In the wake of the election, professors from the University at Urbana-Champaign and Chicago predict the future of the country under its new leader.

The election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States was landmark in itself, but experts have speculated that his administration could influence issues that have played a role in everyday politics for years.

Institute of Government and Public Affairs Director Robert Rich talks about health care, Sociology professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago Cedric Herring talks about social issues, and University finance professor Don Fullerton discusses energy.

Health care

DI: What will be the future of Medicare with Obama?

Robert Rich: I think that he hasn’t been as specific with Medicare but what he’s going to do is reform the prescription drug plan so the federal government can negotiate with drug firms to lower rates of prescription drugs.

DI: Can you explain Obama’s health care plan?

RR: Senator Obama is emphasizing affordability of health care. He’s saying if you’re satisfied with health insurance, you need not make any change. If you’re not satisfied he’s working to lower premiums for insurance. It’s called the National Health Insurance Exchange. This exchange provides information to consumers and provides basis for group rates so the rates can be lower. He also eliminates all pre-existing conditions to give insurance to anyone who applies.

DI: How will government coverage of people with disabilities be affected under Obama?

RR: Obama’s basic goal is to have people have at least as good of insurance as he does in Congress. So I guess coverage for people on Medicaid and people with disabilities will go up because that federal plan is a generous plan.

Social issues

DI: What will be the future of Social Security?

Cedric Herring: Well, Social Security is in grave danger no matter what candidate wins. What you have with Obama is a generation of change and I think most young people are skeptical of Social Security being around when they end up needing those benefits.

DI: Will the rights of gay and lesbian citizens progress?

CH: Well I know that the LGBT community has embraced Obama’s candidacy and I know that he is not anti-gay and his constituency has not promoted an anti-gay agenda.

DI: What will be done about affordable housing?

CH: Within the limits of budget and economy, he would probably want to expand the governmental efforts to provide people who can’t afford it.

DI: How will the candidate approach abortion?

CH: His statements about abortion are that he is not trying to overturn Roe v. Wade. He believes abortion is between a woman and her physician.

Energy and environment

DI: How will the candidate approach drilling offshore oil?

Don Fullerton: Obama said he would consider that course. But also a decision not to drill offshore is not a decision never to drill. It’s just another way to keep the options open for long. As soon as you take that oil from the offshore oil fields, it’s gone and it won’t be there. So saving it for future generations is one benefit of waiting to drill. And whether Obama would choose to drill offshore would depend on the circumstances at that time.

DI: How does the candidate feel about nuclear energy?

DF: Obama has said he would increase nuclear energy and power. And of course nuclear power has some environmental issues. So I think that Obama is likely to increase use of nuclear energy somewhat but is more likely to increase wind power, hydropower and solar energy. And maybe more for conservation; less use of energy altogether.

DI: Will there be an active pursuit of an affordable alternative energy source?

DF: Yeah, that would be the effort to increase wind power, solar power and energy efficiency.

DI: How does Obama plan to reduce oil consumption?

DF: Why should the president be deciding how much we should consume? There’s a mix of how to cut down carbon dioxide. One way is to cut down on oil or coal. So just switching from oil to natural gas would improve things. Switching from natural gas to wind power would cut it even more. Those are multiple different strategies. Maybe we could cut down on the use of carbon altogether. Energy gets more expensive and then your electricity is more expensive.