Voter’s concerns take focus in the upcoming election.
Amid a pandemic, economic instability, and racial injustice, votes count more than ever. So, what should be understood about the two main presidential candidates and running mates that will be on the ballot this fall?
The incumbent, President Donald Trump, along with his running mate, Vice President Mike Pence, will be looking to return to the White House. His challenger is Joe Biden and his running mate, California Senator, Kamala Harris. Both candidates have differences on their outlook of the nation and how to approach the next four years.
According to a Pew Research Center Study, the top concerns amongst registered voters this coming fall are the economy, health care, COVID-19, and violent crime.
Economically, Trump tends to be more conservative and Biden more progressive. Trump’s approach to help the economy was to implement a $1.5 trillion tax cut that helped businesses and those higher on the income scale. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.4% this past August, and 1.4 million jobs have been added under the Trump administration.
Biden is a bigger proponent of taxing large corporations and those with higher incomes to help boost the economy. His plan is to raise the corporate tax rate 7% from 21% and increase the top tax rate by 2.6% from 37%, to help the economy and the unemployed.
Regarding health care, Biden believes that everyone should have access to health care and plans to vote to keep the Affordable Care Act as well as lowering drug prescription cost.
Trump favors the privatization of healthcare and wants less government intervention. Trump plans to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, in hopes of implementing a new health care plan.
As for policy concerning COVID-19, Trump has been a major proponent of reopening schools and has provided testing across the United States. Biden wants to continue to fight COVID-19 as well and wants to provide more free testing and supplies for front line workers.
As for the issue of violent crime, Trump signed the First Step Act in 2018 to reduce harsh laws for drug possessions and Biden was a commissioner in 1994 that created the Violent Control and Law Enforcement Act.
These are just a few of the main issues that have been addressed by the two candidates. It is always important to look past the main issues, and to vote for a candidate to lead us for the next four years.
This article sources information from Education Votes, NPR, CNN, and the Pew Research Center. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the only candidates mentioned because they are the main candidates of this November election.