Before Presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain squared off in their second debate of the election season, students spoke with The Red & Black about issues that matter to them.

McCain promised to balance the budget by 2012 by placing a one year moratorium – or a freeze – on discretionary spending offering tax cuts and reviewing government programs for efficiency, said David Kirby, a College Republican and graduate student from Acworth, in a phone interview Tuesday.

“The last thing we need are higher taxes,” Kirby said. “How will that balance the budget?”

With the economy suffering due to the financial crisis, many University students say they are concerned about their futures, said Louis Elrod, a junior from Mount Airy and president of the Young Democrats.

Obama’s plan is to eliminate tax cuts for the wealthy and increase tax cuts for the middle class.

“It’s simple basic economics that you can get the same amount of money into the budget while actually hurting less people’s pocket books,” Elrod said. “Essentially, we could be helping more people and still have the same budget.”

For higher education, “Obama wants to create a tax credit that will ensure that the first $4,000 for college education is free for most Americans,” Jaiah Scott, senior and executive director for Students for Barack Obama in Atlanta, said.

“John McCain wants to eliminate spending earmarks which will improve unversities’ research,” James Beach, a sophomore College Republican from Monroe, said.

Both candidates have said that the financial aid process is too complicated and needs to be simplified for students and their families.

After the debate, not all students had decided who they will vote for.

“The biggest issue to me is more of which person I feel like would be a better leader for the country,” said Will Linthicum, a senior from Alpharetta. Linthicum said he’s undecided, but the biggest issue worrying him now is the economy.

“It’s a little bit concerning,” he said of graduating soon in the current job market. “I’m just hoping the economy [improves].”