The race for president of the United States started by focusing on foreign policy and the war in Iraq. But with the economy in its worst financial crisis in 80 years, everyone is trying to figure out how this meltdown will affect them.

Retired people worry the losses to their net worth will cut into their financial independence; Baby Boomers worry about even being able to retire; and working families worry about losing their jobs. The only ones that are not worried are college students. After all, they don’t have jobs or houses and retirement is hardly at the top of the to-do list.

So CSUN students are safe, right? Wrong.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may sound like someone’s long-gone relatives, but these two agencies just took a big bite out of the $700 billion government bailout bill that passed two weeks ago.

No one knows if all of the hundreds of billions of dollars will eventually stop the worry that currently afflicts retirees, the Boomers and the working families, but almost everyone agrees that if it does work, it’s not a quick solution.

It’s going to take a long time to turn this problem around. Maybe so much time that regardless if you’re a freshman, times will be getting really tough for job hunting upon graduation time.’ ‘

What does the bailout mean? The good news is that housing costs dropped 40 percent, just in California alone. That’s great, except banks don’t have the money to loan buyers, so unless you have cash, no house for you. Enter the $700 billion ‘Bailout’ or ‘Rescue’ package as others call it.

Both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have blamed the opposing party for the current economic crisis.

McCain’s plan to ease the mortgage bailout would cause the government ‘to massively overpay for mortgages in a plan that would guarantee taxpayers to lose money and put them at risk of losing even more if home values don’t recover,’ said Obama’s economic adviser Jason Furman,’ on the ‘Obama for America’ website. The ones who benefit from this plan the most are the same financial institutions that got us into this mess, some of whom committed fraud.

The Arizona Senator’s proposal would devote nearly half of the $700 billion from the recent financial rescue package to buying troubled mortgages directly, thereby aiding the nation’s financial markets. The proposal would also cause many to lose employer-provided health insurance would be taxed on those benefits. In addition, a $5,000 tax credit is applied that would not be enough for a family to buy private insurance.

Senator Barack Obama has several plans to revitalize the economy: Windfall profits emergency energy rebate, a $50 billion jumpstart to prevent job loss, cutting income tax for working families, cutting taxes for seniors and simplify taxes for filing.

Obama’s windfall profits tax will provide a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to American families.

The $50 billion jumpstart the economy plan would include a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees. The plan will also include $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school re’shy;pair. All save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.

Obama plans to cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the taxes they already pay on their payroll and eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year.

Obama plans to simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Experts estimate that the proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in fees.

Obama plans to put $50 billion into state growth and job growth funds in addition to making filing for taxes an easier process and saving everyone more money in the long run.

On the other hand, McCain is for using more than half of the bailout money to have the government buy up foreclosed homes and sell them cheaper.

Yes that might help the housing crisis, but how does that pump the economy? Won’t taxpayers be the ones doing all the paying? And aren’t we just filling the pockets of the ones who just got us into this mess in the first place? Who’s really benefiting?

What they don’t tell you is that Republican candidate John McCain, yes, they call him the Maverick, but in the last eight years he has voted an estimated 90 percent of the time along with the Bush administration. In addition, he has flip-flopped more than any party cares to mention. Many of his moderate supporters have switched to Obama because of his choice of running mate. How can we vote for a man who will give tax breaks on an income that already makes a million or more dollars and barely acknowledges the middle-class? Most of us will be middle-class; we strive for it and work hard to achieve this status.

And although this year will mark a historic event, do the citizens of the free world want more of the same? Even former Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama, seeing him as a ‘transformational figure.’ It’s not because John McCain would be a bad president, but because his time has past and of the lack of considerable thought that went behind choosing his vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin.’

How cheap can it be, for your only purpose and only weapon to fear and make wild accusations against a man who does not fire back, but instead pours water on the flames and has solutions to the bigger issues.