Torch

Issue date: 4/2/08Section: Editorials and Opinion

Media Credit: TORCH CARTOON/CHRISTOPHER LAUTO

With the already competitive presidential race becoming even tighter as the election approaches, candidates are attempting to stand out above their opponents by tackling the most prominent issues facing the nation today, such as the economy. Each candidate has developed their own blueprint to revive the ailing economy and voters are faced with a difficult decision. Who really has the best strategy?

Senator Barack Obama spoke at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Thursday and said that a $30 billion stimulus is needed to rescue homeowners and the unemployed. He criticized Democrats as well as Republicans for the current state of the economy.

"Under Republican and Democratic administrations, we failed to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation instead of productivity and sound business practices," he said.

Obama also concluded that outdated government regulations have fallen behind the realities of modern finance and that the middle class is facing the worst hardships from the latest economic setbacks.

"If we can extend a hand to banks on Wall Street, we can extend a hand to Americans who are struggling," he said.

That same day, Senator Hillary Clinton, who was campaigning in Raleigh, North Carolina, announced a $2.5-billion-a-year proposal to retrain laid-off workers.

She said the government needed to take more responsibility for helping displaced workers. She also promoted a preemptive training initiative to allow workers concerned about potential threats to their jobs to receive grants to help transition into other industries.

It appears that both of the Democratic candidates are looking out for the American people and offering helpful ideas and opportunities.

Although they have opposing views on certain policies they both seem to agree that government intervention is needed to rescue the housing and financial markets.

With this idea, the government would be taking over mortgages heading toward foreclosure, according to a recent New York Times article. The mortgage lenders would have to bear the burden of a drastic loss, but the government would offer them a chance to recoup some of their losses if the houses were eventually resold at a higher price.

However, Senator John McCain and President Bush oppose government intervention arguing that it is not the government's duty to bail out and reward those banks and small borrowers who act irresponsibly.

Continued...

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