As the nation seems equally divided in its support for President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney this election, so is the current Rocket staff.
A slight edge on our staff went in favor of the current President. Seeing as we’re a diverse staff with diverse interests, the basis for our collaborative endorsement rests solely on how each candidate would affect college students.
The staff majority view favors President Obama because he has made education more accessible for Americans, while fear of tax cuts from Republican leadership makes us leary of a Romney victory.
Obama has increased funding for education, especially in terms of federal financial aid for college students, during his first term as president. It is a big help for anyone seeking a higher education, but especially valuable to the students in Pa. that are suffering through an academic career that coincides with Gov. Tom Corbett’s harsh budget cuts on education.
Funding is a crucial element to allowing many people to pursue higher education. We can’t take the risk of having any more taken away, and it is a real possibility Romney would do so in trying to balance out his economic plan that would cut taxes for the wealthy and raise military funding. That money would have to come from somewhere , and since Romney won’t tell us anything specific other than mysterious “loopholes,” we can only assume Obama’s increases in education spending may be a target.
That can’t happen.
Opponents of Obama have an issue with unemployment rates, a scary figure for soon to be graduates. Unemployment has been an issue throughout the President’s first term in office, but that can be attributed, at least in part, to the economic situation he inherited. As it stands now, unemployment is now dropping and we feel, while not wildly optimistic, a little better about continuing with Obama.
Romney’s conservative economic ideology is too similar to that of former President George W. Bush’s, which many feel is the cause of the “great recession.”
While there are numerous other issues in the election voters need to focus on, our call to get a staff endorsement rests on the affects on college students. With Obama’s increases to education funding, we feel he is the right man for the job.
Romney can better fix unemployment
– Dissenting Staff Opinion –
Mitt Romney should be the next president because the country needs a change.
The unemployment rate has not gotten better under Barack Obama’s leadership. It is basically the same as when he took office. As soon-to-be graduating college students, the bleak job market leaves us worried, and we don’t have the time or patience to wait for it to be fixed.
We need working solutions now, and we feel Romney gives the country the best opportunity to do that. Romney has years of experience in the business field, and that expertise is something that would help get the country’s economic turmoil under control. Obama had his chance to fix the economy and had poor results.
Those who support Obama will throw his education funding figures out. Fine, but getting a nice education doesn’t really help if we cannot find a job after we graduate.
In that sense, we have little faith in the policies President Obama has put into place.
As for how Romney would help education directly, we feel comfortable with the job he did as Governor of Mass. , where the state schools were among the best in the nation, and feel he would make appropriate decisions to help college students succeed across the country.
