It’s about the economy. But it’s also about healthcare. And Medicare. And Social Security.
Those are among the issues at the top of voters’ concerns as they choose their candidates for the November election.
Nationally, public opinions consistently show those issues high on voter’s responses.
For example, a Quinnipiac/New York Times/CBS Poll conducted in mid-September found the economy and health care as the top two issues in three battleground states; Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Locally, an unscientific series of interviews with more than 140 Central New York voters by Democracywise reporters in early September found a similar pattern. Of the 140 voters, at least 60 mentioned either jobs or the economy as a top concern. And 30 voters said healthcare, 13 said Medicare, eight voters mentioned Social Security and six said Medicaid.
Voters’ concerns over issues matter because they use them to weigh which candidates they most trust to deal with the issues, said Robert D. McClure, a political scientist at Syracuse University.
“All elections are ultimately not about a particular issue. You don’t go down to vote for the economy on a ballot, you go down to vote for people, a person,” said McClure. “That choice is rooted in a global judgment about which one of the two do you have more confidence or trust in.”
Here are summaries of some key issues:
The economy
The 2008 financial crisis was the worst since the Great Depression. The economy is improving but slowly. Many voters are still unsure about their job security and financial future. Some key economic statistics:
- Nationally, unemployment stands at 8.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 40 months of unemployment above 8 percent. In New York state, unemployment is 9.1 percent, according to the labor department.
- In the Syracuse metropolitan area, unemployment is at 9 percent since July 2012.
- In a sign of improvement, the New York labor department notes 3,300 private sector jobs statewide were added in August and 102,000 jobs were added this year.
- From the start of President Obama’s term in office to the beginning of September 2012, the number of jobs in America has increased by 300,000.
Obama’s campaign website says the president’s plans to boost the economy include eliminating tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and creating incentives for businesses to bring jobs back to America.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney calls for cracking down on China because for unfair trade practices.
Medicare
Medicare is a national tax-supported entitlement program that guarantees health insurance for Americans 65 years and older. The program is under financial pressure as baby boomers begin to reach that age and as health care costs continue to skyrocket.
In 2011, Medicare covered 49 million beneficiaries at a cost of $549 billion, according to the Medicare Trustees Annual Report. The trust fund that pays for hospital care could run out in 2024.
John Palmer, a public policy professor at Syracuse University, served two terms as a public trustee of Medicare. The trustees present annual reports on the financial state of the program. Healthcare costs are the problem and restraining those costs is the answer, Palmer said.
“The way insurance is done doesn’t give much incentive for people that have coverage to worry about costs,” he said. “Reform is needed.”
President Obama calls for keeping Medicare as guaranteed coverage for the elderly and for lowering its costs by shrinking what the program pays to health care providers.
According to Mitt Romney’s campaign website, he wants to change Medicare by making it a premium-support system. Seniors would get a fixed-amount benefit that they use to purchase an insurance plan.
Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
Medicaid is a health insurance program funded by the federal government and the states. It provides coverage to those with low-income and for the elderly and disabled in nursing homes. It is managed by the states. Some health care statistics:
- Medicaid provides coverage to 56 million Americans with low income.
- The Affordable Care Act – called “Obamacare” by critics and now by President Obama too — is the new law overhauling the health care system and includes expanding Medicaid coverage to help cover some of the uninsured.
- The law will help 30 million Americans get health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It requires people to have insurance. If they do not have through their jobs, then they must buy it. Part of the law calls for government-created insurance exchanges to help some people buy insurance.
The Obama administration considers the health care law as one of its major accomplishments.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney engineered a similar health care system but has criticzed Obama’s version and has supported repealing at least portions of it.
Social Security
Like Medicare, Social Security is a tax-supported entitlement program that provides benefits to retired, unemployed and disabled Americans. The trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security estimate that in 2033 the Social Security trust fund could run out of money and the program would be collecting enough tax revenue to pay for about 75 percent of benefits. In 2011, Social Security had 44 million beneficiaries and cost $736 billion, according to the Trustees Annual Report.
SU’s Palmer, a former public trustee, said Social Security has extended its financing by raising to 66 years old as the age at which retirees qualify for full benefits and the age will continue to rise to age 67 over the next 10 to 15 years.
“Whether we need to consider raising it even higher than that over the longer run is one of the issues for reform. It may make sense. Some people think it does, others aren’t so happy about it. I think it deserves serious thought,” he said.
In 2010, Obama commissioned a bipartisan panel to look at ways to reduce the federal deficit. To keep Social Security solvent for 75 years and to reduce $4 trillion in spending over the next ten years, the panel called for raising payroll taxes on high-income individuals and families and raising the retirement age to 69 by the year 2075. Obama did not embrace the specifics of the plan.
Mitt Romney has supported increasing the retirement age and reducing the benefits for those with higher incomes.
(Tom Magnarelli is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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