So why am I writing about presidential candidates when my last post ended with a video stating there’s no reason to pay attention to the 2016 election yet?

Well, Mr. John Greene of Fault in Our Stars (I feel for Auggie, too), has an important point. Our politics nowadays are too much about things that have nothing to do with the actual issues. So, I’m choosing to write about the issues, because it’s never a waste of time to educate yourself and focus on policies that will eventually affect you and the people around you.

AS PROMISED: a post on Hillary Rodham Clinton and her candidacy! So now that you know what Bernie Sanders stands for, you need to know what the other Democratic candidate stands for. The main issues Mrs. Clinton chooses to focus on include: campaign finance reform, campus sexual assault, climate change, renewable energy, college (tuition reform?), criminal justice reform, disability rights, early childhood education, economy, gun violence prevention, health care, immigration reform, K-12 education, labor, LGBT equality, national security, rural communities, small business, social security and medicare, substance use disorder and addiction, veterans (armed forces and families), voting rights, Wall Street and corporate America, women’s rights and opportunity, and workforce and skills. I will not go into detail into each, but those which I find most important and relevant with current events.

• On Campus Sexual Assault: “I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault: Don’t let anyone silence your voice. You have the right to be heard. You have the right to be believed, and we’re with you.” (Hillary, 14 September 2015). Mrs. Clinton plans to:
  • Provide comprehensive support to survivors, including health care.
  • Ensure a fair process.
  • Increase prevention efforts.
• On Climate Change and Energy: Hillary has two main goals if she becomes president.
  1. Have more than 500,000,000 solar panels installed across the U.S. before the end of her four years.
  2. To generate enough renewable energy to power every home in the U.S. within 10 years of her taking office.
• On College: “We need to make a quality education affordable and available to everyone willing to work for it, without saddling them with decades of debt.” (Hillary, 10 August 2015). Hillary plans to create a New College Compact:
  • Students will not have to borrow to pay for tuition, books, and fees. Pell grants are not included in the calculation of no-debt-tuition, so recipients will use their grants for living expenses. Students at community college receive free tuition.
  • Students give back by working 10 hours a week.
  • Families will give “affordable and realistic” family contribution.
  • Interest rates will be cut on loans.
• On Economy: Hillary plans to provide tax relief for all families, unleash small business growth, create a New College Compact, boost public investment in infrastructure and science research, and lift participation in the workforce, especially for women.

• On Gun Violence Prevention: “I don’t know how we keep seeing shooting after shooting, read about the people murdered because they went to Bible study or they went to the movies or they were just doing their job, and not finally say we’ve got to do something about this.” (Hillary, 27 August 2015).
  • Hillary has already been involved in gun violence protection as first lady, and plans to continue to do so as president.
  • She will decrease the number of gun sales through legislation requiring more thorough background checks, closing the “Charleston Loophole” (allows a gun sale to proceed without a completed background check if that check remains incomplete after three days), and tightening the gun show and internet sales loopholes if Congress will not.
  • Other plans include: repealing the gun industry’s unique immunity protection, revoke the licenses of bad-actor dealers (those who have access to guns illegally), support legislation to stop domestic abusers from buying and possessing guns, keep military-style weapons off our streets, and close loopholes that let persons suffering from severe mental illness purchase and possess guns.
• On Immigration Reform: Hillary advocates for a fair and just immigration system, comprehensive immigration reform, defending executive actions (by President Obama, who hopes to grant citizenship to undocumented immigrants currently in the country), and conducting humane, common-sense enforcement.
• On Voting Rights: “Yes this is about democracy. But it’s also about dignity– about the ability to stand up and say, ‘Yes, I am a citizen. I am an American. My voice counts.’ And no matter where you come from or what you look like or how much money you have, that means something… in fact, it means a lot.” (Hillary, 4 June 2015).
  • She plans to repair the Voting Rights Act, set a new national standard for early voting, and implement universal, automatic voter registration.

Not convinced about Hillary? Need more information? Check out: https://www.hillaryclinton.com

If you’re sick of American politics, HAVE NO FEAR! Next week I’ll be back to writing about studying and traveling amidst the wonders of Europe.

 

*Information from this post was found from https://www.hillaryclinton.com.