WA State Political Issues

Health Insurance Democrats  Single Payer System to reduce costs  Health Insurance for everyone  Have Price Controls- reduce the profits  High costs due to greedy business profits- poor get bad health care Republicans  Free Market Based System  Competition and incentives (profit) means the best doctors, medicines, and technology  Tort Reform (reduce lawsuits)  Higher costs due to government regulations and fraud

Illegal Immigration Democrats  All immigrants are welcome  A border wall is unnecessary  Illegal immigrants are entitled to welfare benefits and schooling  Illegal Immigrants should not be deported as they help the economy Republicans  Build a wall  Illegal Immigrants hurt tax payers  Illegals need to go through the legal process to become citizens  Too many illegals commit crimes

Gun Control Democrats  Longer waiting periods and more background checks to reduce violence  Outlaw certain guns and clips  Violence is due to high supply of guns  Increase funding for mental health Republicans  Right to own guns an important freedom  Government regulations are moving closer to outlawing guns  Gun violence due to criminals- not guns  Laws and restrictions apply only to law abiding citizens- leaving them less safe

Taxes Democrats  Government Spending is key to growing and investing the economy  Higher taxes allow the government to do more- education, healthcare etc.  Wealthy can afford higher taxes- redistribute their money to the poor  Wealthy got their money by taking advantage of the poor and they don’t deserve the money Republicans  Taxes are already too high-lower them  Government wastes the money and uses it to buy voters  Higher taxes slow the economy and hurts incentive  Allow people the freedom to spend their own money

Welfare Benefits Democrats  Welfare assist the needy with housing, utilities, food, and healthcare  People will be desperate without it  The spending is an investment in our society- reduces crimes etc.  Society is constructed to benefit the rich who use their power to keep people poor Republicans  Welfare creates a dependent class of people who are always collecting  It’s a way to buy voters  Trillions spent hasn’t reduced poverty  Only hard work and opportunity can better their life

Marijuana Democrats  Legalize  Not a criminal offense  Government shouldn’t regulate personal lives of people  Can be a great way to gain tax revenue  Not any more harmful than alcohol and better than prescription drugs Republicans  Illegal  Harmful to people’s health and to society  Gateway drug that leads to other problems

Business Regulations Democrats  Wants regulations to protect people  Business uses its influence to hurt people and the environment for a profit- regulations protect people  Regulations and laws level the playing field for everyone Republicans  Regulations make it expensive for businesses and citizens- costs are added to everything we buy  Govt. regulators are using their power to pass rules that are not voted on by congress  Regulators aren’t held accountable leading to arbitrary abuse of power

Carbon Emissions Democrats  Global warming is real and man made  We must reduce our carbon emissions to keep our planet from overheating  Global Warming symptoms are expensive to deal with  Alternative Energy can help the economy- less coal and oil use Republicans  Global Warming may not be man made  Reducing Carbon Emission hurts the economy by making products more expensive  Alternative Energy is much more expensive  Alternative Energy can only survive through corruption and tax payer money

Education Democrats  Education needs more funding through higher taxes  Poor schools hurt minorities more  Against school choice, charter schools, and any competition for public schools  Strongly support teacher unions Republicans  Wants to hold teachers accountable and reduce union strength  Schools don’t efficiently spend the money they get  Increased competition will improve schools (charter schools and school choice)

Criminal Justice System Democrats  Want to lessen penalties on criminals  Sees the justice system as racist because it sends more minorities to prison  Too many people are in jail and felons are unable to improve their lives because of their record  Prison cost too much- spend the money on education and preventative programs (like rehab) Republicans  Prison system is not racist and people need to take responsibility for their choices  High prison rates have meant falling crime rates and less people hurt  Need to increase jail sentences and be tough on crime  Jail is already to soft on criminals

Voter I.D. Laws Democrats  Requiring voters to have id’s to vote takes away voting rights of poor and minorities  There is limited to no voter fraud  Make it easier for people to vote Republicans  Voter’s id cards proves who people are in order to make sure there is no voter fraud (double voting, dead people etc.)  Fraud is a problem

Minimum Wage Democrats  Increase minimum wage to a living wage ($12-15) an hour.  Will boost the economy through higher consumer spending  Will reduce taxes as people won’t qualify for welfare benefits  Large corporations can afford to share profits and increase the middle class Republicans  Higher minimum wage puts small business out of business  higher skilled workers get the jobs = uneducated get fired, so unemployment increases  Welfare workers reduce their hours to maintain benefits= no tax savings  Profit margins are small- companies will increase prices (inflation) so few people get ahead

Unions Democrats  Strong Union Supporters  Unions means higher wages and benefits for workers  Increases size of the middle class- gap between rich and poor great right now due to decreasing unions  Workers need to team up to challenge powerful businesses interests Republicans  Strong Business supporters  Unions lead to government corruption  Unions make American business uncompetitive in our global economy- leading to more jobs going over seas.  Government employee unions lead to run away government spending and a government that promotes one party rule  There is no widening gap between rich and poor when welfare benefits are included- government policies lead to increasing poor

LBGT and Religious Issues Democrats  Strongly support LBGT rights  No workplace discrimination against LBGT workers or customers  Gender is a choice and people may choose bathroom and locker room to use  Religious views do not belong in the public or government space Republicans  Sees traditional family or religious values are under attack  Businesses and religious institutions have religious freedom to choose who they serve and what ceremonies participate in.  Gender is not a choice- keep bathrooms and locker rooms for people’s gender of birth