ON POLITICS

For the Record: It's the economy, stupid

Joanna Allhands

USA TODAY

The economy is our country’s greatest problem. Opinion polls have told us as much for years. But what would the presidential candidates do to make it better?

THE PROBLEM, IN A NUTSHELL

By some indicators, the economy is stronger than ever. Our gross domestic product is soaring. Inflation rates are low. Unemployment and underemployment rates are basically back to where they were before the Great Recession.

But median household income continues to decline, and a lot more people of prime working age aren’t even looking for work anymore. In effect, if things are better economically, they don’t feel better for many of us.

WHERE DON AND HIL STAND

Given how much Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton gripe about each other – and how diametrically opposed the Republican and Democratic platforms are -- you’d think these two would have wildly divergent ideas to solve our economic paradox. But they’ve got more in common than you’d think.

Both would like to see a higher federal minimum wage: Trump supports raising it to $10 an hour, while Clinton sets the bar at $12 an hour.

Both would like to spend a lot more on infrastructure. Clinton would seed an infrastructure bank with $275 billion to jump-start projects; Trump says he’d double her investment, though he hasn't explained much more than that.

And both oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Obama’s signature agreement that aims to improve trade with Asia. Trump and Clinton say the deal will kill American manufacturing jobs (and they both really love manufacturing jobs).

Where do they differ? On taxes, naturally (as we previously detailed, Clinton would tax the rich much more heavily than Trump). And child care. Both say they want to offer tax credits, and neither have offered lots of details. But in general, Trump’s credits aim to help working families, while Clinton’s are targeted toward the out-of-work poor.

THIRD PARTY VIEWS

Jill Stein speaks to a crowd outside the Philadelphia City Hall during the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein supports a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage, but it’s unclear where Libertarian Gary Johnson stands on the idea. Johnson likes a free market with limited regulations, so he’s all for the TPP. Stein is against the trade deal. It’s unclear where either stands on child-care tax credits, though it’s probably a safe bet that Johnson is against them, as he favors a simpler tax code and flat sales tax.

WHAT DO ECONOMISTS SAY?

Most economists prefer Clinton’s platform to Trump’s, saying his trade and immigration policies would be particularly rough on the economy. In fact, Trump didn’t even come in second in a recent survey of National Association for Business Economics members: 55 percent said Clinton would do the best job of managing the economy, followed by 15 percent for Johnson, 15 percent who weren’t sure and 14 percent for Trump.

The Clinton campaign cites estimates from a former GOP adviser that her plan would create 10 million jobs in her first term, while Moody’s predicts Trump’s plans will cost 3.5 million jobs. But that doesn’t mean everyone is in love with Clinton’s ideas, which could come with a hefty price tag. Critics argue that the best thing government can do for the economy is to lower spending and decrease red tape, neither of which Clinton is proposing.

I’M DONALD TRUMP?

Trump 2.0 is using a teleprompter at rallies, nixing his free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness speeches for far more focused stumps on trade, the military, immigration and “rigged systems.” But if you think that reduces the chances for shenanigans, you clearly haven’t seen “Anchorman."