. He found $716 billion in savings by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, and he added eights years to the life of the Medicare Trust Fund.
a He expanded access to free preventive services like flu shots, diabetes screenings and mammograms for 54 million Americans.
a He believes women's health care decisions are best made with their physicians, without politician's interference.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney platform breakdown
Economy
a Governor Romney's remedy to our hurting economy focuses on reducing spending and makes the tax cuts implemented during George W. Bush's presidency permanent.
a Romney proposes to lower income tax rates to 20 percent and reduce corporate tax rates to 25 percent.
a He also plans to cut spending by reducing funding to programs, which include Amtrak, PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities.
a Romney also vows to cap federal spending at 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and introduce a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget.
Jobs
a Governor Romney believes his five-point plan to revitalize the middle class will increase the amount of jobs in our country and result in more take-home pay.
a Romney plans to increase access to domestic energy sources, eliminate regulations destroying the coal industry and approve the Keystone XL pipeline that Obama rejected in Jan. 2012.
a He also plans on giving Americans the skills to succeed - this includes better quality schools and teachers across the country, focusing on job training programs that will build valuable skills in careers with many opportunities and attracting and retaining people with the best skills from around the world.
a Romney also wants to focus on making trade stronger for America. He wants to end the unfair trade practices in countries such as China and build stronger economic ties with Latin American nations. He also pulls inspiration in his policies from the Reagan Economic Zone plans to strengthen free enterprise around the world.
Education
a Governor Romney's plans for education focus mainly on our future with students currently in grades K-12, but he also has plans for students in higher education.
a Romney plans to strengthen and simplify the financial aid process. His policies indicate that allowing private companies to compete with federal student loan lenders will lessen the competition and make this process easier for students.
a He also believes in giving more resources to students and their parents to make the selection process for schools easier. The more students know about the universities they apply to, the less likely they are to transfer or feel "trapped" at a school and the more likely they are to succeed at their university.
Foreign Policy
a Part of Governor Romney's foreign policy focuses strongly on our military. Romney plans to build a multi-layered national ballistic-missile defense system to prevent and defend our nation under any nuclear attacks on U.S. soil and its allies.
a Romney plans to make our Navy stronger by increasing the shipbuilding rate from nine per year to 15 per year, which includes three submarines per year. This will come to fruition by reversing Obama's cuts on the defense budget during his presidency.
a He also plans on taking more troops out of Afghanistan but after meeting with our military's commanders in the field. Once Romney can fully assess the progress made in Afghanistan, he will withdraw U.S. forces from the Middle Eastern country. He plans to fully transition combat operations to the Afghan Army by the end of 2014.
Health care
a Governor Romney believes the people should make their own, individual decisions concerning health care, which is why he vows to repeal Obamacare if elected.
a Romney also believes a free market will help increase competition and increase efficiency and effectiveness within the health care system. This means consumers will receive a higher quality product at a lower cost.
a He wants to make health care an issue that varies by state, as specified in the 10th Amendment.
a Romney believes the federal government will help each state by creating a level playing field, and each state should be responsible for its own health care solutions because each state's needs vary.
a Preventing discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions with continuous coverage is also part of Romney's plan.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
