John McCain

(Republican) – McCain says he would try to lower corporate taxes and make it more difficult for Congress to pass legislation raising taxes. He also says he will eliminate pork-barrel spending and try to gain a line item veto to cut wastefulness from passed bills. McCain voted for No Child Left Behind and is in favor of charter schools, vouchers and home schooling. He defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but says individual states should decide the issue, not the federal government. He does support legal benefits for same-sex partners. McCain opposed universal health care coverage mandated by the government but supports health care tax cuts for low-income Americans. He was in favor of the use of military force in Iraq and supported Bush’s veto of a bill that would pull troops out by March 2008. McCain was in favor of sending more troops to Iraq.

Hillary Clinton

(Democrat) – Clinton says she would establish a number of emergency funds to help cities and states address economic problems. She says she would create a $30 billion housing fund, a $25 billion emergency energy fund and invest $10 billion in unemployment insurance. Clinton would end the No Child Left Behind Act and concentrate on early childhood education and pre-kindergarten for all children. She says she would increase the maximum Pell Grant for college students and do more to identify ‘at-risk’ youth. Clinton is opposed to same-sex marriage but supports civil unions and states’ rights to decide the issue. She plans to institute individual health care insurance for all Americans and a new public insurance plan modeled after Medicare. Clinton plans to pay for this program by eliminating Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Clinton voted in favor of the war in Iraq but now is in favor of phasing out troops if elected president.

Ron Paul

(Republican) – Paul has not spoken out about the new economic stimulus plan, but he is in favor of lowering taxes. He says he would also eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. Paul is against the No Child Left Behind Act and if elected president, he says he would get rid of the Department of Education and allow functions of education to be left to the states. He also proposed a tax deduction for undergraduate college tuition. He defines marriage as being between a man and a woman but opposes a federal definition of marriage. Paul wants the private sector to compete and give people more personal choice concerning health care. Paul voted against the war in the beginning and opposed sending more troops to Iraq. He also has said that military victory in Iraq is “unattainable.”

Cynthia McKinney

(Green) – McKinney is no longer a member of the House of Representatives, so she has not proposed a plan for economic stimulus. However, in the past she has been in favor of eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy. McKinney was formerly a member of the Democratic Party before leaving for the Green Party in 2007. McKinney supports full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act and says she would reduce classroom sizes to allow for better individual attention for students. She is opposed to school vouchers. McKinney is in favor of benefits for same-sex partnerships and has voted against bans on same-sex adoptions. She has been in favor of plans to create a national system for universal access to health care but has not proposed a plan yet. McKinney voted against the Iraq war and has opposed continued funding for the war. At an anti-war rally in 2005, she called the war “immoral” and “illegal.”

Mitt Romney

(Republican) – Romney says he is in favor of the recently proposed economic stimulus plan. He says he would make sure tax cuts are permanent and would try to cut taxes for all Americans. He also says he would oppose increases to taxes on Social Security. Romney supports the No Child Left Behind Act but wants to focus more on individual students instead of school progress. He is opposed to same-sex marriage and civil unions. Romney encourages states to develop their own health care plans to help uninsured Americans. He supported Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq and is against troop withdrawal.

Barack Obama

(Democrat) – Obama says he would try to put more money into the economy through $75 billion in tax cuts. He says he has further plans for how to stimulate and inject money into the economy if the current situation continues to worsen. Obama says he would reform the No Child Left Behind Act and try to reduce the high school dropout rate. He is opposed to same-sex marriage but does not support a constitutional ban. He does support civil unions. Obama says he would create a national health insurance program for all Americans not covered by their employers and all children. He also plans to pay for the program by eliminating Bush’s tax cuts for people that earn more than $250,000 a year. Obama opposed the Iraq war originally and now supports a program to phase troops out of the country.

Mike Huckabee

(Republican) – Huckabee says he would make tax cuts permanent and try to cut rates on corporate and individual income taxes. He says he has an idea of a fair tax instead of federal income or payroll taxes; the fair tax would be based on wealth. Huckabee supports No Child Left Behind, home schooling and charter schools. He also says that art and music education are just as important as math and science. Huckabee opposes same-sex marriage. He also opposes federally created universal health care coverage. He says he would encourage the private sector to work to make health care more affordable for people. Huckabee opposes proposals to cut funding for the war and has not expressed a plan to withdraw.

Mike Gravel

(Democrat) – Gravel has not introduced plans to help stimulate the economy, yet he has expressed interest in eliminating the IRS and the income tax, to be replaced with a national sales tax on new products and services. Gravel wants to reform the No Child Left Behind Act and extend pre-school programs such as Head Start. Gravel supports same-sex marriage. Gravel is in favor of universal health care coverage through a voucher system and would pay for the program through a retail sales tax. He has always opposed the war in Iraq and says that Congress should demand an end to the war and immediate troop withdrawal.