The United States Election: An American's Perspective

Democracy in the United States is currently in a rather poor state, and polarisation amongst the Conservative and Democratic parties is a large part of the problem. There are three areas where this can be seen the most–the economy, immigration, and abortion.

My name is Rhea Bhatia and I am currently serving as the sole intern for Unlock Democracy. As a pre-law student on the final stretch of university, learning and teaching others about law and policy is something that I am very passionate about. In this post I want to draw your attention to three areas where democracy in the United States has faltered the most and has the most surrounding debate.

Economy:

The economy has always been the greatest source of tension between the two political parties. The Republicans want to increase the free market and free trade while having less governmental control whilst the Democrats aim to increase taxes and promote a more mixed economy. With the United States just recently exiting an ongoing recession, many Americans have a negative perception of the economy. This is despite economists finding that the United States’ economy has been on a positive trend after recovering from the recession during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The large increase in prices over the past year in the United States seems to be the reason for Americans and their distaste of the current economy. Despite this increase to prices however, inflation rates have dropped from the historical average of 3.3% and a record high of 9.5% during the pandemic to a mere 2.5% today according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Younger Democrats present a much more negative attitude towards the economy than do older generations of Democrats, however Republicans of any age consistently view the economy with a positive attitude. According to the Pew Research Center, 43% of Americans expect the economic conditions to stay the same a year from now, whereas 24% think that the economy will improve and 32% think that it will get worse.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, at their first public debate on September 10th, former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris both debated about the economy. Trump aims to deregulate the economy in the energy and financial sectors while also having higher tariffs on Chinese goods. Harris aims to lower prices of groceries and prescription drugs by imposing higher taxes on large corporations and in turn not taxing those who make below $400,000 as heavily. Harris also wants to address the ongoing housing crisis in the country. 

While it will be seen whether or not these candidates will stick to their proposed plans if they are to be elected, it is very integral for the working and middle class American people to remain vigilant in monitoring their own personal finances as they make up the majority of American households and are the most affected by changes to economic policy. 

Immigration:

Immigration will never not have a place at the table when it comes to American politics. This is due to the very different attitudes presented by the Republicans and Democrats. The majority of Republicans who do not support immigration call for undocumented immigrants in the United States to be deported back to their respective countries. In contrast, Democrats say that these undocumented immigrants should be able to stay in the country if they meet certain requirements. 

The general attitudes on immigration in the United States have shifted in recent years to being more hostile and unwanting of illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship and remain in the United States as newly legal citizens. There are various theories why this is, however many researchers believe that this attitude is due to the competition for employment in the United States and the recent state of the economy. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 32% of Republicans think that undocumented immigrants should be able to stay in the country, this is in contrast with 85% of Democrats. A mere 15% of those 32% of Republicans believe that there should be a method in place for these immigrants to apply to become legalised citizens of the United States compared to 56% of the 85% of Democrats. 

The debate around immigration is also distorted by unreliable information being spread in a partisan way. For example, during the 2024 presidential debate, Trump fed into the unsubstantiated claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating domesticated pets. He said, “They're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats, they're eating the pets of the people that live there. This is a shame,” which subjected him to ridicule from the media. This is an important example of the attitude that is often presented regarding immigrants in the United States. This has both a racist as well as shameful connotation that is based on something that was rumoured and did not have any factual backing, yet it was stated with certainty from a presidential candidate. 

The United States is currently still the country with the largest amount of immigrants in the world, with immigrants currently making up 14.3% of the population. Despite attitudes shifting to a more unfriendly attitude towards immigrants, the United States’ population had a 1.6 million increase in immigrants just within the last year. While the immigrant population continues to rise, this is not to say that the quality of life of these immigrants is enhanced, and many immigrants are often subjected to discrimination and can even be detained under certain circumstances. 

My father immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 in pursuit of a better life, driven by the hope and promise that this country represents. Over the years, he has worked hard to build a life for our family and his journey has made him appreciate the importance of immigrants in shaping our nation. He strongly believes that immigrants are not only vital to the strength of the U.S. economy but also contribute to the diversity and vibrancy of the United States. He does believe that immigration reform is much needed in our country, however he says that regulation is needed.

With immigration being one of the foundations that makes America what it is today, I am curious and fearful of the future policies that are to be implemented. 

Abortion:

Abortion has also been a longstanding issue within the United States policy makers. Restriction to abortion access however often has detrimental effects on other sectors of women’s healthcare that many do not often consider.

Abortion is often an issue that is based heavily on religious standpoints instead of scientific views. According to a research study done by the Pew Research Center, about 73% of White Protestant Christians in the United States believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances, compared to 86% of religiously unaffiliated people believing that abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances. 

This line between religion and science is often crossed the most when abortion is being discussed in the United States. The majority of religious Conservatives believe that abortion is murder on all accounts and that it is in opposition to their morals and religious beliefs. Liberals on the other hand are more likely to accept abortion as they believe it to be a more medical decision that is to be left up to an individual. While there are exceptions to these generalisations, these attitudes have been the consistent trend for decades in the United States. 

In order to understand the current state of women’s access to abortion in the United States we must rewind back to the summer of 2022, when the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the right to a safe and healthy abortion was limited for millions of women across the United States. Currently, abortion rights are decided by each individual state. Each state can set their own parameters for abortion access as long as it does not interfere with federal regulations

This also affected how certain states limited access to birth control for women across the country. For example there were talks of the Florida government issuing a partial birth control ban that would restrict access to certain forms of birth control and contraceptives. 

As someone who suffers from endometriosis (a chronic illness caused by the overgrowth of endometrial tissue), I use birth control for pain management and hormonal regulation, and if this were to have been enacted, I would have not been able to access something that has kept my pain at bay for years. By restricting access to abortion across the United States, the rights and health of millions of women like me may be limited unless something changes within our current government.

At their first public debate on September 10th, Trump and Harris both debated about abortion in front of their audience. Trump went on to criticise the Democrats and how they want to commit ‘execution after birth’ with the legalisation of widespread abortion, and Harris insisted that this was a false claim and that women in America are not carrying a pregnancy to full term and then asking for an abortion. 

I think that there is a possibility for both the left and right to find common ground on this issue, however there seems to be no accurate manner to predict when this will happen, and I will remain hopeful that the government will finally just let women decide what to do and what not to do with their own bodies in a timely manner before more women are put into danger. 

How They Intersect:

These issues all influence the other in more ways than one, and it is very important to recognize that if policies were to change regarding one of them, then the others would also present consequences. 

Feelings about the economy are often the reason as to why immigration policies are supported or not supported. This is because immigration is perceived to impact job availability throughout the country, and some may argue that by increasing immigrants in the country that it is taking jobs away from legal US citizens who were born there. There are also economists who point out that immigration helps fill in any gaps in the labour market and this in turn actually boosts the economy overall. 

With abortion this is also as much an economic issue as it is an ethical issue. This is because the cost of living and providing for a child has steadily risen in the country and research has shown that many women who are denied an abortion are more likely to face economic challenges in the future or even poverty. Limiting abortion also increases the demand for government assistance programs that help families care for their children such as Medicaid and food stamps. With limited abortion access it also increases the risk of overcrowding of foster care systems and makes it more expensive for the government to be able to afford to care for a large number of children who are subjected to being in these facilities. 

In terms of immigration and abortion it can be seen that it is significantly more difficult for immigrant women to access abortion in the United States. This in turn can increase immigrant women from having unsafe abortion attempts in order to terminate their pregnancy. Because both immigration and abortion are also considered economic issues at times, the healthcare and women’s care that is offered to immigrant women may also be of lesser quality than what is acceptable. 

Why This Matters:

Polarisation is not good for the future of democracy. While debating healthily among one another is good for inciting change and bringing about newfound ideas, I think that recently in the United States politicians and voters have gotten too comfortable with straying away from factual evidence and opting for personal attacks against their opponent instead. 

This is why voting on issues such as the economy, immigration, and abortion can make a positive impact. By increasing voter turnout, democracy efforts can start to increase and therefore alert these politicians of what we as voters want to see changed in our country and how they can do it.  

These issues matter when going into the presidential election as they are some of the leading concerns on the minds of Americans. These issues also speak to the importance of voting in elections in order to have one’s voice heard and opinion accounted for. 

Rhea Bhatia, Intern, Unlock Democracy