The economy has taken a back seat to no other issue this election year, and for good reason. The unemployment rate is increasing and more layoffs are imminent, energy prices have had a huge impact on disposable income, foreclosures are at an all time high, the stock market has seen significant declines, and inflation has reared its ugly head again.

Amid abundant fear and uncertainty, one thing is certain: this election is too important for us to rely on political rhetoric. Our country desires and deserves more. Whether you’re on the fence or not, looking at the facts can go a long way toward providing clarity. To save you the time and frustration, we’ve researched how each candidate’s policies will affect your bottom line. No bias here, we’ve simply dug out the hard numbers as given from each campaign on all of the issues that will affect your financial well being.

Taxes

Obama: Obama claims that no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase and that 95% of Americans would see a decrease in taxes in the form of a refundable credit of $500 per working person ($1,000 per married working couple). Those making more than $250,000 would see their tax rates return to 1990’s era levels (39.6%). Obama offers a tax calculator on his site.

McCain: McCain would keep the top tax rate at 35 percent and make permanent all previous Bush administration tax cuts. McCain would provide a progressively higher tax break to those who earn more, with the highest 20% of wage earners seeing the largest increase in take home income. Additionally, he would double the dependent exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 for those with incomes of less than $50,000.

Energy Expenses

Obama: Obama wants to institute a windfall profits tax on oil companies to give tax filers a $1,000 rebate to assist in the coverage of energy expenses.

McCain: Proposes that Congress suspend the 18.4 cent tax on gasoline and 24.4 cent tax on diesel between Memorial and Labor Day.

College Loans and Expenses

Obama: Proposes to increase Pell Grants from the limit of $4,050 to $5,100. Also would issue a $4,000 annual credit that can be used towards college tuition in exchange for community service.
McCain: Does not propose any new grants or tax benefits for those seeking higher education.

Home Ownership

Obama: Proposes creating a ‘universal mortgage credit’ of 10% to assist the two-thirds of U.S. homeowners who do not itemize their taxes (and as a result do not get mortgage credits). Obama’s campaign claims that the average recipient would receive approximately $500 from this credit.

McCain: Would allow holders of a sub-prime mortgage that was taken post 2005 to refinance to a new 30 year fixed-rate mortgage if they are delinquent or able to prove that they will not be able to pay their existing loan.

Health Care

Obama: Under Obama’s plan, if you like your health insurance, you need not change anything. If you don’t like your plan, or don’t have health insurance, you are guaranteed eligibility at no premium for a plan that is similar to that which is offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which members of Congress use. This plan would cover preventative, maternity, mental health, and other services.

McCain: Under McCain’s plan, if you have employee sponsored health insurance, your benefits would now be treated as taxable income. To help offset this tax gain, McCain proposes a $5,000 refundable tax credit for families and $2,500 for individuals.

Investing & Retirement

Obama: Obama plans to raise the capital gains tax on investment profits from the current 15% maximum to 20% for those making over $250,000. Those earning under $250,000 would see no change. On the issue of taxing estates, Obama would raise the exclusion to $3.5 million per person and keep the taxable rate above that at 45%.

McCain: No change in the 15% maximum capital gains tax. When it comes to taxing estates, McCain would raise the exclusion to $5 million per person, while cutting the tax rate on transfers above that amount to 15%.

Job Creation

Obama: Obama’s largest focus is on creating new clean energy jobs. He proposes dedicating $150 billion over the next 10 years towards alternative energy technology and industry in an effort to create 5 million new jobs. The second major area of focus for job creation by the Obama campaign is to double the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in order to maintain a strong manufacturing presence in the US. A third effort would be to create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that would receive $60 billion over 10 years in order to help finance the rebuilding of infrastructure which would hopefully lead to the creation of 2 million new jobs.

McCain: The crux of McCain’s job creation policy is to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25% (whereas Obama advocates for keeping it at 35%). McCain plans on applying $2 billion per year towards developing clean coal technology. He’d also like to create 45 new nuclear plants by 2030, but does not dictate a specific amount towards this initiative.

For further research, visit:
The Tax Policy Center
Factcheck.org
Project Vote Smart
Barackobama.com
Johnmccain.com

May the best candidate win next Tuesday. Get out and vote!

For more of GE Miller’s writing, see 20somethingfinance.com

Everyone wants to save money and lower their debt and they are trying all kinds of fancy ways of doing it. The reality is that all you need for consumer debt consolidation is some common sense and the ability to prevent your wife from going shopping. Probably the biggest prevention of consumer debt consolidation is shoes. My God women love shoes and my wife buys shoes no matter how deep in the hole we are and it drives me nuts!

Debts are a result of simply spending more than you make. Being in debt has become a way of life. I am glad to tell you that there are ways to effectively consolidate those debts.

There are companies that offer debt solutions when your debts get out of hand. This debt tends to be highest right after the holiday season, when credit cards are terribly overused to buy gifts. Debt consolidation can help by rolling all your debts (credit card, loans, etc…) into a single, lower payment so you can get free of debt quickly. Debt consolidation loans clear out high interest credit card balances and set you on a path to freedom from debt. With debt consolidation, you clear up outstanding credit card balances and move forward to a better position financially.

Consolidation of unsecured debt is one of the better solutions you will find. However, understand that consolidation simply combines your debts, not reduce or lower them. Shop around a bit, compare a few offers and run BBB checks on several just as you would if you were shopping for a television or computer.

Debt consolidation service works by simply eliminating high interest debt(s) and unsecured debt that has been destroying not only your finances but your health as well and rolls them into one loan at a low interest rate. This means you only make a single payment every month as opposed to several.

With a consolidation solution, you are able to wipe away delinquent payments and start moving in a more positive monetary position. You can also stop the negative marks on your credit report and establish a higher FICO score.

You can get some great consumer debt consolidation advice from your bank or credit union. They offer some really fantastic programs that can not only help you consolidate debt and pay some of your debt of but they will also lower your monthly payments with lower interest rates. I am all for that after I saw the stuff my wife bought on our Home Depot card! Man, what am I going to do with a marble counter top that doesn’t fit any of my cabinets? And where in the world am I supposed to hook up this water spout on this kitchen island?

Try and avoid transferring balances from one credit card to another even though they may offer interest free transfers. In the end you are still adding to that balance and it never goes away. The best way to address consumer debt consolidation is to isolate the debt and eliminate it.

You can learn more on debt, credit and credit card debt relief

A personal loan can be a great thing as it can be used for all types of things. On top of that, if approved, borrowers can benefit from very flexible payback periods and interest rates. As soon as one gets their credit in line, and a lender in place, the task comes to work out what to use the loan for.

Leisure is the first thing that comes to mind when obtaining personal loans. Vacations are quite cheap these days- with many travel agents only charging a few thousand dollars for an all-expenses paid holiday. With a just a few thousand dollars in personal loans, a family can see the world and pay back the loan in time for Christmas.

Other uses for of cheap loans are more down to earth, such as the need to use them to buy a car. Using personal loans to buy a car have advantages over the usual car loan, which demands that the borrower gets full coverage auto insurance. By keeping the details secretive, borrowers can use the loan to buy a used or new car, without the problem of additionally having to pay full coverage insurance until the car is paid for in full.

Students are already likely using personal loans to pay off student bills. tuition, books, living costs, and vehicles are quite costly. Obtaining an apartment’s worth full of things such as microwaves, food, and furniture can compound the expenses doubly. To ease the problem, cheap personal loans will do wonders for students- just try to teach them enough responsibility to pay it back in due time to avoid debts.

With medical insurance rising, and many having to do without it or relying on government programs, getting adequate medical care can be a tricky thing. A personal loan can help pay for expensive surgeries, medical visits, and other expenses such as prescriptions. These types of personal loans aren’t as much fun as the holiday previously mentioned, but they are often vital to maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle.

Weddings are also a great use for the personal loan. Every girl dreams of a big wedding, or at least something extravagant. When the parents have run out of available funds, and ends still aren’t meeting, it’s time to get a personal loan to finance the wedding. Personal loans can help make the wedding an event to remember- not just another wedding that is comparable to any one of the thousands of weddings that take place each day.

As we can very well see, personal loans have all sorts of applications. A personal loan can be used for leisure, fun, medical bills, bettering one’s education, and even showing others a declaration of love in the form of a wedding. Just bear in mind that personal loans are just like every other loan, and that using them wisely is important. Just as important is the fact that repaying them is fundamental in order to avoid the threats of debt.