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Social media is driving us further apart, right? Partisan fighting in Washington is at an all-time high and no one agrees on anything, according to the news. Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything, can they?
Well, not exactly. While there are tons of substantive disagreements between the two major parties, they actually agree on more than they disagree about. Here are some notable examples of policy that the parties are actually both supporters of.
Applying Social Security disability benefits helps many millions of Americans stay afloat in their retirement years, as it has done for nearly a century. Social Security, the social program that guarantees a safety net for the most vulnerable Americans, is an exceedingly popular program in the United States, irrespective of political affiliation. Democrats typically support most public spending, making their support of the program a given.
Republicans, meanwhile, defend Social Security due to the demographics of the average Republican voter. Values like sound fiscal policy, financial responsibility, and small government are championed by conservatives, and those values are shared by a sizable demographic of retirees and older citizens. That’s the demographic that benefits the most from the provisions of Social Security, so any changes to the program would directly impact Republicans’ most important demographic.
The US is in an advantageous position, geographically: the country is separated from most of its external threats via two sizable oceans. The two countries that directly border the US are both allies, and recent years have seen unprecedented peace around the globe. Still, the US boasts the world’s biggest military budget and leads the globe in military technology.
This is due in large part to the support the military receives from both political parties. Whether Democrat or Republican, politicians typically have a favorable view of the armed forces, and policies advocating for budget cuts for the military are vanishingly unpopular in Washington.
As much as the two parties argue over corporate tax rates and federal benefits, they’re in agreement that a market economy is ideal for the country. Both Republicans and Democrats support the profit motive as the main driving force behind the American jobs market.
This is evidenced by compromises on fiscal policy seen every year in Washington. The central bank, the Federal Reserve, is given bipartisan support in its role as the main money manager for the country. As much as Democrats and Republicans disagree on how to spend the money that taxes raise, they’re in agreement about how the country should generate the wealth that goes into those taxes.
