Raymond Ashkenazie ’24

In the beginning of 2020, I felt that the most important issues when selecting a presidential candidate were: climate change, gun violence prevention, and Middle Eastern policy. But, because of the upheaval we are living with today, my mindset has changed. This upheaval includes: rampant forest fires in California, institutional racism across America, and the Covid-19 crisis. America is leading the world with over 6.5 million coronavirus cases and 200,000 deaths while schools all over the country are unable to reopen. Millions of Americans are unemployed, being kicked out of their homes, and are unable to put food on their tables. The issues that matter to me have changed significantly from before the pandemic to today. I now believe that the most important issue is fixing the economic and health crisis of the coronavirus, while keeping equality and climate change in mind. 

Although no longer part of my top three important points, Middle Eastern policy is still crucial to me when selecting a presidential candidate  because  I believe that we, as American Jews, need to continue to strengthen the US-Israel relationship to benefit democracy in the Middle East.  It is super important for me to ensure that the four billion dollars (24% of Israel’s defense budget) that America grants Israel in defense spending is appropriated each year. This money is crucial to Israel’s existence and its ability to protect itself from terrorism.. The US Israel  relationship is a reciprocal one with the technological advancements and medical breakthroughs Israel shares with the American government and military. 

The next issue I care about when discussing the presidential elections is racial inequality. The housing and education inequalities are hurting the African American and Latino communities. African American men are routinely killed for resisting arrest which is not a crime that is justified by the death penalty. 

The last issue that I believe  is crucial to think of while selecting a presidential candidate  is the economic and health crisis that we are living in today. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, been kicked out of their homes and do not have the money to help their families survive. There are also 200,000 people dead and so many others sick, and millions of senior citizens and people with pre existing conditions will die if the Covid pandemic isn’t handled properly. The candidate should not only rebuild our system but to build it back better and to try to solve the climate crisis we are living in Climate change and rebuilding our system are intertwined in a proper society.  The issues that matter most to me today are how to handle the economic and health issues we are dealing with today, peace in the middle east and racial justice. 

Yitzhak Tucker ’23

I think people have a tendency to get caught up in the seemingly endless list of issues a candidate will address leading up to a presidential election. There are three issues that I look at before anything else, issues that have been problems for years, and will likely continue to be relevant. One of these is climate change. Climate change can sometimes slip under the radar, because people will not necessarily see the effects of it in your daily life. But it is a massive problem, and it will start to affect your life much sooner than you think. According to NASA, droughts and heat waves will become much more common over the next century, and sea level could rise as much as eight feet. This will definitely affect states on or near the coast, like New York, and could lead to dramatic changes in our lives. Climate change is an important issue, and seeing as there is not necessarily a clear cut solution, I will always be very interested in what a candidate has to say about it.

A candidate’s thoughts on racial issues are also very important to me. Far too often, people are discriminated against, injured, and even killed because of their race. Incidents like that of  George Floyd, Eric Garner and so many others can cause a nationwide uproar, however, I find that the outrage often dies down after a couple of weeks. In order for momentum not to be lost, important and powerful politicians need to throw their weight behind a movement that will affect serious change.

A third issue I am passionate about is an issue that again, is not necessarily a big discussion point, but one that is definitely a big problem: homelessness in the USA. As of 2017, there are over half a million homeless people in thae country. We need a solution to this problem, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which more people are losing their jobs than ever before. Recently, homeless people in NYC were moved into hotels, potentially better living spaces than the shelters they had been living in. But this was only a temporary solution, and is already being undone. We need big, systemic changes in order to fix this problem, and it would be nice to see a candidate address it and give it more attention.

Isaac Silverman ’21 

I believe that climate change, student debt, and universal healthcare are three important issues that need to be focused on when contemplating potential presidential candidates. The climate crisis has impacted the world since temperature rates began to accelerate in the mid 20th century. The fossil fuel industry became the largest contributor to environmental destruction, and has continued to lobby congress to ignore their harm. It is vital that the president acknowledge this issue, as it has become even more dangerous and prominent. Climate change affects people in a variety of ways from creating climate refugees to creating health issues. It is not just a planet, penguin, polar bear issue, but a people issue as well, as Dr. Ed Maibach, a professor at George Mason University, states. We need a president who will actively take action against this issue. This is a time sensitive issue as well. Unlike other debated issues, this one has a timer. In fact, if this issue isn’t prioritized then all of those issues are likely to worsen.

Additionally, the student debt crisis has reached 1.6 trillion dollar this year. College is only becoming more and more expensive. In large part this is because of students choosing to go to private schools instead of state schools. As a result they are left with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt which will take them nearly half their lifetime to pay off. Although state schools are a cheaper alternative, most academic elite students choose the prior because of the negative association with state schools. Joe Biden is a great example of what one can become after attending a state school and shows that state schools provide similar opportunities to private school for the future. Biden went to the University of Delaware and became successful. Perhaps if state schools were better funded and or students were motivated to go, then more students would consider attending and saving themselves a lot of money. Regarding the crisis at the level it’s at, it won’t be possible to scale back so easily. What is the best solution is decreasing interest rates on loans and making sure that people are able to find jobs.

Further, healthcare has become an even more prominent issue this year than ever before due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People with pre-existing conditions are left most susceptible to contracting the virus, and they are the ones who will have the largest medical bills. Some have gone into hospitals leaving you in so much debt that they might as well have died. It seems there is no way that they can pay that bill off as well as their pre-existing condition coverage. Healthcare is a basic necessity as everyone has the right to live. There needs to be certain limits put in place for how much debt one can go in from medical expenses. The president needs to be in favor of helping people get the medical help they need, especially those with serious conditions. 

I can be as passionate as I want to be about these issues, however, our country’s future isn’t decided by people who agree with me in New York, it’s decided by people in Florida, Pennsylvania, and a handful of other states that will be swing states in this election. It is people like me’s responsibility to inform those voters of the importance of certain issues even when their issues contradict ours. We cannot really pick the best candidate that suits our views either as America is a two party system, and we must choose between who closer fits our views. In the end, this election will be decided by swing state voters, and we must watch our televisions as we hope for a certain outcome.

However, at the end of the day, for most people who the president is doesn’t have the biggest effect on their lives. As I have learned from reading Rip Van Winkle, major events don’t really have the biggest impact on most of our day to day lives. In fact, for most people whoever the president is doesn’t matter, it is who is in their senate and house representatives that matters. The turnout for those elections during years when it doesn’t coincide with the presidential election is horrible, with only around a third of eligible voters coming out. People can get all riled up for every presidential election, but if they don’t show the same attitude for house and senate elections and don’t show up then, then it’s their fault what congress does or doesn’t do. People have the right to vote, and if they don’t use it then they are shooting blanks with their political opinions. That is why as high school students we must become informed and be ready to vote in each election because our voice matters.

Jake Rubin ’22

When I think of a good presidential candidate I imagine one with three core qualities: honesty, education, and versatility. People who can uphold their promises and who are knowledgeable and open minded enough to be able to handle tough decisions in the best way are great candidates for the presidential office. People who have these three traits are the best types of leaders. Aside from these virtuous qualities there are three important factors I look for in a presidential candidate to distinguish them from each other: their approach to economics, the climate crisis/environmental conservation, and gun control.

My ideal economic system is a capitalist one, with some socialist concepts. Ideas like social security and free public schooling are important to me, but a free market economy is also something that I believe is crucial to growth. A blend of these two is an ideal economic system and it’s very similar to the one we have today. Biden’s ideas are rather socialist and expensive, but there is value in them and if implemented his plans may work. Biden plans to raise taxes for everyone, especially the rich, and to redistribute the wealth through government funded healthcare, education, saving the environment, etc. Trump’s economic ideas are capitalist with little government intervention into the markets although the stimulus and liquidity injections into the economy this year do contradict his views. His economic plan seems to be working  as the economy has been prosperous for the last four years. Both economic plans have merit but Trump’s seems like a better option.

The climate crisis is something that’s very important to me, and should be important to everyone. One billion birds and mammals die each year due to plastic ingestion, and there are far more problems than plastic pollution such as greenhouse gases/CO2 emissions, resource depletion, water pollution, climate change, etc. In January of this year, Trump removed Obama clean water protections from rivers, streams, and other wetlands. Biden on the other hand has promised to ensure all communities have safe and clean drinking water and to prevent pollution in vulnerable communities. On the topic of climate change, Trump has denied it in the past and claims the rising temperatures will reverse at some point. Biden is advocating for a Green New Deal which although seems like a good option, it does have some flaws. The cost on average would be $600,000 per household in the United States through taxes and some estimates say that a peak reduction of more than 1.4 million jobs is to be expected. Overall Biden does agree with my views on the environment the most and seems like a more suitable candidate to handle the environmental crises facing our country and the world.

Gun control has been an issue in this country for decades and we need a president who can handle this crisis properly. I believe that guns should remain accessible, but to the right people. People will always have guns, and if we limit the supply of them to the right people, the wrong ones will be the only ones carrying guns. In today’s world we need to be able to defend ourselves and a gun is a great way to do that. A political candidate who supports the second amendment, but places some restrictions on it to prevent guns getting into the wrong hands as much is an ideal candidate. Trump seems in line with these ideas and he signed the Fix NICS Act in 2018. Trump is also endorsed by the NRA, an organization devoted to guns rights advocacy. Biden proposes a one gun a month limit per person and a ban on assault rifles. His ideas seem positive in principle but they wouldn’t have much of an effect on gun violence in America. Although Biden  is somewhat pro gun ownership, the NRA opposes him, which isn’t a good sign for the changes he might try to make if he is elected president. 

There are a plethora of factors to consider when it comes to electing a presidential candidate, and I’ve only touched on a few key topics out of dozens, but these three issues are some of the most important ones that we face as a country and must consider when voting. It’s understandable how split the population is for this upcoming election, and only time will tell who will be our president for the next four years.

isting condition coverage. Healthcare is a basic necessity as everyone has the right to live. There needs to be certain limits put in place for how much debt one can go in from medical expenses. The president needs to be in favor of helping people get the medical help they need, especially those with serious conditions. 

I can be as passionate as I want to be about these issues, however, our country’s future isn’t decided by people who agree with me in New York, it’s decided by people in Florida, Pennsylvania, and a handful of other states that will be swing states in this election. It is people like me’s responsibility to inform those voters of the importance of certain issues even when their issues contradict ours. We cannot really pick the best candidate that suits our views either as America is a two party system, and we must choose between who closer fits our views. In the end, this election will be decided by swing state voters, and we must watch our televisions as we hope for a certain outcome.

However, at the end of the day, for most people who the president is doesn’t have the biggest effect on their lives. As I have learned from reading Rip Van Winkle, major events don’t really have the biggest impact on most of our day to day lives. In fact, for most people whoever the president is doesn’t matter, it is who is in their senate and house representatives that matters. The turnout for those elections during years when it doesn’t coincide with the presidential election is horrible, with only around a third of eligible voters coming out. People can get all riled up for every presidential election, but if they don’t show the same attitude for house and senate elections and don’t show up then, then it’s their fault what congress does or doesn’t do. People have the right to vote, and if they don’t use it then they are shooting blanks with their political opinions. That is why as high school students we must become informed and be ready to vote in each election because our voice matters.