By: Hong-An Phan
A breakdown of the economic standpoints of Trump and Harris.
On Tuesday, September 10th, Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris stood off face to face on the podiums of the presidential debate. Prior to President Joe Biden’s resignation from his campaign, the Democrat and Republican candidates were agreed to two debates. With the completion of both debates, the future is uncertain on whether there will be a third display of opposing views of the two contenders.
For 90 tense minutes, Harris and Trump refuted the other’s statements, disagreed on controversial topics, and defended their promoted opinions. One of the highlighted topics on which many American citizens will cast their votes was the future president’s plans for economic policies.
Former President Donald Trump was quick to acknowledge the growing concern of inflation in the country, “Look, we've had a terrible economy, because inflation, which is really known as a country buster.”
According to Bankrate, the current inflation rate is 2.9%, which is reported to be its lowest since March 2021. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, inflation left its mark on the economy with soaring prices caused by a sharp increase in demand and money printing.
However, Trump’s conservative standpoint is to return to his initial policies during his prior presidency. During this time, he was notable for promoting tax cuts, which may affect the country’s national debt- which is currently over $35 trillion- as well as the growing income inequality.
Additionally, his support on tariffs clashes with concern for inflation. According to an article by CNN, “Goldman Sachs economists estimated that every one percentage point increase in the effective tariff rate could raise core inflation as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index by a tenth of a percentage point.”
Harris, on the other hand, is supporting liberal action on the economy. This includes increasing taxes in order to create “a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy” by using funding to provide support for low to middle-income families.
CNN writes, “The first-time homeowner tax credit and tripling of the child tax credit for newborns she’s proposed could leave consumers with more money to spend on goods and services. But as a result, that could increase the prices they pay for them.”
Harris’s policies will also have a negative effect on inflation, despite her campaign policies being purposed to aid those who cannot afford the rising prices.
Between concerns of inflation, national debt, and recession, the presidential race is quickly coming to its climax and the American population will soon be forced to make a decision. With both parties voicing stark contrasts on their policy opinions, now is the time to research and review the most important topics, whether it be related to the economy or nationwide issues.
Photo by: Clay Banks, Unsplash
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