Economic reform has always been a point of contention between the major political parties and is one of the issues upon which they rarely agree. Questions such as what causes economic downturns and what improves the economy after a recession have no easy answers, and the overabundance of statistical data often serves to complicate the issue even more.

Here is your term paper question:  How can the federal government improve the U.S. economy in order to provide long-term stability and to benefit all Americans? Consider the following elements: job creation, living wages and regulations on the finance industry (e.g., limits on interest rates, restrictions on lenders, etc.). Which political party has the better plan for improving the economy for the majority of Americans? What is that plan? What are the possible pitfalls of the plan?

You must have a thesis statement (this should be in your first paragraph). I suggest using the following template:

"The Democratic Party's plan to improve the economy is _______________.  The Republican Party's plan to improve the economy is ___________________. The ___________ Party's plan is more appropriate for a democratic society because ________________________."

Fill in the first two blanks with broad, general descriptions. For the last blank, be specific: what is it about the plan that makes it more appropriate?

Then, explain in detail each party's position. How would they deal with special interests? How would they deal with unintended negative consequences? What constitutional constraints would be factors in their plans?

Your paper should be at least five pages long, double spaced. You can use online sources; however, try to stick with .gov or .edu websites, which tend to be more reliable than others. There is no minimum number of sources. Be sure to include a "works cited" page (NOT part of the five-page minimum!) and provide complete URLs or citations as appropriate.