Tuesday’s election left Democrats great advantages with Barack Obama winning the presidency and Kay Hagan and Bev Perdue winning the senatorial and gubernatorial races, respectively.
Here are the candidates’ stances on three major issues:
PRESIDENT: BARACK OBAMA
Education:
The “Zero to Five” plan should be implemented to promote voluntary, universal preschool.
No Child Left Behind should be reformed.
Teacher recruitment and retention should be promoted through mentoring as well as financial and educational incentives.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit should be enacted to give $4,000 in college costs in exchange for 100 hours of community service.
Energy & Environment:
A Windfall Profits tax should be enacted to provide families with a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate check.
$150 billion should be invested within 10 years to both accelerate production and promote the use of alternative energy, which would simultaneously create 5 million new jobs.
Increasing fuel efficiency standards and expanding domestic fuel production should eliminate the need to import oil from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 years.
The entire White House fleet should be converted to plug-in electric cars within a year, and half of all cars purchased by the federal government should be hybrid or all-electric by 2012.
Economy:
The “Making Work Pay” tax credit should eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
$50 billion should be committed to prevent state and local budget cuts and improve infrastructure, which would simultaneously prevent 1 million jobs from being lost.
Tax breaks for companies that move operations overseas should be eliminated, and tax breaks should be given to companies that increase American jobs or benefits for American workers.
Source: barackobama.com
U.S. SENATE: KAY HAGAN
Education:
No Child Left Behind should be fully funded, and state governments should have more control over how it is implemented.
Current tax credits for college should be replaced with a single $5,000 credit per year.
Students should be able to earn a two-year degree while in high school.
Those who become public servants for five years after college should have federal college loans forgiven.
Energy & Environment:
Tax credits should be expanded for businesses and individuals who make energy saving improvements to property.
At least 10 percent of liquid fuel sold in N.C. should be grown and processed in N.C. by 2017.
Switchgrass should be employed as a biofuel both to expand N.C. agriculture and to increase biofuel efficiency.
Tax breaks to oil companies should be cut.
Renewable energy and energy saving programs should create 300,000 jobs in N.C.
Economy:
The budget should be balanced, and “pay-as-you-go” rules should be applied.
Tax cuts should be implemented for the middle class rather than the wealthy.
Tax loopholes for multinational corporations should be closed.
Economic programs that create jobs in N.C. should be supported.
Source: kayhagan.com
GOVERNOR: BEV PERDUE
Education:
Early childhood education should be expanded through programs such as Smart Start and More-at-Four.
Increasing high school teacher pay and improving working conditions should decrease the drop-out rate.
The EARN scholarship program should be expanded to include families earning up to $42,400 and to include four years of college.
High school students who enter a community college fulltime should have their tuition waived.
Energy & Environment:
The Cool Cities Assistance Initiative should be funded to support its goal of decreasing emissions 7 percent from 1990 levels by 2012.
Programs to increase the use and availability of public transportation should be funded.
No new coal burning power plants should be built in N.C.
Consumers should not pay sales tax on energy-saving appliances.
Universities should receive funding to research green technologies and alternative fuels.
Economy:
Defense and aerospace jobs should be a key component in the state’s economic development.
Tax breaks should be implemented for small businesses, as well as qualifying entrepreneurs who development breakthrough products or businesses.
Research, energy and agricultural jobs should increase through development of biofuels and green technology.
Universal health care for children should be expanded, and health care costs for the middle class and small businesses should be reduced.
Source: bevperdue.com