Edition II - 2024

2024 Election Issues

Take the following for what you will, but the RCJ has used ChaptGPT to identify the top 20 issues on the minds of American voters is we edge nearer to a new presidential election. The Pew Research group recently polled the U.S. electorate to come up with the top issues. We then used AI to scrape candidate websites and other sources for high-level overviews of the positions, on each of the top 20 issues, of Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and of the No Labels Party. In the simplest way of seeing the outputs, Biden, Trump, and the No Labels Party represent views that are "Left", "Right" and "Center".  

Pew Research Center, these are the top 20 issues that Americans say are very important for the 2024 presidential candidates to address:

Rank

Issue

Percentage

1

Health care costs

83%

2

Economy

82%

3

COVID-19 pandemic

80%

4

Climate change

74%

5

Education

72%

6

National security

71%

7

Immigration

69%

8

Social Security

68%

9

Supreme Court appointments

67%

10

Medicare

66%

11

Foreign policy

65%

12

Gun policy

64%

13

Racial and ethnic inequality

63%

14

Federal budget deficit

62%

15

Criminal justice reform

61%

16

Abortion

60%

17

Trade policy

59%

18

Drug addiction

58%

19

Infrastructure

57%

20

Veterans’ issues

56%

Candidate Positions on Top 20 Issues 

According to the Pew study, these are some of the issues and the solutions proposed by different candidates and parties for the 2024 presidential election:
Health care costs

  • The U.S. spends more on health care per capita than any other country, but does not have better health outcomes or coverage.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to build on and improve the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, by creating a public option, lowering the eligibility age for Medicare, and reducing the prescription drug prices and the out-of-pocket costs.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, by allowing more choice and competition among health insurance providers, expanding health savings accounts (HSAs), and importing drugs from other countries.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a Health Care Stabilization Commission that would monitor the health care system and recommend changes to Congress and the president to improve quality, access, and affordability.

Economy

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe recession, high unemployment, and widespread business closures, affecting millions of Americans and their livelihoods.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to invest in infrastructure, clean energy, research and development, education, and health care to create millions of jobs, boost productivity, and enhance competitiveness.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to cut taxes and regulations to stimulate growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and to make America more competitive and attractive for businesses.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a balanced budget amendment that would require the federal government to spend no more than it collects in revenue, except in times of war or emergency.

COVID-19 pandemic

  • The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world, with over 40 million infections and over 800,000 fatalities as of January 2024.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to implement a national strategy that would coordinate the federal, state, and local efforts to contain the virus, distribute vaccines, and provide relief to individuals and businesses.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to end the lockdowns and restrictions that he believes are harming the economy, the society, and the mental health of Americans, and allow states and individuals to make their own decisions.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a national testing strategy that would increase the availability, accuracy, and speed of testing, and enable contact tracing and isolation of infected individuals.

Climate change

  • The Earth’s average temperature has risen by about 1.2°C since the pre-industrial era, and is projected to increase by another 1.5°C to 4.5°C by the end of the century, depending on the emissions scenario.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035, by investing in clean energy, innovation, and infrastructure.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and oppose any global efforts to combat climate change, by reducing the U.S. contribution, undermining other countries, and promoting fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a carbon fee and dividend system that would impose a gradually increasing fee on carbon emissions and return the revenue to the American people as a dividend or a tax cut.

Education

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the education system, forcing schools and colleges to close or switch to online or hybrid learning, and affecting the academic achievement, social development, and mental health of students and teachers.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to provide universal pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds, and to triple the funding for Title I schools that serve low-income students.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to promote school choice and competition, by allowing federal funds to follow students to the schools of their choice, such as charter schools, private schools, or homeschooling.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a Student Success Act that would reauthorize and reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and provide more funding, flexibility, and accountability to states and schools.

National security

  • The U.S. faces various threats and challenges to its national security, such as terrorism, cyberattacks, nuclear proliferation, rogue states, and great power competition.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to rebuild the U.S. alliances and partnerships, restore the U.S. leadership and credibility, and reform the U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to pursue the America First policy, strengthen the U.S. military and nuclear arsenal, and confront the U.S. adversaries and rivals.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a National Security Strategy Commission that would review and update the U.S. national security strategy and budget, and provide oversight and accountability to the executive and legislative branches.

Immigration

  • The U.S. has a complex and controversial immigration system, involving legal and illegal immigration, border security, asylum and refugee policy, and citizenship and integration.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to create a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants, reverse the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and reform the U.S. immigration system and laws.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, restrict legal and illegal immigration, and enforce the U.S. immigration laws and deportations.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a comprehensive immigration reform that would secure the border, provide a legal status for the undocumented immigrants, and modernize the U.S. immigration system and laws.

Social Security

  • The U.S. has a social insurance program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to millions of Americans, but faces financial and demographic challenges.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to increase the Social Security benefits, especially for the low-income, elderly, and disabled beneficiaries, and to extend the solvency of the Social Security trust fund by raising taxes on the wealthy.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to protect and preserve the Social Security benefits, especially for the current and near-retirees, and to ensure the solvency of the Social Security trust fund by boosting the economic growth and cutting the waste and fraud.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a bipartisan Social Security reform that would balance the Social Security revenues and expenditures, and ensure the long-term sustainability and adequacy of the Social Security program.

Supreme Court appointments

  • The U.S. has a Supreme Court that consists of nine justices who have lifetime tenure and have the power to interpret the Constitution and the laws, and to resolve the legal disputes and controversies.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to appoint the Supreme Court justices who share his vision and values, respect the precedent and the rule of law, and reflect the diversity and the reality of the American society.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to appoint the Supreme Court justices who adhere to his ideology and agenda, uphold the originalism and the textualism, and defend the constitutional rights and the liberties of the American people.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a judicial reform that would limit the Supreme Court justices’ tenure to 18 years, stagger their appointments every two years, and require their confirmation by a supermajority of the Senate.

Medicare

  • The U.S. has a health insurance program that covers the medical expenses of the elderly and the disabled, but faces rising costs and quality issues.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to expand and improve Medicare, by lowering the eligibility age to 60, adding new benefits such as dental, vision, and hearing, and reducing the prescription drug prices and the out-of-pocket costs.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to preserve and protect Medicare, by promoting the private Medicare Advantage plans, allowing the importation of drugs from other countries, and eliminating the waste and fraud.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a Medicare reform that would preserve the Medicare benefits, but also introduce more competition, choice, and efficiency in the Medicare program, and align the Medicare payments with the value and quality of the care.

Foreign policy

  • The U.S. has a foreign policy that involves the relations and interactions with other countries and international organizations, and the pursuit of the U.S. interests and values in the world.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to restore the U.S. global leadership and engagement, by rejoining the international agreements and institutions, supporting the democracy and human rights, and cooperating with the allies and partners.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to assert the U.S. national sovereignty and interests, by withdrawing from the international agreements and institutions, pursuing the bilateral and transactional deals, and challenging the adversaries and competitors.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a smart and pragmatic foreign policy that would balance the U.S. global responsibilities and capabilities, and advance the U.S. security and prosperity in the world.

Gun policy

  • The U.S. has a gun policy that involves the regulation and control of the firearms and the ammunition, and the protection of the Second Amendment rights and the public safety.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to enact a comprehensive gun control legislation, by banning the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, expanding the background checks and the red flag laws, and reducing the gun violence and the suicides.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to defend and uphold the Second Amendment rights, by appointing the pro-gun judges and justices, opposing the gun control legislation and the confiscation, and supporting the law-abiding gun owners and the manufacturers.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a common-sense gun policy that would respect the constitutional rights and the cultural differences, but also address the public health and the safety concerns, and prevent the mass shootings and the tragedies.

Racial and ethnic inequality

  • The U.S. has a racial and ethnic inequality that involves the discrimination and the disparities in the opportunities and outcomes for different groups of people, based on their race and ethnicity.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to combat the systemic racism and the injustice, by advancing the civil rights and the voting rights, promoting the economic and educational equity, and reforming the criminal justice and the policing.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to reject the critical race theory and the identity politics, by celebrating the American history and the patriotism, creating the economic and the educational opportunities, and restoring the law and order and the security.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a racial and ethnic reconciliation and integration, by acknowledging the historical and the current problems, fostering the dialogue and the understanding, and pursuing the common goals and the interests.

Federal budget deficit

  • The U.S. has a federal budget deficit that involves the excess of the federal spending over the federal revenue, and the accumulation of the national debt and the interest payments.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to increase the federal spending on the social and the environmental programs, and to finance them by raising taxes on the wealthy and the corporations, and by borrowing from the domestic and the foreign sources.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to decrease the federal spending on the domestic and the foreign programs, and to boost the federal revenue by cutting taxes on the individuals and the businesses, and by stimulating the economic growth and the trade.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget, by reforming the entitlement and the discretionary programs, and by broadening the tax base and the revenue sources, and by reducing the waste and the fraud.

Criminal justice reform

  • The U.S. has a criminal justice system that involves the law enforcement, the courts, and the corrections, and the prevention and the punishment of the crimes and the offenses.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to reform the criminal justice system, by ending the mass incarceration and the mandatory minimum sentences, decriminalizing the marijuana and the drug offenses, and improving the rehabilitation and the reentry of the offenders.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to uphold the criminal justice system, by supporting the police and the law enforcement, imposing the harsh and the deterrent sentences, and cracking down on the gangs and the violence.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a fair and effective criminal justice system, by balancing the public safety and the individual rights, addressing the root causes and the consequences of the crimes, and enhancing the accountability and the transparency of the system.

Abortion

  • The U.S. has an abortion policy that involves the legal and moral status of the termination of the pregnancy, and the rights and the interests of the women, the fetuses, and the society.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to protect and expand the reproductive rights and the health care, by codifying the Roe v. Wade decision, repealing the Hyde Amendment, and supporting the Planned Parenthood and the Title X program.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to restrict and overturn the abortion rights and the health care, by appointing the pro-life judges and justices, reinstating the Mexico City policy, and defunding the Planned Parenthood and the Title X program.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a moderate and respectful abortion policy, by recognizing the complexity and the sensitivity of the issue, allowing the exceptions and the limitations, and reducing the need and the demand for the abortion.

Trade policy

  • The U.S. has a trade policy that involves the regulation and the promotion of the international trade in goods and services, and the protection and the advancement of the U.S. economic and strategic interests.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to pursue a multilateral and rules-based trade policy, by rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and by negotiating the trade agreements and the standards with the allies and the partners.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to pursue a unilateral and transactional trade policy, by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and by imposing tariffs and sanctions on the U.S. adversaries and competitors.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a smart and pragmatic trade policy that would balance the U.S. trade interests and values, and advance the U.S. economic and strategic goals in the world.

Drug addiction

  • The U.S. has an opioid epidemic that involves the misuse and abuse of prescription and illicit opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, and the overdose deaths and the health and social consequences.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to expand the access and the affordability of the substance use disorder treatment and recovery services, by increasing the funding and the coverage, and by enforcing the mental health parity laws.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to stop the flow and the supply of the illegal drugs, especially from China and Mexico, by building a wall on the southern border, imposing sanctions and penalties, and enhancing the law enforcement and the interdiction.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a comprehensive and balanced drug policy that would address the prevention, treatment, and enforcement aspects of the drug problem, and involve the federal, state, local, and private sectors.

Infrastructure

  • The U.S. has an aging and deteriorating infrastructure that involves the transportation, communication, energy, and water systems, and the need for the maintenance, repair, and upgrade.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to invest in the modern and sustainable infrastructure, by creating a national infrastructure bank, launching a clean energy revolution, and supporting the rural and the urban communities.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to leverage the private and the local funding for the infrastructure projects, by streamlining the permitting and the regulatory processes, and by providing incentives and tax credits to the investors and the developers.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a bipartisan infrastructure plan that would generate the revenue and the spending for the infrastructure projects, and prioritize the national and the regional needs and the goals.

Veterans’ issues

  • The U.S. has a veteran population that involves the former members of the armed forces and their families, and the provision and the protection of their benefits and services.
  • Joe Biden’s solutions: He wants to improve the quality and the accessibility of the health care and the mental health care for the veterans, by reforming and strengthening the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and by expanding the community care and the telehealth options.
  • Donald Trump’s solutions: He wants to increase the choice and the accountability for the veterans, by signing and implementing the VA MISSION Act, the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Forever GI Bill.
  • No Labels’ solutions: They support a veteran empowerment and a reform act that would enhance the veterans’ benefits and services, and address the challenges and the opportunities for the veterans, such as the employment, the education, and the transition.

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