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Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis sparred on a wide range of economic issues throughout the CNN GOP presidential debate on Wednesday night.
Subjects ran the gamut from Nancy Pelosi’s funding technique (DeSantis will not be a fan) to Social Security funding (“You’d reduce Social Safety advantages for 70-year-olds whilst you pay the pensions of Ukrainian bureaucrats,” mentioned DeSantis. “You’re so determined, Ron, you’re simply so determined,” retorted Haley).
However as Haley and DeSantis duked it out to crown themselves essentially the most fiscally prudent candidate, some clear financial themes started to emerge that can possible have a giant affect on the upcoming Republican primaries and past: China, debt ranges and the federal government’s position in enterprise.
The Iowa caucus is just days away, on January 15.
Let’s dive into it.
China
Each Haley and DeSantis sought to show how robust they may very well be on China.
Haley mentioned that she would “finish all regular commerce relations” with Beijing. She additionally criticized Donald Trump, who’s presently main the sector in Iowa however didn’t take part in Wednesday’s debate, for being too smooth on China.
DeSantis promised that he would decouple the US from China’s economic system altogether.
However as my colleague Elisabeth Buchwald points out, the US and China are the first- and second-largest economies on the planet. China is America’s third-largest buying and selling accomplice.
DeSantis mentioned he would reduce the ache of decoupling by providing “tax and regulatory” incentives within the US. “I wish to make issues right here once more,” he added.
President Joe Biden has additionally made decreasing financial dependence on China a platform in each his 2020 and 2024 campaigns. His Inflation Reduction Act is already boosting US manufacturing and jobs.
Tensions have been growing between the US and China for causes together with commerce, escalating disagreements over high-tech chips and synthetic intelligence, tighter funding curbs and geopolitical disputes.
US debt
Haley and DeSantis didn’t agree on a lot, however they did each take the time accountable Trump for record-high authorities debt.
The previous president, mentioned DeSantis, wants to elucidate, “why he added $7.8 trillion to the debt” whereas in workplace. Each candidates partly blamed the federal government’s runaway spending for the post-pandemic inflation disaster.
Additionally they leaned on their expertise as state governors to elucidate how they might manage the federal budget.
Haley mentioned that South Carolina, the state she ruled from 2011 to 2017, required a balanced finances. DeSantis mentioned the debt in Florida, the place he’s presently governor, has gone down below his watch.
Haley and DeSantis each mentioned they might convey down the US finances deficit and curb spending.
As president, Haley mentioned, she would give attention to “clawing again” authorities spending and vowed to “veto” spending that considerably will increase the debt restrict.
Enterprise and authorities
Maybe one of many best divides between DeSantis and Haley (economically talking) is their method to authorities involvement in non-public companies.
DeSantis is in an ongoing battle with the Walt Disney Firm, which stemmed from the corporate’s criticism of a regulation that restricts public schooling on sexual orientation and gender. (DeSantis signed that bill into law in March 2022.) That battle has arguably value his state thousands of jobs.
Haley mentioned on Wednesday that she wouldn’t let her politics get in the way in which of enterprise. “When [Disney] went and criticized him, he obtained thin-skinned and immediately began to battle again,” she mentioned.
“We don’t want authorities combating towards our non-public industries … I’ll at all times invite companies to return to South Carolina,” she added. “Authorities doesn’t bully our companies.”
DeSantis replied that he had no regrets and was standing as much as the “800-pound gorilla within the state.”
“We have to rise up for the folks and never bow right down to woke companies, and we all know Nikki Haley will cave to the woke mob each single time,” he mentioned.
The FBI is investigating the hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s social media account that rocked the cryptocurrency world earlier this week forward of the regulator’s approval of the primary spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
“The SEC continues to research the matter and is coordinating with applicable regulation enforcement entities, together with the SEC’s Workplace of the Inspector Normal and the FBI,” an SEC spokesperson mentioned in a press release.
The SEC mentioned that the “unauthorized content material” on the company’s verified account on X (previously generally known as Twitter) was “not drafted or created by the SEC.”
Bitcoin prices briefly jumped on Tuesday after the SEC’s account on X posted a message saying the regulator had accepted a number of bitcoin ETFs.
Nonetheless, 15 minutes later SEC Chair Gary Gensler mentioned the company’s account was “compromised,” permitting for an “unauthorized” tweet to get posted.
“I’m involved that unauthorized entry to SEC accounts might undermine our markets and the company’s mission,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, mentioned in a press release on Wednesday.
Brown mentioned he expects the SEC to maintain the committee up to date and inspired the Workplace of the SEC Inspector Normal to look into the incident as properly.
The false announcement might have had big, market-moving implications: ETFs for bitcoin might drive as a lot as $100 billion in funding this yr if accepted, mentioned Nick Sensible, director of intelligence at Crystal Blockchain.
Bitcoin and different digital belongings skilled vital value fluctuations after the faux message was posted Tuesday: Bitcoin costs shot up by greater than 2.5% earlier than falling once more because the information crossed and misinformation rapidly unfold throughout varied media platforms.
The monetary group is carefully monitoring the SEC’s response to this breach, which might result in vital modifications in how monetary info is disseminated within the digital age.
One in every 78 US audio streams was a Taylor Swift music in 2023, in keeping with Luminate. The leisure information firm reported 1.2 trillion on-demand US audio streams in 2023, up 12.7% from the yr prior.
In 2023, Swift launched two re-recorded albums: “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The deluxe “Midnights (The Til Daybreak Version)” album got here out in 2023, following the album’s authentic launch the yr prior.
Spotify topped Swift its prime artist final yr with greater than 26.1 billion world streams in Wrapped, the streamer’s annual assortment of particular person person listening habits, stories my colleague Ramishah Maruf.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” had the highest-grossing concert film domestically for an opening weekend, in keeping with AMC. The tour itself grew to become the primary tour ever to cross the billion-dollar gross mark, in keeping with Pollstar Boxoffice stories.
In October, the celebrity grew to become a billionaire, in keeping with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, one of many few entertainers to achieve that standing primarily based on simply her music and efficiency.