Democrats believe that increased government control of the economy is necessary to ensure that economic benefits are shared with all strata of society. Republicans, on the other hand, believe that an economy without much government regulation is best for economic growth and job creation.
The major immigration-related issues of the day are (i) legalization of undocumented immigrants who entered the country illegally, sometimes as children; (ii) the role of the U.S. in providing refuge to asylum seekers and (iii) continue with immigration policies that encourage family-based immigration as well as a smaller lottery-based immigration for under-represented countries.
The Democrats are in support of legalization of undocumented immigration, the continuation of the US as a refuge for asylum seekers and the continuation of current immigration policies.
Republicans under Donald Trump want to deport all undocumented immigrants, change the immigration policies to a merit-based model and stop lottery-based immigration completely.
Health Care is a pivotal issue that affects everyone. Democrats believe that the government should regulate health care and provide affordable health care to everyone whether or not they are able to pay for it. They claim that this “Healthcare for all” approach will provide medical care for over 20 million uninsured Americans.
Republicans support the private model of health care and believe that the market forces should determine the cost and quality of healthcare. They believe that a “Healthcare for all” model or other government-run programs will result in very high cost, take away healthcare choice and result in lower quality care.
The United States' participation in Foreign Policy is critical to its relationship with other countries and to maintain a global leadership role. This is important because good diplomacy can prevent needless dispute. The Democrat point of view is that the U.S. should work with other members of the United Nations to influence global outcomes rather than act unilaterally on its own. Republicans believe that the United Nations has not proved to be successful in the past and that the U.S. should make its own decisions regarding policy priorities and which countries to trust.
On the issue of environment, Democrats believe that efforts must be taken to reduce carbon emission to stop climate change. Republicans believe that human impact could not have caused the climate changes we are witnessing and are predicted and that these changes happen naturally over a long period of time. These viewpoints affect their decisions on whether or not to combat Climate Change through legislative action.
Their respective positions also impact their view on Energy. Democrats believe that alternative sources of energy must be discovered and that fossil fuels such as gasoline and coal should not be the main energy source. Republicans, on the other hand, do not believe this shift is necessary, want to continue using fossil fuels to meet U.S.'s energy needs, and support further drilling and mining for these resources because they believe that a fossil fuel based energy infrastructure is cheaper and creates more jobs.
Democrats believe in investing in a strong public education infrastructure, using taxes to pay for public schools vs. providing vouchers - programs that give parents public money to fund the private school education of their children. Republicans believe that vouchers give parents educational choice - the freedom to choose the right school for their kids and creates competition which improves the quality of the schools.
While both parties support the 2nd Amendment, Democrats believe that more controls around gun ownership are needed through laws that ban the ownership or semi-automatic weapons, local control over gun rights and stricter background checks to reduce gun violence. They also believe that the police and the military should provide internal and external security to the country and not a local militia.
Republicans believe in the 2nd Amendment as written and currently interpreted by the courts and do not want any changes or controls to gun ownership laws. They believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens will deter crime and that instead of creating new laws, the current gun laws need to be properly enforced.
Democrats want to increase taxation of the wealthy and inherited wealth in order to pay for social programs that will reduce poverty, pay for universal healthcare, ensure the survival of medicare and social security, increase minimum wages and reduce the wealth gap resulting in a more equal society.
Republicans support lower taxes on everyone as they believe people will spend the money they save on taxes, fueling the economy. In general, they want reduced government interference in society and believe that social welfare programs provide no incentive for people to work.
Democrats believe that crime stems from societal and systemic issues. They believe that most minor crime should not be punished but that such criminals should be put into rehabilitation programs that will help them turn a new leaf and re-enter society. Republicans believe that harsher punishments will stop crime from happening in the first place.
Democrats believe in reduced military spending and peaceful coexistence with other countries. They propose that such saved funds can be used for other social welfare programs. Republicans believe in increased military spending for a strong military that is essential for national defense.