By MEGAN MAHARRY, Student Report
The Democratic and Republican parties do not always see eye to eye. There are many issues the parties have split views over, and several concerns the parties have with each other.
Healthcare is one issue on which they disagree. Democrats believe health care is a right, not a privilege. They support both Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans, however, want to do away with these elements of healthcare. The Republicans want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and limit federal requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid. Republicans are concerned with the costs of healthcare, while Democrats say the health care system should put its people before the profits.
The parties also have concerns with each other over taxes. Democrats want to provide tax code rewards to businesses for keeping jobs available in United States. They believe millionaires and billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes. They also want to offer tax relief to middle-class families. The Republicans have concerns over these views. In some cases, they believe higher taxes can stimulate economic growth. Therefore, they believe taxes should be lower.
Regarding the issue of foreign policy, Democrats and Republicans both believe the United States should be leaders for the rest of the world. They both believe the military should be the strongest. However, Democrats think military forces should only be used when necessary and believe war should be used as a last resort. Republicans believe the military should have vast superiority over all other nations. The Democrats believe the United States should lead the world to grow the economy and make the country safer. The Republicans believe the United States’s job is to retake its position as the leader of the world.
Another concern between the parties is the issue of immigration. The Democrats support legal immigration within reason. They believe people should come into the United States with visas. A main concern of the Democrats is fixing the immigration system in order to keep families together, and allow people a chance to work toward citizenship. The Democrats support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. These acts help prevent deportation of certain immigrants; therefore, keeping families from being separated. The Republicans do not support these acts. They believe illegal immigration is a danger to everyone, and believe all illegal immigrants should be deported.
While the parties share similar views on some issues, there are vast concerns each party has about the other. These issues and concerns will continue to divide the voters in the upcoming election.