Trump vs. Biden: Who Can Handle the Reins of a Hot Economy
On Nov. 5, U.S. voters will almost certainly face the same choice for president as they did in 2020: Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Never mind the worries about their age and health, or suitability for office, or both men’s enduring unpopularity. Chances are, we’re doing it again. And just like four years ago, the electoral outcome will probably remain a close call until the final ballots are counted.
On Nov. 5, U.S. voters will almost certainly face the same choice for president as they did in 2020: Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Never mind the worries about their age and health, or suitability for office, or both men’s enduring unpopularity. Chances are, we’re doing it again. And just like four years ago, the electoral outcome will probably remain a close call until the final ballots are counted.
Yet there are some important differences this time around, for better and worse. The U.S. economy is booming in ways unimaginable back when the nation voted in 2020 in the grip of the Covid pandemic. Also booming is the nation’s debt load, which helped to fuel this growth. The U.S. owes its creditors a record $34 trillion, and the net cost of interest on that debt now stands at $650 billion—gigantic figures that are bound to constrict the choices of the next administration and Congress.
Biden and Trump are vying to lead the country in profoundly different directions. We’ll leave it to others to decide what that means for social policy and the state of the world. For the economy and markets, it means a new spin on familiar questions about America’s indebtedness, and sharply divergent views on taxation, regulation, and the role of the state.
