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Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis debated a wide range of economic issues during Wednesday night’s CNN Republican presidential debate.
Topics range from Nancy Pelosi’s investment strategy (DeSantis is not a fan) to Social Security funding (“We’ll cut Social Security benefits for 70-year-olds while paying the pensions of Ukrainian bureaucrats”) Stated) DeSantis. “You’re really desperate, Ron, you’re really desperate,” he retorted. Haley).
But as Haley and DeSantis vie for the crown of most fiscally prudent candidate, several clear economic themes are likely to have a major impact on the upcoming Republican primary and subsequent elections. began to emerge. These include China, debt levels, and the role of the government. work.
The Iowa caucuses are just days away on January 15th.
Let’s take a closer look.
China
Both Haley and DeSantis sought to prove how tough they could be against China.
Haley said she would “end all normal commercial relations” with China. He also criticized Donald Trump, who currently leads the field in Iowa but did not participate in Wednesday’s debate, for being too soft on China.
Mr. DeSantis has promised to completely isolate the United States from the Chinese economy.
But as my colleague Elisabeth Buchwald points out, the United States and China are the world’s first and second largest economies. China is America’s third largest trading partner.
DeSantis said it will minimize pain. decoupling By providing “tax and regulatory” incentives in the United States. “I want to build something here again,” he added.
President Joe Biden has also made reducing economic dependence on China a platform for both his 2020 and 2024 election campaigns. His anti-inflation legislation is already boosting U.S. manufacturing and employment.
Tensions between the United States and China are rising due to growing disagreements over trade, high-tech chips and artificial intelligence, tightening investment controls, and geopolitical disputes.
us debt
Haley and DeSantis didn’t see much of a consensus, but they spent time criticizing President Trump for record government debt.
DeSantis said the former president needs to explain “why he increased the debt by $7.8 trillion” during his time in office. Both candidates partially blamed government runaways for the post-pandemic inflation crisis.
They also explained how they would manage the federal budget based on their experience as governors.
Haley said South Carolina, which she ruled from 2011 to 2017, needs a balanced budget. DeSantis, who is currently governor, said Florida’s debt has declined under his watch.
Both Haley and DeSantis said they would reduce the U.S. budget deficit and rein in spending.
President Haley said she would focus on “bringing back” government spending and vowed to “veto” any spending that would significantly raise the debt ceiling.
business and government
Perhaps one of the biggest differences between Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley (economically) is their approach to government involvement in private business.
DeSantis has an ongoing battle with the Walt Disney Company, stemming from the company’s criticism of laws that limit public education on sexual orientation and gender. (Mr. DeSantis signed the bill into law in March 2022.) The fight has undoubtedly cost the state thousands of jobs.
Haley said Wednesday that she doesn’t let her politics get in the way of her business. “when [Disney] I went and criticized him and he thinned out and suddenly started fighting back,” she said.
“We don’t need a government fighting private industry…I will always invite businesses to come to South Carolina,” she added. “The government will not bully our business.”
Mr. DeSantis responded that he had no regrets and was ready to face the “800-pound gorilla of the state.”
“We need to stand up for the people and not cower to the woke corporations. We know Nikki Haley will cower to the woke mob every time,” he said.
The FBI is investigating the hacking of Securities and Exchange Commission social media accounts that rocked the crypto world earlier this week ahead of regulators’ approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
“The SEC continues to investigate this matter and is coordinating with appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the SEC Office of Inspector General and the FBI,” an SEC spokesperson said in a statement.
The SEC said the “inappropriate content” on the agency’s verified account on X (formerly Twitter) “was not drafted or created by the SEC.”
Bitcoin prices briefly rose on Tuesday after the SEC’s account on X posted a message saying the regulator had approved multiple Bitcoin ETFs.
but, 15 minutes later SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the SEC’s account had been “compromised,” allowing the posting of “fraudulent” tweets.
“We are concerned that unauthorized access to SEC accounts could harm our nation’s markets and the SEC’s mission,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.
Brown said he expects the SEC to keep the commission updated and encouraged the SEC Office of Inspector General to also investigate the incident.
Nick Smart, director of intelligence at Crystal Blockchain, said the false announcement could have had a major market-moving impact, with up to $100 billion expected to be invested this year if the Bitcoin ETF were approved. He said there is a possibility of an increase.
Bitcoin and other digital assets experienced significant price fluctuations after the fake message was posted on Tuesday. Bitcoin prices soared more than 2.5% before falling again as the news broke and misinformation quickly spread across various media platforms.
The financial community is closely monitoring the SEC’s response to this breach, which could lead to major changes in how financial information is disseminated in the digital age.
According to Luminate, by 2023, one in 78 audio streams in the US will be a Taylor Swift song. The entertainment data company reports that US on-demand audio streams in 2023 totaled 1.2 trillion, an increase of 12.7% from the previous year.
In 2023, Swift released two re-recorded albums, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The deluxe “Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)” album was released in 2023 following the album’s original release the previous year.
Spotify named Swift a top artist last year with more than 26.1 billion global streams on Wrapped. Annual personal collection by streamers User listening habits are reported by my colleague Ramishaa Maruf.
According to AMC, “Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour” became the highest-grossing concert film domestically for its opening weekend. The tour itself became the first to gross over $1 billion at the box office, according to a report from Pollstar Box Office.
The superstar became a billionaire in October, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him one of the few entertainers to reach that status through music and performance alone.