Hot Issues in the 2010 Midterm Elections

Currently both houses are majority Democrat, the same party as the current administration. Once again politicians, both Republican and Democrat, are using the current issues as a persuasive tool to turn the tides in the election. What are the salient issues this election? Which issues are particularly politically charged? Why are these such significant issues?In our effort to help you be informed before this election we have provided brief summaries of major issues being discussed and debated on the national and local forefront:

NATIONALLY

The Economy

The economy, the recession, and Obama’s stimulus package have dominated conversations during the midterm elections. The recession contributed to millions of Americans losing their jobs, homes, etc. As a response we saw the introduction of Obama’s stimulus package, which was created to help alleviate some of these losses. According to the Congressional Budget, the stimulus package prevented the situation from worsening, but unemployment remained at 9.6%, and the economy only saw growth at 1.6%. Many candidates running for office are primarily focused on recovering from this recession. Voters will have to pay particular attention to how politicians propose to recover from this recession. Depending on who you choose, their policies may greatly effect how we emerge from our struggling economy.

Healthcare

This past year, the Obama healthcare plan was signed into law. The health care plan is comprised of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, and contains many provisions including:

· Insurance companies cannot drop

people from coverage when they fall ill

· Young adults can stay on their parents’ health care plan until the age of 26

· Insurance companies cannot deny coverage to someone under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition

· A tax credit for small companies to help provide coverage

· A rebate for medicare drug plan beneficiaries, and a temporary reinsurance program for companies to provide coverage for those aged 55-64.

While the idea of Universal Health Care is appealing on the surface, the issue itself is very tenuous in the political arena due to implications of increased government spending and taxation.

Government Spending

The increasing federal deficit has also come to the forefront of election issues. Because of programs such as the economic stimulus package and the health care plan, government spending has come under fire from both parties. Candidates all differ on whether or not to cut government spending, what programs to cut, and whether to consider any government spending unnecessary. This issue has become so tense that a political movement emerged, the Tea Party movement, which targets the large amount of government spending as a result of federal programs such as the stimulus package and health care plan. The next wave of legislators will most certainly effect the direction and level of government spending in the coming years. It will be imperative that voters know where their legislators stand on this issue. Their decisions will effect how tax dollars are spent.

LOCALLY

Marcellus Shale

The Marcellus Shale has become a heated debate in Pennsylvania. The Marcellus Shale is a new source of natural gas that the government and gas companies wish to tap into, which is reported to be extremely large. In order to access these resources, the method of extraction would have to be deep drilling. The drilling of the Marcellus Shale has proved to be extremely contentious, due to both environmental concerns and fiscal concerns such as whether or not to tax the shale and where the tax money should be put towards. What kind of legislations would you like to see surrounding the Marcellus shale? Knowing the answer to this question, along with understanding the issues regarding the Marcellus Shale, will help you in making your decision on November 2^nd.

Throughout this election period, candidates have taken positions on multitudes of issues as well as forming plans of action. What issue matters to YOU? Which issues most impact YOU? And how you would like your government representative to address these issues? United Way of Southeast Delaware County hopes you not only embrace being a voter, but also being an informed voter. Researching the positions, the candidates and the important issues at hand will aid you in your decision! But while you are thinking about how legislators will impact you, we encourage you to think about how it will affect your community as well. Our nation, our states and our local communities are diverse. We encourage you to LIVE UNITED, and consider how decisions will affect you as well as your neighbors.