As part of our coverage of "The Real Economy" -- what matters most to voters this election year -- we've invited a guy named Mike Sleaford into the studio to give us his thoughts on the election and the economy.

In the 2012 presidential election race, both parties focus on images of factories and hard hats.

The presidential campaign has returned to the issue of private equity and the outsourcing of jobs. President Obama has latched onto a Washington Post report that says private equity firm Bain Capital, which Mitt Romney used to run, helped pioneer the outsourcing of jobs.

In this installment of Money Matters, we look at the economics of democracy: whether our personal finances are having an effect in this year's major political election.