Education
Protect our teachers! By giving qualified educators the knowledge that their job is secure as long as they continue to do it well, it removes that anxiety and allows them to focus on providing excellent educational experiences for their students.
Defense Spending
We are in need of better technologies. Other countries are working hard and have increased spending to obtain better technologies. If we don’t keep up, we will lose the technological advantage we currently hold. We need to concentrate on and fund research and development spending to stay on the cutting edge and remain the world’s greatest military power.
Federal Deficit
To reverse the Federal government budget deficit, we need to design a feasible plan that will be implemented over the next 10 years and periodically audited and adjusted accordingly.
Wall Street Reform
Variable interest rates, on the other hand, are tied to another interest rate (the prime rate, for example) and can change whenever the index rate changes
The U.S. prime rate is the national prime rate as published by the Wall Street Journal, which calculated based on the prime rates from the nation’s largest banks.
The higher the prime rate, the more you’ll pay to revolve a credit card balance.
Credit card issuers don’t have to give advance notice of interest rate changes if you have a variable interest rate. You can watch for potential changes to your interest rate by paying attention to news regarding interest rate (interest rate changes are typically headline news) or by watching the rates published in the Wall Street Journal.
Interest rate levels are a factor of the supply and demand of credit: an increase in the demand for credit will raise interest rates, while a decrease in the demand for credit will decrease them. Conversely, an increase in the supply of credit will reduce interest rates while a decrease in the supply of credit will increase them.
Inflation will also affect interest rate levels. The higher the inflation rate, the more interest rates are likely to rise. This occurs because lenders will demand higher interest rates as compensation for the decrease in purchasing power of the money they will be repaid in the future.
The government can control how interest rates are affected. The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) often makes announcements about how monetary policy will affect interest rates.
The Fed has the power to control interest rates through government-backed securities and policy. These investment instruments can be bought or sold, depending on what the Fed decides. If the central bank wants to lower interest rates, it buys a lot of securities, infusing the banking system with cash (kind of like in the old days when the Fed actually controlled the amount of money on the market). With more money available, interest rates decrease. If the Fed wants to raise interest rates, it sells securities. This adjusts the federal funds rate and generates cash the government can use to support valuable social programs–
Interest rate targets are a vital tool of monetary policy and are taken into account when dealing with variables like investment, inflation, and unemployment. The central banks of countries generally tend to reduce interest rates when they wish to increase investment and consumption in the country’s economy. However, a low interest rate as a macro-economic policy can be risky and may lead to the creation of an economic bubble, in which large amounts of investments are poured into the real-estate market and stock market. In developed economies, interest-rate adjustments are thus made to keep inflation within a target range for the health of economic activities or cap the interest rate concurrently with economic growth to safeguard economic momentum.[3][4][5][6][7]
Interest rate levels are a factor of the supply and demand of credit: an increase in the demand for credit will raise interest rates, while a decrease in the demand for credit will decrease them. Conversely, an increase in the supply of credit will reduce interest rates while a decrease in the supply of credit will increase them. Credit available to the economy is decreased as lenders are encouraged by the federal government to defer or forgive re-payment of student loans.
Inflation will also affect interest rate levels. The higher the inflation rate, the more interest rates are likely to rise. This occurs because lenders will demand higher interest rates as compensation for the decrease in purchasing power of the money they will be repaid in the future.
The government has a say in how interest rates are affected. The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) often makes announcements about how monetary policy will affect interest rates.
As interest rates are a major factor of the income you can earn by lending money, of bond pricing and of the amount you will have to pay to borrow money, it is important that you understand how prevailing interest rates change: primarily by the forces of supply and demand, which are also affected by inflation and monetary policy.
STEM
The central mission of the STEM Education Coalition is to inform federal and state policymakers on the critical role that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education plays in U.S. competitiveness and future economic prosperity.
- STEM education must be elevated as a national priority.
- Our nation’s future economic prosperity is closely linked with student success in the STEM fields .
- The U.S. must expand the capacity and diversity of the STEM workforce pipeline.
- Policymakers at every level must be informed about policy issues related to STEM education.
- Effective policies to promote STEM education should be bipartisan and evidence-based.
Social Issues
Welfare: Single parents, welfare recipients, should receive fully subsidized child care to allow them to return to work. No more partial or no subsidy. The cost of child care can often outrun the income generated from lower paying jobs.
Immigration: We must establish clear paths for illegal immigrants to earn citizenship. Trying to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country or working to deport them comes a high implementation cost. We need to offer these hard working individuals a way to become part of the American way of life and be active contributors to our economy.
Health Care: We need to increase health care benefits for children of low-income families or those living in poverty. Currently we are structured to provide basic healthcare services, such as immunizations. We need to improve and provide more comprehensive health services to low-income youth to include full dental, mental health, and specialized medicine services.
Gun Control: Protect our children! Require proof of adequate gun storage repository through home inspections before a weapon can be purchased. Guns must be properly stored to prevent children access.
Audrey Degray 