The Justice asked members of the Brandeis community to predict the impact President Barack Obama's victory would have on the following key issues.

SOCIAL POLICY

It seems to me that much of this election has focused on women's "issues," namely the right to a safe and legal abortion, equal pay for equal work and insurance coverage of health services such as mammograms, cancer screenings and contraception (with Planned Parenthood being used by conservatives as both a scapegoat for government overspending and an ideological masthead for women's reproductive health). It is crucial to remember, though, that these issues affect not only women, but all people, and that ensuring gender equality should be a goal of any administration. Through the policies it has passed, President Obama's administration has proven that it cares about promoting and maintaining gender equality. Even today, women are not paid the same rate as men and are charged more than men for insurance coverage. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act aids in the fight against pay discrimination, and the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") puts an end to insurance companies charging women more than men for comparable coverage. President Obama has prioritized issues related to women's rights and gender equality and rightly so because we make up slightly more than half of the population. It is imperative that we as a nation continue to uphold these rights as push-back from the right wing attempts to undo generations of progress.

Jennifer Mandelbaum '14 is the undergraduate departmental representative for Health: Science, Society, and Policy.

ECONOMY

President Obama's devotion to government spending and his consequent infusion of funds into job creation will be integral to the decrease of unemployment from its current figure of 7.9 percent. He will continue to impose tax cuts on the middle class and, with investing in government infrastructure, private-sector jobs will only continue to be added. The progress, while slow and steady, is inevitably headed in the right direction.

Adam Rabinowitz '14 is the president of Brandeis Democrats and the Sports editor for the Justice.

HEALTHCARE

There is little doubt that the Presidential election of 2012 will have an important impact on the future of the US health system. Governor Romney has made repeal of the Obamacare or the federal health reform law his number one commitment. What that means is that upwards of 35 million more Americans will remain uninsured and the total uninsured rate will exceed 50 million. Benefactors  of this repeal would be high income families and some individuals and small businesses that would not have their taxes increased or be required to purchase insurance for themselves or their employee. In addition, Congressman Ryan was the lead advocate of a House of Representative-passed budget that would have cut $800 billion dollars out of the federal contribution to Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint Federal/State program that pays for the health care of low income children, adults and seniors. The Ryan budget would eliminate the federal oversight of the program and turn the program over to each state to set eligibility requirements and the level of covered services. We can expect implementation of the health reform law to continue. Over the longer term, regardless of who is elected, changes will need to be made to slow the growth in spending for Medicare, the federal program that covers most American seniors and the disabled.

Prof. Stuart Altman (Heller) is the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy.

FOREIGN POLICY

The economic pressure on Iran will strangle its economy, forcing them to abandon their nuclear program-without military intervention. Additionally, the war in Afghanistan will be over by 2014, causing America to be disengaged from any war for the first time in 14 years. In regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the President has been adamant that any progress for a Palestinian state must be made through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and therefore the United States will continue to veto and default statehood bids in the United Nations. The divide between the Muslim world and America can, and will, continue to dwindle as the United States continues to support those who fight for democracy around the world.

David Clements '14 is the undergraduate departmental representative for the Politics department and is the treasurer for the Student Union.


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