Obama Like Clinton, voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. He has proposed that future policies be tougher on employers. “To fix the system in a way that does not require us to revisit the same problem in 20 years,” Obama said to the Senate last March, “I continue to believe that we need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace. And that means a workable mandatory system that employers must use to verify the legality of their workers.” Voted not to make English the official language.

McCain Co-sponsored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which both Clinton and Obama voted in favor of. Has been accused of flip flopping on the issue, but some think his bipartisan support would position him well for the presidency. Along with Clinton he supported the guest worker policy that would make it illegal to knowingly hire an unauthorized immigrant.

Romney Criticizes guest worker policies, saying they provide amnesty to illegal immigrants. “[The magnet for illegal immigrants, besides] having amnesty, is saying to individuals, ‘If you come here and you’re willing to work here and pay taxes, we’ll sign you up,’” Romney said at a GOP debate at University of New Hampshire last year. “That’s not the right message. We’ve got to enforce the law, welcoming legal immigration, but ending illegal immigration.”

Health Care

In light of the recent obesity epidemic, fast food and health care are being paired together more often. As customers figure out how to balance their diets and deductibles, restaurateurs are trying to address health care demands while keeping their business afloat. Not surprisingly, during a November 2007 conference call with Sen. McCain, NRA members voted health care as the single most important issue in this year’s election. The NRA’s Vice President of Political Affairs, Ned Monroe, says restaurant owners are often in the unique situation of employing family members. “They’re looking at a 4 percent profit margin, and they’re trying to figure out how they can get a package that is helpful to the workers but also is a real health care package that doesn’t break the bank,” he says.

Monroe believes the best solution for restaurant owners are small business health plans. “It is generally set up that association members can purchase insurance for their employees through a pool based on the numbers of workers and companies,” he says. Efforts to roll out the system nationwide have struggled recently due to state mandates.

Clinton While in Des Moines, Iowa, last September she told a group that under her American Health Choices plan, small businesses, with fewer than 25 employees, would receive tax credits as incentives to provide coverage for their employees, while large companies would be required to do so. Tax credits could be as high as 50 percent for premiums for small firms.

Edwards Like Clinton, Edwards wants to make health insurance required for everyone and plans for it to be subsidized by employers and the government. Along with Clinton and Obama, he plans to fund his plan by rolling back tax cuts put in place by President Bush—although Edwards’ roll backs begin with those earning more than $200,000 while the other two begin with those earning $250,000.

Giuliani Proposes a market-based system that would make private insurance affordable through tax deductions. Giuliani has no estimated cost but says his system would provide income tax credits of up to $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families. He has said federal mandates would complicate the system by putting health care in the hands of the government and employers versus the people.

McCain Has championed health care coverage for veterans and says affordable health care coverage for all Americans is possible without a federal mandate. Like Giuliani, McCain has no estimated cost, but he would provide $2,500 refundable tax credits for individuals and $5,000 for families.

Obama Would require all children to have insurance and would modernize the existing system to contain spiraling health care costs. Although he has set a goal to provide universal health care by 2012, he emphasizes disease prevention in order to strengthen public health. According to his Web site, his plan would also “require employers to make a meaningful contribution to the health coverage of their employees.”