Q: What should the U.S.

government do about global

warming?
The Earth's climate is changing. Parts of it are warming up. Other areas are becoming colder. And many
storms are more dangerous. Most scientists agree that human activity is the main cause. Fossil fuels, such
as gas that we use in cars and oil we burn at home, give off carbon dioxide (called carbon emissions) and
other gases, which trap heat in our atmosphere.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen if the planet continues to heat up. But scientists have seen enough
changes in the environment, such as shrinking butterfly populations and melting glaciers, that many
countries are taking action to help reverse the damage. Both presidential candidates say the United States
needs to be a leader on this issue. Here's a look at what each one says he would do.

— Valerie Strauss

Where the Candidates Stand on the

Environment

“I want to assure you I will make this “Global warming is not a someday
planet clean ... We will hand to you a problem, it is now. ... It’s not the future
In their words cleaner planet than the one you were any of us want for our children. And if
living in before I became president of the we act now, and we act boldly, it doesn’t
United States.” have to be.”
By how much would each candidate
Supports reducing carbon emissions to Supports reducing carbon emissions to
cut carbon emissions? (Scientists
1990 levels by 2020 and to 60 percent 1990 levels by 2020 and to 80 percent
recommend cutting them to 80 percent
below 1990 levels in 2050. below 1990 levels by 2050.
below 1990 levels by 2050)
Where do they stand on pollution
“permits,” which companies would Supports. Would initially give away
Supports. Would auction pollution
have to buy if their pollutants were permits to some business but would
permits to businesses and use the money
more than the government allowed? move toward an auction. Hasn’t said
to help clean up the environment.
(Low-polluting companies could sell what he would do with the money raised.
permits to higher-polluting ones.)
In 2007, the Sierra Club said he was the
How did each vote in the Senate on only member of Congress who did not In 2007, he missed votes on four major
environmental issues? vote on any of the 15 major pieces of environmental bills before Congress.
environmental legislation.

Q: What should be done about high prices, lost jobs and

bankrupt companies?
The U.S. economy is complicated. It even stumps many adults! But there are some basics about the
economy that kids should understand — especially since it has become one of the most important issues in
the presidential campaign.

What is an economy? It is a system that involves buying and selling goods and services. At the center of
any economy is money.

When you go to a store for school supplies, you are buying goods. You can also buy services. You do that
when you pay for a haircut.

You can buy a part (a share) of a company, such as Microsoft or Toys R Us. That is called buying stock.
You don't buy shares of a company at the supermarket; they are bought and sold on the stock market.

Part of what makes the economy complicated is that all of its parts are connected. When the economy is
going well, people have jobs and can earn money to house and feed their families. They also can save
money.

Lately the U.S. economy — the world's richest — has been experiencing big problems.

• Prices are rising. Gasoline has gone up about a dollar a gallon in the past year; and the prices of
milk, bread and other foods are way up.
• Many people don't have jobs. In August, the government reported that the unemployment rate
rose to the highest level in five years. Without jobs, it's hard for people to pay for even basic items,
such as food.
• People can't afford to keep their houses. Because of the type of loans some people used to buy
houses, the amount of money they have to pay each month keeps going up.
• The stock market is wacky. When the economy is shaky, people often sell stock because they
want the cash (to buy goods and services or to pay bills). When lots of folks do this at the same
time, the value of the company's stock falls.
• Some financial companies are failing. Some businesses that play a big role in the economy made
bad investments and were going bankrupt. The government let some businesses fail but is moving
to save others by buying their bad investments. This is called a "bailout" and could cost the
government a trillion dollars.

The combination of these factors means that people are less likely to spend money. To stay healthy, an
economy needs money moving through it the same way your body needs blood moving through it.

Both presidential candidates say that part of their plans to help the economy involves cutting taxes. Taxes
are fees that we pay to the government so that it can provide services, such as building and repairing
highways. If people are paying less in taxes, then they have more to spend on goods and services. Cutting
taxes is a way to get money moving through the economy again.

The chart belows shows what Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama would do
about taxes if elected president.

— Valerie Strauss
 2009 Family-Tax
Proposals

How your family's Calls for everyone's taxes to decrease. Calls for almost all to receive a tax cut,
taxes would change in The wealthiest Americans receive the but wants the rich to pay more. Says
2009 depends on largest tax cut. Says tax cuts help the people with the most money can pay
income (below) and economy grow. more taxes.
on who becomes
president. Sixty
percent of U.S.
families are in groups CHANGE IN YEARLY TAXES
1, 2 or 3. The richest
Americans are in
group 5.
1) 0 to $18,981 -$21 -$567
2) $18,982 to $37,595 -$118 -$892
3) $37,596 to $66,354 -$325 -$1,118
4) $66,355 to $111,645 -$994 -$1,264
5) $111,646 to $2.87
-$6,498 +$3,017
million plus
$111,646 to $160,972 -$2,584 -$2,135
$160,973 to $226,918 -$4,437 -$2,796
$226,919 to $603,402 -$8,159 +$121
$603,403 to $2.87
-$48,862 +$93,709
million
More than $2.87
-$290,708 +$542,882
million

Q: How long should U.S. troops stay in Iraq and

Afghanistan?
 U.S. Troop Counts
Today Early 2009
Afghanistan 31,000 34,700*
Iraq 151,000 142,000
Totals 182,000 176,700
* Commanders say they need even more to defeat Taliban fighters trying to take control.

Many of you probably don't remember a time when the United States wasn't at war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Deciding what to do about these wars will fall to the new president. That's why it is important to understand
the plans of both candidates running for president: Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen.
John McCain.

American troops invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, a few weeks after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
President Bush ordered the invasion as part of the war on terror to catch Osama bin Laden and punish him
for masterminding those attacks. The Taliban government in Afghanistan, which protected bin Laden, was
overthrown. But bin Laden hasn't been captured, and his terrorist group, al-Qaeda, still operates.

You've probably heard more about the war in Iraq. American troops were sent into the country in 2003 to
overthrow dictator Saddam Hussein. Bush said Iraq was hiding dangerous weapons, known as weapons of
mass destruction. No such weapons were found.

The United States has helped the Iraqi people set up a new government, but groups within that country are
fighting for control. More than 4,100 U.S. service members and thousands more Iraqis have been killed.

That's part of the reason that war is a central campaign issue.

— Valerie Strauss

Where the Candidates Stand on the

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Position on 2003 invasion
Early war strategy
Position on the “surge” From June
2007 to March 2008, 30,000 more
troops were sent to Iraq; strategy
resulted in drop in violence.
How long could U.S. troops expect to
remain in Iraq if you're president?
Position on war
IRAQ
Supported; voted in Senate to authorize Opposed; was not yet a U.S. senator but
force in 2002. said he would have voted against war.
Criticized; said there were not enough Opposed; said government was
troops to succeed. unprepared when war went badly.
Opposed surge; says decision by Iraqi
Leading voice for troop surge; says it
groups to stop fighting each other was a
significantly reduced violence in Iraq.
main reason for violence drop.
Won't commit to a specific date; says it Says almost all troops would return home
depends on events in Iraq. within 16 months.
AFGHANISTAN
Supported invasion; has called for more
Supported invasion; thought more troops
troops for several years. Thinks main
should have been sent. Thinks main
battleground for war on terror is in
battleground of war on terror is in Iraq.
Afghanistan.

Q: What should the government do to make schools

better?
If you're in public school, then you're a part of a huge national experiment in education.

It is called No Child Left Behind, and President Bush started it in 2002 to make sure that schools were
doing a better job of educating kids. Whether that experiment continues will be decided by the next
president and Congress.

The government provides free education to every child, but not all public schools are equally good. Many
of the most troubled schools have students from the poorest families. Bush said it wasn't fair that those kids
weren't getting a good education.

No Child Left Behind ordered schools to change many things. The most controversial change was forcing
kids to take standardized tests as a way of measuring if they were learning more.

Some teachers say the program helped them focus better on needy kids. But many others said kids were
spending too much time taking tests and not enough time learning.

There are other educational issues for the next president to consider: Should the government pay for all kids
to go to pre-kindergarten? If a school isn't doing a good job, should parents be able to make the government
pay for their kids to go to a private school? (This is called the voucher system.)

The public school system is supposed to give every child a chance to succeed, but educating the 50 million
kids in public schools will cost about $500 billion this year. Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain will
have a big say in the future of education, which means he'll have a big say in your future.

— Valerie Strauss

Where the
Candidates
Stand on
Education

Called it "a good program" that should be

Wants to make major changes. Specifically,
continued and improved. Specifically,
How should No » Would provide billions more dollars to help
» Would make it easier for students to
Child Left schools get better.
choose their schools or get tutoring; pledged
Behind » Wants student progress to be measured by
$750 million for online schools.
change? more than standardized tests; wants to add
» Would continue standardized testing
back music and art where they've been cut.
program.
Supports. Says parents in poorly run schools
Opposes. Says government money should go
Vouchers should have a choice; would expand
to public, not private, schools.
program in D.C.
Says getting youngest kids ready for school is
a very important part of his education plan.
Pre- Says there already are enough programs but
Plans to give more money to these programs
kindergarten they need to be managed better.
and wants states to make pre-K available for
all.
"The No Child Left Behind Act may have "Don't tell us that the only way to teach a
In their own some flaws associated with it, but I still child is to spend most of the year preparing
words view it as a major milestone in trying to him to fill in a few bubbles on a standardized
improve education in this country." test."

Q: What can the president do to help every child grow

up healthy?
You may dread going to the doctor — but think about what would happen if you were very sick and your
parents couldn't afford to take you. That's a problem for millions of kids in the United States.
The next president will have a big role in deciding how to help those who can't get good medical care.

Health care is very expensive; the way most families try to afford it is to have health insurance. Most
people in the United States get health insurance through their jobs, with workers and employers splitting
the cost of the insurance.

Insurance may be the only thing that you pay for but hope you won't ever use. Your family probably has car
insurance, for example. Your parents make a payment called a premium every month. If the car is in an
accident and needs to be fixed or replaced, the insurance helps pays the cost. Health insurance helps
families pay doctors' bills.

But many Americans don't have health insurance — 46 million of them, or 15 percent of the population. Of
that number, 8 million are younger than 18. That's about 11 percent of all U.S. kids.

People don't have insurance for different reasons. Some don't have jobs and can't afford their own policy.
Some work for small businesses that don't have the money to help workers buy it.

The two presidential candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Barack
Obama of Illinois, have different approaches to helping more people get health insurance and improving
medical care. Here are some of their views.

— Valerie Strauss

Where the
Candidates
Stand on
Health Care

» Would give Americans a $5,000 credit to

» Would guarantee that anybody who wants
pay for their insurance but would make
health insurance gets it, offering a plan
people pay taxes on insurance provided by
similar to all Americans similar to one
Basic approach employers, which has never been done.
available to U.S. government workers
to health » Says if people (rather than companies) pay
» Would require big companies that do not
insurance for insurance, people will be more careful
offer health plans to their workers to do so
about how they spend the money.
and would help small businesses pay for
» Would work with state governments to help
insurance for employees.
the uninsured.
Would require kids to have health insurance
Who gets Would not require anyone to get insurance.
but not adults.
» Would put a limit on the profits that drug
» Would make it harder for people to take companies can make. Supports bringing in
their doctors to court, saying that the costs of cheaper prescription drugs from other
Other cost- these lawsuits push up the costs of medical countries.
cutting ideas coverage for everyone. » Would prevent insurance companies from
» Supports bringing in cheaper prescription refusing to sell insurance to people who are
drugs from other countries. sick (also known as people with a preexisting
condition).
Price tag for
health-care
plan (Estimate $1.3 trillion over 10 years $1.6 trillion over 10 years
by Tax Policy
Center)