For the undecided out there

It seems hard to believe with the onslaught of election information assaulting our senses at all moments that some people may not have made up their minds on the presidential election which is a couple weeks away. Still, there is always a segment of undecideds in any poll you see. 

 

For those of you out there who are undecided, I did some research, looking up views from both Trump and Harris on key issues. I checked out some nonpartisan sources for this; no CNN or Fox News! The Associated Press is a reputable news organization. I also found the U.S. Vote Foundation, which has been around for nearly 20 years, educating people on the issues.

 

Abortion has been a big topic of discussion between the candidates. Harris supports a woman’s right to make decisions about her body, which includes the right to an abortion. Trump is opposed to abortion in general, though he has walked back from wanting abortion banned to putting limits. He was successful in naming Supreme Court members who gave states the right to decide.

 

With hurricanes battering our coasts again, the idea of climate change continues to be a headline. Trump has been quoted as saying it’s a hoax and that the world will get cooler. He wants to continue drilling for oil as much as possible. Harris is trying to push for funding and legislation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She has changed course on fracking, something she was opposed to four years ago but now says would help us rely less on foreign oil.

 

Prices for groceries and many other items have been going up steadily. How can we improve our economy? Harris is proposing an expanded child tax credit and subsidies to people buying a home for the first time. She is looking to restrict price gouging and to lower drug costs. Trump’s ideas include increasing tariffs on imports. He feels that mass deportation would alleviate the housing problem. He also wants to eliminate some waste in federal spending.

 

Gun control seems to be ever in the news with mass shootings and schools being targeted. Trump supports people’s right to have firearms and would like to scale back on some of the restrictions put in place by Joe Biden. Harris has supported a bipartisan gun safety bill and wants background checks at gun shows and online. She has said she wants people to have the freedom to be safe from gun violence.

 

Health care costs are increasing, something that makes things difficult for people all over. Harris wants to expand the Affordable Care Act and lower Medicare drug costs, including insulin. Trump wants to repeal the ACA, though he hasn’t specified what might take its place.

 

Immigration is certainly a hot button issue. Trump has said he will deport 15-20 million illegal immigrants. He also would end the idea of automatic citizenship for everyone born in our country. Harris has said she would like massive immigration reform but does not support the mass deportation idea, instead looking for pathways to citizenship. It’s interesting to note that there was a bipartisan bill addressing border security that would have already taken some of this into account earlier this year. Harris supported that bill, while Trump called on his allies to squash it, which led to the bill’s failure.

 

The federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour. Harris would like to see that rise to $15 an hour to help people earn a livable wage. Trump is opposed to that idea, citing that it would eliminate jobs. He would like to eliminate a federal wage level and leave it to the states.

 

Those people on Social Security are always worried about how their benefits will look from year to year. Trump has talked about up to $35 billion in cuts, saying that bad management has hurt the system. Harris wants to stabilize the program by having those with more wealth pay into Social Security at a similar rate to others.

 

Along those lines, there has been much discussion about taxes on the wealthy, along with corporations. Harris would like to increase those tax rates. Part of that would go to raise the salaries of educators. Trump has given tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations in the past and would continue to do so. He claims if those taxes go up, jobs will be destroyed.

 

These are only some of the issues out there. I didn’t even touch on the wars between Ukraine and Russia or Israel and Gaza. Neither candidate has talked a lot about education, a topic near and dear to this teacher. However, Harris and her party have long supported public educators and their rights, while Trump has threatened to eliminate billions of dollars in funding to schools by removing the federal Department of Education, which would cause a lot of scrambling by school boards to figure out a budget.

 

And of course, we all have items that mean more to us than others. It’s up to each voter to make an informed decision when casting their ballot. As I’ve said often in this space over the years, I don’t care if you and I have some differences in our choices; I want you to vote, an incredible right given to us in the United States. Please do your civic duty on November 5.

 

Word of the Week: This week’s word is elocutionary, which means related to public speaking skills, especially being clear and expressive, as in, “Neither presidential candidate displayed great elocutionary skills during a debate, which left voters scurrying to research their platforms.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!