The Democratic Party and America’s Issues We are now four months away from the Presidential Elections, and we must choose what is best for America. The current running candidates are Barack Obama with the Democratic Party, and John McCain with the Republican Party. Barack Obama is now representing the Nation’s Democrats; he recently said that he is trying to balance hard head with a big heart. (Election 2008 P.48). Obama has planed many solutions to our current issues, on the health care issue according to Democrats. Org we will join 36 industrialized nations in making sure everyone has health care, starting by fixing the prescription drug program and investing in stem cell and other medical research. America right now is at a very critical situation from whatever point we look at. We are struggling economically, which is making America suffer in many ways. We have millions of illegal immigrants who contribute so much to our nation, but yet they are in a dark shadow where we do not see a close light to this issue. The war, we’ve had so many innocent Americans fighting for our country and giving their lives I thing it’s unfair.
One of our major issues is the illegal immigration, “the current system makes criminals out of some 12 million people who only want to work hard on whose efforts large parts of the economy now depend.” (Bush Baiting). We also have thousands of young people who need to go to school, because America’s youth is what going to make this country more successful. If we do not help the young people get their immigration paperwork done, then we do not know what will happen to the country’s future. According to Dream Act website, the Dream Act is a bill that applies to over 60,000 illegal immigrants who finish high school, but cannot proceed with their studies in a community college or university, because of their inherited title of “illegal immigrant.” Senator and now presidential candidate John McCain offered a meeting in Pennsylvania, he talked about immigration issue, and said that he would secure our borders first, and then he would worry about legalizing the 12 million illegal aliens in the country. I remember two years ago he was trying to get the bill pass through congress, but now that he became the Republican Candidate he backed up. According to Fitzgerald, in an appearance on July 13 before the National Council of La Raza in San Diego, Obama said that McCain had “abandoned his courageous stand” on immigration in order to win the GOP nomination, Obama said he wants to bring illegal immigrants “out of the shadows” and onto a path to citizenship. For many immigrants cross the border means a lot, but it can also mean death, crossing the border is very dangerous to people, but immigrants stills take the risk. In December 2003, the Palm Beach Post detailed the lives and work experiences of migrants brought to Florida to work in citrus and other agriculture. Individuals described a five-year old child dying in her mother’s arms as they crossed the Arizona dessert , a baby dying of cold in an unheated shack, a twenty-year old forced into sexual slavery to pay off her debt to a coyote, a sixteen-year old run over by the truck carrying him to a work site. It is almost incredible what immigrants do to be in the United States, they come here to work hard and as much people don’t want to admit that immigration brings most of our economical success to this country it is true. I believe that these people should be able to become permanent residents of the US and eventually citizens. Years ago during the World War II, the Roosevelt administration instituted the Bracero program, which granted temporary work visas to thousands of Mexican farms and factory laborers. The Bracero program stimulated illegal immigration; the program was terminated in 1965. When the Bracero program was on many people tried to get in status and couldn’t, so people decided to cross the border, and get a job on their own. At that time immigration penalties weren’t so rough on illegal immigrants, they would just get deported, and once deported they could turn around and come back. Many non-braceros noticed that small businesses were willing to hire them. At that time there were many positions to be taken, such as housekeepers, nannies, seamstresses, and so on. (Why Immigrants Come to America, Braceros, Indocumentados, and the migra P.15, 18, 23, 157). Throughout the years we’ve had millions of illegal immigrants coming into America, whether crossing the border or people coming here legally and overstaying with their visas. According to the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Department of Labor, and several think tanks estimate that 60 percent of unauthorized immigrants come across the borders, mostly with Mexico, without proper papers, and that about 40 percent enter legally but overstay their visas. (Illegal Immigration P. 37.) Now that we have over 12 millions of illegal immigrants Congress needs to take care of this issue, we also need to take care of our borders, many plans have been discussed in the last two years, but nothing has been resolved yet. Democratic sponsors of legalization argue that it will bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows of an underground economy and into the light of accountability and greater cooperation in our fight against terrorism. They argue that legalization would decrease illegal immigration and aid the homeland security effort by allowing law enforcement agencies to concentrate on border security and tracking down criminals and potential terrorists instead of chasing after millions or ordinary undocumented aliens, especially Hispanics, who are here simply to find work. (Illegal Immigration P.33.) Another issue is that America needs to get control of the health care system. The United States has probably the worst health care program, and many people are unable to afford health insurance. According to national surveys there are over 47 million Americans, which equals 16% of the population, that have been without health insurance at some point in the past year. (Code Red P.50). Americans cannot rely on employers, because they get charged too much for health insurance, or it can even work for you if you work at a large company. Not too long ago, according to Pear, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts helped Democrats pass a bill to rescind a 106% cut in Medicare payments to doctors. The White House says President Bush will veto the bill because it would also reduce subsidies paid to insurance companies that care for some Medicare beneficiaries. The bill was passed 355 to 59 in the House, and the crucial vote in the Senate was 69 to 30. Now getting into the Iraq war, is probably one of America’s most highlighted issues, especially the way it has been conducted. The Iraq war is costing our nation trillions of dollars, which is leading us to one of the worst economic crisis of the history. According to Bilmes and Stiglitz, our calculations, are now running at $12 billion a month--$16 billion if you include Afghanistan. By the time you add in the costs of hidden issues in the defense budget, the money we’ll have to spend to help future veterans, and money to refurbish a military, whose equipment and material have been greatly depleted, the total tab to the federal government will almost surely exceed $1.5 trillion. (The Iraq War will cost us $3 trillion, and much more.) In November 2001 Bush instructed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to begin planning for war with Iraq. Before the year was out, General Tommy Franks, the head of the US Central Command, has presented Bush with a detailed war plan. (The Occupation of Iraq P. 80.) Now that we are in war, seems to be endless and without a solution. According to Barackobama.com, nearly seven years later, the Taliban has reemerged in southern Afghanistan while Al Qaeda has used the space provided by the Iraq war to regroup, train and plan for another attack on the United States. 2007 was the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. Thousands of Americans have died in this war, America is still unsafe, we have lost millions of dollars that have gone towards the war, and we need to look at where we are now. Barack Obama believes we must be as careful as getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: Ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Now getting into the most important issue in America, the economy, our economy is shrinking little by little. Jobs are disappearing, gas keeps going up week by week, people are losing their homes, and the lists of problems just seem endless. Many economy analysts have been saying that we are in a recession more than 6 months ago, but the National Bureau of Economic Research has not officially said so. According to Goodman, many assume that if the economy expands at all, then it isn’t a recession as”a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.” If enough people lose their jobs, factories stop making things, stores stop selling things, and less money lands in people’s pockets, it is probably a recession. Early this year, we got a stimulus which was $600 to individuals and $1,200 for married couples, but still is not enough because everything is so expensive that the help is so little. I watched the news and it said that democrats were talking about giving Americans a second stimulus, but President Bush said in a press that we need to wait until the stimulus fully kicks in before giving a second one. So that means that the second won’t be discussed until after Congress returns in September from its annual summer vacation. According to Scherer energy prices, one driver of inflation, are likely to remain relatively high at least until the end of hurricane season in late November, I see that this is going nowhere. Economy right now seems to be drowning day by day; Democrats have planned out that if Obama gets elected this year, according to Barackobama.com we would get a 20 billion stimulus, which would be a jumpstart to the economy. Provide 10 billion in Relief for State and Local Governments hardest-hit by the housing crisis to prevent cuts in vital services extend and expand the unemployment insurance with a 10 billion stimulus, provide a tax cut for working families, Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new “Making Work Pay” tax credit up to $500 per person, or $1000 per working family. The “Making Work Pay” tax credit completely eliminate income taxes for 10 millions Americans. Democrats have many plans for America to get back on our feet, and become the power nation we were before, but for America to get back in track, we need to first find the best solution for all of out problems. I strongly believe that if Americans work together as a family, then we will be able to abide anything.

Works Cited
Stout, Robert Joe. Why Immigrants Come to America, Braceros, Indocumentados, and the migra. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2008.
Dranove, David. Code Red, An economist explains how to revive the healthcare system without destroying it. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Allawi, Ali A. The Occupation of Iraq, winning the was, losing the peace. New Haven and London: Yale University, 2007.
F, Franklin. Election 2008, A Voter's Guide. Ed. The New Republic. New Haven and London: Yale University, 2007.
LeMay, Michael C. Illegal Immigration, A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2007.
Pear, Robert. "Long-Term Fix Is Elusive In Medicare Payments." New York Times (13 July 2008): 18. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Palm Beach Community College Library, Lake Worth, Fl. 20 July 2008 .
Goodman, Peter S. “ Uncomfortable Answers to Question on the Economy.” New York Times (19 July 2008) Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Palm Beach Community College Library, Lake Worth, Fl. 20 July 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/business/economy/19econ.html?em&ex=1216699200&en=2ab35e48f369b514&ei=5087%0A
"Economic stimulus, Part 2?." Christian Science Monitor, The (Boston, MA) July 21, 2008, USA: 1. NewsBank America's Newspapers. Palm Beach Community College Library, Lake Worth, Fl July 21, 2008. .
Thomas Fitzgerald. "Immigrant issue tugs two ways." Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) July 21, 2008, CITY-D, NATIONAL: A01. NewsBank America's Newspapers. Palm Beach Community College Library, Lake Worth, Fl. July 21, 2008. .
"Bush-baiting." Economist 382.8510 (06 Jan. 2007): 11-12. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Palm Beach Community College, Lake Worth, Fl. 21 July 2008 .
Bilmes, Linda J. and Stiglitz, Joseph E. “The Iraq War will cost us $3 trillion, and much more.” Washington Post, The March 9, 2008, NewsBank America’s Newspapers. Palm Beach Community College Library, Lake Worth, Fl. July 21, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030702846.html www.dreamact.info. 28 June 2008 . www.democrats.org. Democratic National Committee. 4 July 2008 . www.barackobama.com. Obama for America. 7 July 2008 .