Election 2012, Essay Example

One of the major issues during the 2012 presidential elections was the economy. The economic issues that particularly got coverage during the election season included personal income tax rates and government’s role in the economy. President Obama and the Democratic Party advocated raising taxes on the high-income groups to reduce deficit as well as support programs for the middle class (Nazworth). As far as government’s role in the economy is concerned, President Obama called for greater intervention in economy such as investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and education to reduce unemployment rate and grow the middle class. He also called for greater regulations to reform the financial sector and supporter government bailout programs such as that of the auto industry (Nazworth, Obama vs. Romney: Jobs and the Economy).

Mitt Romney and the Republican Party were of the view that tax cuts should not be raised on any income group even though Romney claimed he may cut some deductions (Nazworth, Obama, Romney Debate Jobs, Economy, Deficits). Romney also called for lower government intervention in the economy and hinted at repealing President Obama’s healthcare plan if he is elected. Romney also called for lower financial regulations (Nazworth, Obama vs. Romney: Jobs and the Economy).

The positions taken by President Obama were relatively liberal while Romney were conservative since Romney advocated minimum government intervention in economy. In my opinion, President Obama’s positions were more sensible because the bailout of auto industry has been a success and government has historically played an important role in the economy. In fact, U.S. came out of Great Depression due to President Roosevelt’s beliefs that government has a role to play in economy to reduce unemployment and improve infrastructure to support economic growth.

References

Nazworth, Napp. Obama vs. Romney: Jobs and the Economy. 11 October 2012. 2 June 2013 <http://www.christianpost.com/news/obama-vs-romney-jobs-and-the-economy-83115/>.—. Obama, Romney Debate Jobs, Economy, Deficits. 4 October 2012. 2 June 2013 <http://www.christianpost.com/news/obama-romney-debate-jobs-economy-deficits-82684/>.