Who is the best choice for the US economy?

The economy remains a top priority for American voters - both candidates for the White House understand this and are working to position themselves as the best choice for the American economy.

Which presidential candidate's economic policies are welcomed by American voters? (Source: Shutterstock)

The international media believes that if the economic vision of President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump are completely different, the contrast between Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is "almost dazzling".

Despite being influenced by many of the current policies, Ms. Harris is trying to establish and emphasize some of her own economic plans, which show a willingness to break from the current administration’s approach on some key issues. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is doubling down on his first-term agenda.

Ms. Harris's "disruption"

Since replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee, Ms. Harris has unveiled proposals that go “further” than the incumbent administration in helping low- and middle-income Americans by making housing more affordable, reducing childcare costs, curbing price increases and reducing prescription drug costs, among other measures.

“She is trying to help low- and middle-income families and lower-middle-class small businesses and then pay the price by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Recently, Vice President Harris officially posted a series of new policy views on the campaign website, in which, the most prominent are proposals such as providing $25,000 for first-time home buyers, a $6,000 credit for newborns, a $50,000 tax cut for newly established small businesses (a sharp increase from the current $5,000), or clearly announcing a 28% tax rate for people with income over $1 million - lower than the 39.6% rate proposed by President Biden for the 2025 budget plan.

But most proposals have little chance of passing a divided Congress , economists say, although some ideas on housing and child care may be popular. And some proposals need to be rethought, such as a $25,000 payment to homebuyers that could come with a major downside because it would boost home sales and raise real estate prices, according to analysis by Moody's and Goldman.

In the immediate future, in the race against Mr. Trump, some of the Vice President's positions are considered "unconventional" - seemingly challenging the perceptions of nearly half of potential voters, as she shows a willingness to move in the middle, for example, abandoning support for the current administration's ban on shale gas drilling and supporting lower capital gains taxes for very wealthy Americans.

Trump's persistence

Politico newspaper assessed that after a sweet “political honeymoon” since taking over the role of Democratic candidate, Ms. Harris’s momentum has slowed down a bit. Meanwhile, although Mr. Trump has just gone through a period of being judged not to be improving, the former President still shows formidable perseverance.

Mr. Trump has made clear his goal of extending and expanding the 2017 tax cuts from his time in office for virtually all Americans, cracking down harder on illegal immigration, imposing new tariffs on imports and backing away from much of President Biden’s plan for a clean energy future.

Meanwhile, Ms. Harris also plans to extend some of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts — but not for wealthy individuals and corporations — and even raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, impose more targeted tariffs on imports from China, and tighten immigration restrictions but not as aggressively or broadly as Mr. Trump.

On the issue of imports, while Mr. Trump still insists that “the main goal of this tax is to make imports more expensive, thereby promoting domestic production,” Ms. Harris’s views do not show any new points, because in addition to criticizing this tax that will push up consumer prices, voters also want to hear her explain why the current administration, where she has served for nearly four years, has kept the same tariffs from the Trump era. She has not proposed any way to solve inflation – the top concern of voters.

Polls continue to show that Americans consider candidate Donald Trump to be a better manager of the economy. According to observers, the point where Vice President Kamala Harris is considered weaker is related to the ability to handle problems in the economy, when rising prices and a series of arising problems are still making American voters dissatisfied with the way the current administration operates, and Ms. Harris plays a significant role in that.

After the first debate (September 10), the US media published many articles commenting that the Democratic candidate had "overpowered" his opponent, cleverly "provoking" Mr. Trump to lose his composure and reveal his weakness, while successfully conveying the message of a "bright future for America".

However, on the other side, many people believe that former President Trump is a very familiar factor in American politics and the majority of voters in this country, including independent voters, are no longer unfamiliar with the "Donald Trump style" no matter how the opponent portrays it.

Mr. Trump is considered to still express a specific stance, and some people even appreciate the practical views of a businessman, although voters still want to know more clearly what he will do and especially how he will adjust to be better than the previous term, if re-elected.

While Ms. Harris remains a “mystery” to most voters in terms of her policy stance, especially her economic management policy, she has failed to take advantage of the rare “face-to-face” opportunity to portray herself and her own economic plans, while also eroding the reputation that Mr. Trump has earned by promoting the US economy strongly through Covid-19.

Contrary to expectations, Ms. Harris has only emphasized policy changes and promises, without explaining what the specific plan is, to erase the comments of analysts that - her campaign is not convincing enough because it still lacks depth and is still vague about tough policies. This is also the point that Mr. Trump has attacked the most, that the Vice President's recent changes in views are "insincere".

Of course, some prestigious newspapers and magazines still choose to be cautious in their assessment of the "balance of power" when they say that, basically, the two are neck and neck and it is very difficult to predict who will be the owner of the White House in the next term.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bau-cu-tong-thong-my-2024-ai-la-lua-chon-tot-nhat-cho-nen-kinh-te-xu-co-hoa-286855.html