With the upcoming election just a little more than a month away, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in the last stages of explaining their policies and positions to the American public.
While knowing each candidate's positions on the issues is important, it is equally important to learn how each policy will affect the local community.
Both Obama and Romney's policies, particularly ones regarding health care and unemployment, will have an effect on the citizens of Lee County, said Rep. Mike Hubbard, speaker of the state House of Representatives (R-Auburn).
One of the issues being frequently discussed by both Romney and Obama is health care. Regarding the recently enacted Affordable Care Act, Obama's campaign website said the act works to put the health of families first and protect families from abuse by insurance companies.
Hubbard said Alabama would go bankrupt if forced to comply with Obamacare because of the additions that would be added to Medicaid.
"We would have to add 400,000 new people to our Medicaid rolls, and we can't afford what we have now," Hubbard said. "It would be instant bankruptcy for the state of Alabama. We'd have to have a massive, massive tax increase to be able to accommodate it."
If elected president, Romney said on his website he would repeal the Affordable Care Act his first day in office and allow states to dictate their own health insurance.
Alabama has already started preparing for the cost of Medicaid.
Sept. 18, Alabamians voted on a constitutional amendment that allowed the Alabama Legislature to balance the budget by borrowing $437 million from the Alabama Trust Fund and putting it into the General Fund.
It was done to cover the costs of Medicaid and prisons' rising incarceration rates.
Another big issue in the election is the unemployment rate and the candidates' policies for creating jobs for Americans.
Obama's website highlights the addition of half a million jobs since January 2010, as well as the president's promise to keep job growth increasing to lower the unemployment rates.
Hubbard said Obama has created jobs, but the jobs he created were government jobs, which are paid for by the taxpayers. In actuality, there are 600,000 fewer government employees now than there were on Obama's inauguration day, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since October 2011, private sector jobs grew 1.8 percent. Government payrolls, on the other hand, dropped by 0.8 percent.
However, the Bureau also shows the unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 43 months in a row, the longest since the Great Depression.
"The people who are creating jobs are the states that understand that the private sector is what creates wealth in this country and what creates jobs," Hubbard said. "And that's what we have concentrated on in the state of Alabama, and I think that it's very important for us to continue to do that, and we will."
Auburn City Manager Charlie Duggan said the local manufacturing companies are reporting strong outlooks and many are expanding and creating new jobs.
"Kia and Hyundai are both expanding their plants in LaGrange and Montgomery; this is causing our local suppliers to amp up also," Duggan said. "Since this is happening now, it leads me to believe that our manufacturing areas believe that they will continue to do well regardless of November's outcome."
Both want to create jobs for Americans and help with their health plans. The way they intend to do that, however, is completely different.
For a more in-depth look, visit barackobama.com and mittromney.com
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