A Simple Guide to Key Politics

The Economy

Money is what drives us as humans 99.9% of the time, so it is obvious that the economy will always be a key political issue, especially when it comes to elections. During Trump's four years in office, right wing supporters will tell you about the good things he did for the economy, including creating 400,000 manufacturing jobs, creating over 4 million jobs in general since the 2016 election, and getting the median household income to be the highest ever recorded. Democrats will tell you about how Obama ended the 2008 recession with his economic stimulus package, the 10 million jobs he created while in office, and how deficits fell during his second term. Both politicians mentioned did good things for the economy, while both also made some mistakes.

My point is that the economy is a booming topic that you deserve to be educated on, no matter your affiliation, so let's get to discussing some associated policies.

Minimum Wage

The Political Issue

Minimum wage is the lowest dollar amount a company can legally pay its' employees to work. Currently, the minimum wage in America is $7.25 USD.

This is considered an issue because some people think this amount is far too low, especially for workers that have families to support. A democrat supported act called The Wage Act of 2019 calls for gradually raising the minimum wage and reaching $15 USD by 2024. People who support this idea include reasoning such as 67.3% of the poor working in America receiving a pay increase, the raised minimum wage reversing years of growing pay inequality between the lower and middle class, and lower paid workers tending to spend their extra earnings, therefore helping stimulate the economy and spur greater business activity according to The Economic Policy Institute (epi.org).

People who oppose raising minimum wage argue that it would result in job loss based on 100 minimum wage studies conducted by David Neumark and William Wascher in which two-thirds found negative employment effects. They also reason that it will raise prices for consumers. According to Cato Institute (cato.org), the 2012 Wilson review noted that a 2004 review of more than 20 minimum wage studies looking at price effects found that a 10% minimum wage increase in the U.S. caused food prices to go up by 4%.

The Democratic View on Minimum Wage

Most influential democratic politicians, including Senator Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Joe Biden favor the Raise the Wage Act, calling for a $15 minimum wage by 2024.

The Republican View on Minimum Wage

Most republicans believe pay should be based on skill, education, and the law of supply and demand, according to Republican View on The Issues (republicanviews.org). That being said, the majority of republicans believe raising minimum wage so significantly will only cause problems, resulting in more economic harm than good.

Affordable Housing

The Political Issue

The housing market is ever changing and happens to be extremely complicated, but to put it simply, housing prices have risen massively and resulted in Americans paying more than 30% of their income on mortgages or rent. That is why it is a key political issue today.

A 2019 study revealed that vacancy was falling, causing rent prices to skyrocket. More than 4 million low income units disappeared, including 1 million in the year 2017 alone, according to Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org).

People who want homeownership to be more accessible to lower income families and individuals are calling for more assistance with down payments and broader access to safe credit.

The Democratic View On Affordable Housing

Many influential democratic politicians have varying reform plans, so let's go through some of them.