Election Cheat Sheet: Which candidate's economic spin best suits your family's needs?

Glamour Magazine

Money may make the world go round-but in the face of the upcoming election, which candidate's economic spin best suits your family's needs? Here's how the nominees' plans compare.



--By JJ Ramberg and Jen Rogers

EDUCATION

MCCAIN: The senator supports some changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) but would not call for increased funding. He supports providing school vouchers for families, which could financially assist parents who want to move their children from struggling public schools and which he believes will foster competition between schools. He also supports merit-based pay for teachers and bonuses for teachers working in troubled school districts.
THE BREAKDOWN:Families that can afford a portion of private- or parochial-school tuition might be able to use funds from their public-school districts to pay the rest of the costs.

OBAMA: The senator wants to reform NCLB by changing the solitary emphasis on standardized tests and putting more funds into the law. He intends to increase funding for after-school programs. He also plans to create a universal American Opportunity tax credit, which would essentially make the first $4,000 of college tuition free for most families and ensure that money is available upon enrollment.

THE BREAKDOWN: Lower-income families would see an increase in after-school programs and affordable child-care options; anyone with a child in college would get a sizable tax credit for tuition costs.

FAMILY LEAVE

MCCAIN: The Arizona senator opposes government-mandated paid leave and any expansion of the current Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Although he did vote in favor of the act in 1993, he voted to suspend it that same year unless the federal government certified that businesses would see no resulting increase in their expenses. He suggests that time off be negotiated between management and labor.

THE BREAKDOWN: McCain has not proposed any changes to the current requirements for maternity or family leave.

OBAMA: The Illinois senator wants to expand the FMLA to cover businesses with as few as 25 employees (currently, only those with 50 or more must comply). He also proposes allowing parents up to 24 cumulative hours of leave each year to participate in their children's school-related activities.

THE BREAKDOWN: Employees of small companies could see better guaranteed benefits for new parents. Wherever you work, it would likely become easier to slip out for your kid's soccer game or school play.

Learn more about what you are currently entitled to when it comes to maternity leave.

HEALTH CARE

MCCAIN: The senator wants to allow private insurance companies to sell across state lines, thereby providing families with more options. He calls for the creation of a Guaranteed Access Plan in each state to offer insurance to people with preexisting conditions.

THE BREAKDOWN: More competition could lower prices somewhat. McCain's health-care tax credit (up to $5,000 for families) would offset health-care costs for families that are paying a lot out-of-pocket for their insurance plans.

OBAMA: The senator's plan will require parents to insure their children. Health care would be offered though a government-regulated marketplace, in which families would choose between a public plan and a variety of private ones. Insurance companies would have to cover those with preexisting conditions.

THE BREAKDOWN: Participants in both plans would be able to change jobs while keeping their and their families' insurance plans. Even if you are already ill, you would qualify for health coverage.

TAXES

MCCAIN: The senator proposes making Bush's tax cuts permanent and wants to double exemptions for dependents to $7,000. People making $66,354 or less (60 percent of taxpayers) would be looking at an average decrease of about 0.5 percent; those making over $603,402 would see a tax break roughly eight times that size.

THE BREAKDOWN: Under this plan, the more money you make, the larger your tax cut would be.

OBAMA: The senator proposes an average 3 percent tax cut for those families earning under $226,982 and wants to implement significant tax increases (starting at 8.7 percent) for those earning $603,403 and more. He also calls for savings incentives for families making under $75,000 a year.

THE BREAKDOWN: Most Americans would be looking at a considerable tax cut. If you're earning a very high salary, you would be taxed more.

image via www.oanow.com

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