2 p.m. -- Discuss the election with Paine College student Jarvis Ellis; ASU students Amanda Jones and Najhee Jackson; and MCG students Jackson Elam and Michael Vaughan.
| Mike Wynn: We’d like to welcome some students from our local colleges who agreed to share their thoughts about the election. They are Jarvis Ellis from Paine College; Najhee Jackson, Augusta State University student body vice president and president of the school’s Young Democrats and Amanda Jones, a political science major at ASU; and Jackson Elam and Michael Vaughan, both first-year medical students at Medical College of Georgia. Hi, guys. |
| Michael Vaughan: Hello. |
| Jackson Elam: Hi |
| Mike Wynn: Are my other guys out there? |
| Mike Wynn: Well, lets go with Michael and Jackson until the other guys log on. First question: Can you tell us who you voted for, or at least who you’ve supported?on: |
| Michael Vaughan: I voted for Mr. McCain by absentee. |
| Jackson Elam: I voted for Barack Obama |
| Mike Wynn: What were your reasons for voting for your candidate? |
| Michael Vaughan: I primarily was voting against Mr. Obama, because of his proposed changes to abortion law in this country, specifically FOCA and the repeal of the Hyde amendment. |
| Najhee Jackson: Hello, it's Najhee Jackson. |
| Jackson Elam: I voted for Obama for various reasons. I believe first and foremost that he will lead the country in a better direction than we've headed. I believe he can restore the nation's image around the rest of the world. I find his tax proposals better than McCain's. |
| Najhee Jackson: I voted for Senator Obama. |
| Mike Wynn: Why did you vote for Obama, Najhee? |
| Najhee Jackson: I generally agree with Mr. Elam. I think that Senator Obama offered better tax proposals then Senator McCain. I am a believer is fiscal conservatism, but both candidates wished to spend a lot of money on tax cuts. Senator McCain's proposals on taxes project the same tax cuts that are in place now. |
| Naysayer: Which Presidential candidate, if any, do you feel has has preyed on the inexpirence and idealistic views of the youth in this election? MCG Students: how do you feel about the different candidates health insurance changes in comparison to the the current employer based system? |
| Najhee Jackson: The tax proposals disproportionately benefit those who already have wealth to invest. |
| Michael Vaughan: Should we all just answer at once? |
| Jackson Elam: I take offense to several assumptions you have. First, "inexperience" assumes that just because we're young, we're somehow less capable of making informed decisions as older voters. Moreover, the "prey" on the ideals of hope and idealism somehow suggests that to have those feelings is bad. Why would you think it bad to be idealistic? Especially in a time when there is so much to be upset about? |
| Amanda Jones: Hello |
| Michael Vaughan: With regard to their health insurance plans, the proposals are hard to pin down. Both of them have their faults, and there is a larger issue under the surface that's not being addressed. Massachusetts established health-care-for-all, and the system is on the verge of bankruptcy. There are a lot of factors that play into it, but the primary one is that there are not enough primary care doctors. Massachusetts now has the highest rate of Emergency Department visits in the country, and it's because everyone has insurance, but no one has access to a doctor. Because of this, their health care spending is shooting through the roof. Neither candidate is talking about ways to increase the number of primary care doctors in this country, and without doing that, both plans will ultimately fail. |
| Najhee Jackson: I don't necessarily believe that my views are idealistic. Approaching it from a objective view, the policy proposals given by Senator Obama benefit me as a student. I don't mine becoming a public defender to have my law school debts relieved. |
| Mike Wynn: I want to welcome Amanda to the chat. She's a McCain supporter. Feel free to jump in at any point |
| Amanda Jones: With Senator Obama's plan for taxing the wealthy it decreases the verticle mobility within our system, therefore no one is going to want to become a "professional" such as a doctor or a lawyer because the tax rate wont make the extra money worth it. |
| Michael Vaughan: With such a mobile work force, there is an advantage to McCain's desire to separate employees and their health insurance. It will allow employees to move from job to job without changing or losing their benefits. |
| Jackson Elam: To Michael, I agree that the shortage of primary care physicians is one of the principle concerns to the medical profession. But one has to ask how to change it. The status quo, the free market health system, has shown that it cannot encourage primary care physicians. The alternative would be to subsidize primary care physicians, thereby encouraging more doctors into that specialty. But that would be something against the principles of most republicans |
| august: Hey guys, what is the atmosphere like on your respective campuses. Are college students as excited about this election as the media clams they are? |
| Amanda Jones: I would say at Augusta State people are VERY excited about Obama |
| Najhee Jackson: I disagree with you Ms. Jones. Simply because you pay higher taxes, doesn't mean you don't want to go into a high paying career. The reason your taxes go up is because you make a larger sum of money. |
| Jackson Elam: The disadvantage to McCain's plan is that it could see the end of work insurance, as many have predicted. |
| Michael Vaughan: To Jackson: Mr. Obama has said nothing about subsidizing primary care. Additionally, the free market IS working on incentives for primary care. Aetna, Walmart, IBM, Blue Cross are all teaming up to work out a way to provide additional reimbursement for primary care. |
| Michael Vaughan: We've got a lot of cross talk going on; it's hard to know who to answer... |
| Amanda Jones: Najhee, the American people will have no incentive to work harder and make more money if they know they will be moved into a higher tax bracket |
| Michael Vaughan: To august: MCG seems to be a different atmosphere from Augusta State. There's not a whole lot of political talk going on that I'm aware of. |
| Jackson Elam: True, and I don't support Obama for that, but the idea itself is more democratic. But for the "Walmart" type care, you'd actually see a decrease in primary care physicians, since they mostly use physicians assistants... they're cheaper. There are few physicians needed. Really just to make prescriptions |
| Michael Vaughan: I can't argue that. |
| Amanda Jones: question to all: how do we fix the healthcare system. |
| Amanda Jones: If not fix at least make it better |
| Michael Vaughan: Whew! |
| Michael Vaughan: That's a big question. |
| Amanda Jones: Well if we are going to look for leadership in that field shouldn't we have an idea of what it is that we want |
| Najhee Jackson: If I am taxed on my income above 250000 a year, I still have that base of 250000 at the same tax rate as it is now. And a 5% raise (actually 3% if taxes are adjusted to before the tax cuts as Senator Obama plans) does not deter me from wanting to make more money. |
| Jackson Elam: I would say the best thing to do would be preventative care. We have to get more people eating better and living healthier lives. The leading cause of death in this country is coronary artery diseases associated with obesity. |
| Michael Vaughan: One of the major factors is going to be to reduce costs. Cost inflation is far exceeding growth in our GDP. Before too much longer, our health care expenditures will equal about 20% of GDP. |
| Mike Wynn: At what point did you guys really begin to get into this election, and what did either candidate say or do that made you believe he was the right choice? |
| Michael Vaughan: I agree with Jackson, preventative care, but SMART preventative care. Extra tests that aren't necessary will just cause spending to increase as well. |
| Amanda Jones: It is hard to fix "Culture" eating unhealthy is sort of the American way |
| Jackson Elam: Both are true. But because something is hard doesn't mean we shouldn't try |
| Michael Vaughan: Culture would go a long way, but it's hard to write that into policy. One of the best ideas I've heard so far is to add doctors to our public health service and create free clinics. |
| Najhee Jackson: I have been into the election since the Iowa caucus. |
| Amanda Jones: I am not saying we shouldn't try but we can't just look in the dark and hope the right things happen. If government control took over healthcare imagine how hard it would be to get an appointment |
| Michael Vaughan: Since most people without insurance go to emergency rooms, and their care is free, but at a vastly increased cost, why not go ahead and create clinics to deal with non-emergency cases, at the reduced rate. You could even give benefits to physicians who go to work there. |
| Jackson Elam: I would actually recommend better education in schools about health and how to eat better. But culture CAN be changed. Look at the culture surrounding smoking and how drastically that has changed in 10 years |
| Amanda Jones: I originally became involved in the election right before the primarys started. I even voted for Mitt ROmney. John McCain is more inline with the issues that i think matter. Obama...not so much |
| Michael Vaughan: I've been following the election throughout the whole process. I wasn't really a big fan of either one of the candidates, but Mr. Obama took himself out of the running with his ideas about FOCA and the Hyde Amendment. |
| Jackson Elam: I've been following for a long time myself. Since before the primaries. |
| Najhee Jackson: I don't think either candidate is proposing to nationalize health care per se. I think what Senator Obama and McCain are trying to do is figure out how to insure the 45 million people without health insurance. |
| Amanda Jones: The only reason smoking has decreased is because it is not longer "Cool" |
| Jackson Elam: But why is it no longer cool? Because of increased education about it. |
| Amanda Jones: Najhee, of those 45 million how many are Illegal |
| Michael Vaughan: Najhee, you're mostly right. Neither of them is going to try to nationalize. McCain isn't even trying to figure out how to insure all the uninsured. |
| Jackson Elam: Those statistics don't include illegal immigrants |
| Amanda Jones: ok |
| Michael Vaughan: They also don't include those who are UNDERinsured, which is a huge number as well. |
| Najhee Jackson: To attribute all the declines in smoking to it not being cool is a fallacy. |
| jones1673: Consider this: if Obama were a U.S. Army officer he could not pass a background check for a security clearance due to his associations with some who would overthrow the government; yet we're about to elect him commander-in-chief. Food for thought. |
| Jackson Elam: I agree. Something had to change the culture from "cool" to "uncool". That changing factor was increased knowledge of the damaging affects of smoking. If there were as many ad campaigns out there about being healthy and not eating as much as there are Truth campaign adds against smoking, you might see the same decline in obesity |
| Najhee Jackson: Both plans would cost over a trillion dollars in the next 10 years (according to the WSJ), but Senator McCain insures 5 million as opposed to 30 with Senator Obama (according to WSJ). |
| Jackson Elam: What associations are you referring to jones? William Ayers? |
| Michael Vaughan: Jones, I don't want Mr. Obama to win, but I don't know that associations are enough to rule out a candidate. |
| Amanda Jones: I agree Jones. |
| Amanda Jones: Do your friends not play a part in the shaping of your character? |
| Jackson Elam: Especially considering William Ayers is a professor at a respected university. What you're saying is that any professor that had a relationship with Mr. Ayers would rule them out from being president |
| Michael Vaughan: They certainly do, but I'm associated with a lot of people whose character I don't want much to do with. Simply being in college will do that to you. |
| Najhee Jackson: Ms. Jones, even in your example of smoking not being cool anymore the government instrumented laws that curved advertising in the industry. |
| Michael Vaughan: I may as well jump into the smoking argument, too: the government played a HUGE role in curbing smoking, both with court decisions, advertising, and financial aid to anti-smoking initiatives. |
| Amanda Jones: thats true, you made the point for me. People smoked because it was EVERYWHERE... |
| Jackson Elam: Obama has clearly shown that he is neither friends with nor close associates with Ayers. He will not be a part of his Cabinet, not be apart of the decision making, not have anything to do with his presidency. In fact, there really hasn't been significant contact with them for years. Do none of you have friends or associates from high school that ended up on the wrong track? Maybe didn't make it to college due to drugs? Would you say you are subject to the same scrutiny as Obama? |
| Amanda Jones: now all of a sudden when the government decides to make rulings and make the images go away, people suddenly stop |
| Amanda Jones: Obama is a public figures so his entire life is our business |
| Najhee Jackson: I think if he was associated with Ayers when he was eight I would be concerned. It is hard to mold an individuals personality after they reach a certain age. |
| Michael Vaughan: I have to agree with Ms. Jones on this one. He should be subject to more scrutiny. I just don't know that Ayers is an issue. |
| Amanda Jones: I only think it is an issue because Obama came out of nowhere |
| Jackson Elam: Its not the act of scrutinizing I have a problem with, just the hypocrisy of the standards. Many of us have people that were in our lives that have become less than model citizens. You wouldn't consider yourself a terrorist just because someone you knew was. |
| Amanda Jones: I want to know what made him the way he is, how he thinks about issues, what makes him him. Whose to say Ayers didn't contribute |
| Najhee Jackson: So do you believe government should tell us what is cool and uncool. I prefer government out of my personal life. |
| Amanda Jones: But we are not running for office, he is! |
| Amanda Jones: I agree government should be hands off, but they aren't |
| Jackson Elam: ... that's stretching it... Again, I would argue, you've probably had friends in your life (some more close than Ayers and Obama were) that have become less than model citizens, it doesn't mean they've made you into a bad person |
| Michael Vaughan: Najhee, I want to understand your question--were you for or against the anti-smoking intiatives? Also, there is a difference between "cool" and "unsafe", and a difference between "education" and "coercion". |
| Naysayer: Obama was associated with Ayers after he committed various terrorist acts, Jackson, not before hand. |
| Jackson Elam: No, the government shouldn't decide culture. But when it comes to healthcare, some issues affect everyone. When that happens, it's the government's responsibility to step in. |
| Michael Vaughan: And people define "personal life" in an extraordinarily wide variety of ways. |
| Jackson Elam: I mean, to me, stepping in on behalf of public health would be comparable to setting up speed limits. Sometimes, the government has to step in to help citizens. |
| Michael Vaughan: Agreed, Jackson. |
| Naysayer: Under Obama's plan, he would more heavily tax businesses that do not provide the government plan for health care? With the removal of competition, how will that help the uninsured to afford health care? John McCain proposes to give tax credits to those who buy their own health care, this increases spending and competition, is there a happy medium? |
| Jackson Elam: To Naysayer, Ms. Jones was stating she felt that Obama's association with Ayers was detrimental since Ayers could have adversely affected Obama at such a young age and defined how Obama thinks. That makes my analogy relevant. |
| Najhee Jackson: Well just because something is unhealthy should government ban it if it does not harm the entire community. Advertising is not a health risk. Marijauna, cocaine, etc. harm the whole of the community. Smoking, in my opinion, does not rise to that level. |
| Amanda Jones: lets just agree to disagree on the smoking issue :) |
| Jackson Elam: Naysayer, I think you're misinformed. Businesses would be allowed to provide ANY insurance, as long as it was provided. You would be fined if you failed to provide it. |
| Michael Vaughan: And the fines themselves would go toward the government plan. |
| Michael Vaughan: The only reason McCain plans to give tax credits is because he plans on taxing health insurance. It's his way of breaking the link between employment and health insurance. |
| Jackson Elam: I would say smoking does... when someone comes in for COPD and has to have surgery to fix it, but can't afford it, the public pays. Smoking was widespread and many people couldn't afford the treatments, putting the cost on the public's back. It was just as harmful if not more than pot or alochol |
| Amanda Jones: very right Elam.... |
| Michael Vaughan: Naysayer, as to a happy medium. The answer is no. We can see an example in Hawaii's children's health care plan. |
| Amanda Jones: I'm not familiar with that? |
| Michael Vaughan: Hawaii decided to insure every uninsured child in the state, at taxpayer expense. Everyone who already had health insurance for their children dropped it and took the freebie. Because of that, Hawaii's plan lasted all of about 8 months before going under. |
| Naysayer: Najhee, you want government of your personal life and decision making, yet, you said it was okay that the goverment/taxpayers pay for your personal education. What is the difference between the two? |
| Najhee Jackson: The McCain tax credit would encourage companies to drop employees from their health care plans, averaged a value of 12000 a year, and these individuals would supplement that with a 5000 plan. |
| Michael Vaughan: A system has to be entirely government run, or entirely private. Otherwise you create two insurance pools, and it drains the government-run system of financial support. |
| Jackson Elam: I disagree with you Michael. I foresee a system that is much like the private/public education. You'll see a baseline healthcare for people, but if you want more, better healthcare you pay for private. |
| Jackson Elam: And just in the same way that people that go to private school still have to help subsidize public education, people that buy private insurance would have to still pay taxes for public health. But the advantage would be that you could have better access and better healthcare. |
| Amanda Jones: I think the healthcare issue is a dead horse |
| Jackson Elam: But just as basic education has become universal, so too should basic health |
| jones1673: Will Georgia remain a 'red' state or will the many newly-registered voters swing it towards Obama? |
| Najhee Jackson: Mr. Elam, I respectfully disagree with you. People have the ability to choose whether they want to smoke are not. The hazards of their choice is theirs. You have to show statistics in which the cost of smoking was incurred by the tax payer. |
| Amanda Jones: Hmmm....good question. |
| Michael Vaughan: I agree Jackson. I actually want to see a universal health care system. We've a long way to go before it's viable in this country, though. |
| Jackson Elam: Najhee, what exactly are you disagreeing with? Do you think that the public wasn't forced to pay for health care for those who couldn't afford it? |
| Michael Vaughan: I have no idea how Georgia will go today. You'll have to ask someone above my pay grade for an answer to that. |
| Amanda Jones: I think it will stay red for the election but if the Obama supporters continue to support the democratic party with such vigor, it could be a toss us in elections to come. |
| Jackson Elam: I heard some polls saying Georgia would be close to being "in play" with McCain leading by 7%, a significant increase for democrats |
| Michael Vaughan: Ms. Jones, if Obama doesn't win this state for the democrats, I don't know that the democrats will ever win this state. |
| Jackson Elam: Haha, I can agree with that |
| Najhee Jackson: Georgia remaining red depends on the showing of college students, because they are underrepresented in polling. If Senator Obama wins Georgia, it will be on the back of the first time voters. |
| Mike Wynn: Final question: In your heart of hearts, would any of you be able to support the person who wins if he isn’t your candidate? |
| Amanda Jones: NO... |
| Michael Vaughan: No. Absolutely not. Mr. Obama will remove my protections as a physician when I refuse to give an abortion. It's in FOCA, and he told Planned Parenthood that was his first priority. |
| Michael Vaughan: That is a law I will have to break. |
| Jackson Elam: I will always support the office of the President, although I will disagree with policies. |
| Amanda Jones: I couldn't stand by a president who doesn't represent my views. If Obama wins i will simply have to bury my head in the sand for the next four years |
| Jackson Elam: Michael, you seem like you're a one-issue voter... |
| Michael Vaughan: That's a fairly good description Jackson. |
| Michael Vaughan: I'd be okay with Obama if it weren't for that. Not crazy about him, but I'm not crazy about McCain either. |
| Jackson Elam: Why has that become your issue? |
| Jackson Elam: Why would you say that's more important than anything else |
| Michael Vaughan: Abortion is damaging to women, it kills infants, and it hurts society as a whole. The number of children killed by abortion vastly outnumbers that in Iraq. |
| Najhee Jackson: I would die for my country. Whoever the President, if they call my name to assist this country I would jump to do as asked. |
| Michael Vaughan: I view it as a human-rights issue. |
| Jackson Elam: The damage done to a fetus would be less harming than the hurt you inflict when you slaughter a cow to eat a hamburger. At least animals have sensation, first-term fetuses don't even have that |
| Michael Vaughan: But they have the promise of life. And it's robbed of them. |
| Amanda Jones: Whoaaa.....did you just compare a fetus to a cow? |
| Amanda Jones: Two very different things |
| Jackson Elam: Where does the promise end? I mean, would you be against masturbation because the sperm "could become life? |
| Mike Wynn: Well, we're going to call a truce because we're out of time on this segment. I want to thank Jackson, Najhee, Michael and Amanda for being such a spirited group. |
| Michael Vaughan: Glad to be here. |
| Jackson Elam: No, you misunderstand. I'm trying to add perspective. |
| Jackson Elam: Thanks. |
| Michael Vaughan: No, Jackson. I don't view a sperm as the same. It's haploid. |
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