2020 presidential candidates on the economy
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen |
This page includes statements from the 2020 presidential candidates on the economy. These statements were compiled from each candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews. Click the following links for policy statements about related issues: Social Security, minimum wage, paid leave, and taxes.
The candidates featured on this page are the 2020 presidential nominees from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green parties.
Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
Economy
Republican candidates
Donald Trump
Donald Trump's campaign website says, "President Trump is unleashing economic growth and jobs. Since his election, the Trump administration’s pro-growth policies have generated 6 million new jobs, the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in 50 years, and wages have grown at more than 3% for 10 months in a row. Under President Trump’s leadership, Congress passed historic tax cuts and relief for hard-working Americans. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has soared under President Trump, topping 3% in 4 quarters under his administration." [source, as of 2020-06-22]
Mark Sanford
Mark Sanford's campaign website says, "For the last fifty years, Americans have sent in about 18% of GDP (the whole of all that is spent and consumed in our country) in taxes each year to the federal government. I do not believe this number should go up, but I do believe we could move to a fairer and simpler tax system along the lines of a fair tax or flat tax. Presently, more than a trillion dollars a year is carved out in the form of tax exemptions, and I believe a flatter and broader tax system would be helpful to individual liberty, job creation, and American competitiveness." [source, as of 2019-09-10]
Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on the economy. [source, as of 2019-08-30]
Bill Weld
Bill Weld said in a speech, "In the federal budget, the two most important tasks are to cut spending and to cut taxes – and spending comes first. We need to “zero base” the federal budget, basing each appropriation on outcomes actually achieved, not on last year’s appropriation plus 5 per cent, which is what too many folks in Washington use as a starting point. Right after cutting spending comes cutting taxes. Federal taxes need serious adjustment downward. I favor repealing the federal death tax, for example, and cutting the capital gains tax rate to 10%. These taxes are not major revenue raisers, and they both have the perverse effect of penalizing people for a lifetime of hard work. Eliminating them will increase our aggregate national wealth, which should always be a key priority of the United States government. Domestically, our most immediate priority must be jobs and wages. What are we going to do about the fact that 25% of all the jobs in the United States today won’t exist in 15 years? This is not caused by the unseen hands of globalization or the internet, but rather by the soon to be all-too-visible hands of robotics, drones, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles. The old jobs will be replaced by new and different jobs, but the problem is that today’s workers don’t yet possess the skill sets that the replacement jobs will require. This truly is a national emergency, and it’s going to require a nationwide response." [source, as of 2019-02-15]
Democratic candidates
Joe Biden
Joe Biden's campaign website list the following four pillars of his Build Back Better economic recovery plan: "Mobilize American manufacturing and innovation to ensure that the future is made in America, and in all of America. Mobilize American ingenuity to build a modern infrastructure and an equitable, clean energy future. Mobilize American talent and heart to build a 21st century caregiving and education workforce which will help ease the burden of care for working parents, especially women. Mobilize across the board to advance racial equity in America."
His website continues, "We’ve seen millions of American workers put their lives and health on the line to keep our country going. As Biden has said, let’s not just praise them, let’s pay them — a decent wage, at least $15 per hour, and ending the tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities, and strong benefits so they can live a middle class life and provide opportunity for their kids." [source, as of 2020-08-03]
Michael Bloomberg
Mike Bloomberg's campaign website says, "As an entrepreneur, Mike created an information technology start-up that grew into a global business. As mayor, he diversified New York City’s economy and led its comeback after the 9/11 attacks. When the Great Recession struck in 2008, Mike had prepared the city, which recovered faster and stronger than the country overall. As president, Mike will work to strengthen the middle class, invest in education, create good-paying jobs in renewable energy and other industries with a bright future, and open the door of opportunity to every American."
His website continues, "Mike employs nearly 20,000 people at Bloomberg LP. As mayor, Mike helped create nearly half a million new jobs in New York City. Mike created Small Business Solutions Centers that offered free services to some 10,000 small businesses in New York City. Mike increased the number of minority- and women-owned businesses that could do business with New York City government by 450%. Mike created career centers that revamped workforce training and dramatically increased the number of job placements." [source, as of 2019-12-11]
Cory Booker
Cory Booker's campaign website says, "For too long, America’s economic agenda has centered on further enriching the already-rich, with massive windfalls for multinational companies, tax breaks for the wealthy, and trade deals that boost corporate profits at the expense of hard-working Americans. As president, Cory will pursue an ambitious agenda to build an economy where everyone has a stake in its success."
The website lists Booker's economic priorities, including "Put cash in the pockets of working Americans with the Rise Credit, a massive expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Make it easier for workers to join a union and strengthen the rights of workers. Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and hold businesses and employers responsible for pay discrimination." [source, as of 2019-08-27]
Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg's campaign website says, "Economic policies have to be focused on growing incomes for the 90%. Targeting the majority of Americans will lead to growth for the majority of Americans. That’s why Pete will assess how the economy is doing by income growth for the 90%–the vast majority of Americans who are not in the richest tenth. At the end of the day, this is about fairness. Workers should have an equal seat at the table. Corporations shouldn’t get to hide behind legal technicalities that let them mistreat and push workers down. If we work overtime hours, we should get overtime pay. We should also be able to bargain with a company to determine pay and work conditions. To make the 21st-century economy work for every worker, all of our nation’s workers should have the bargaining power they need to demand good jobs, fair pay, and safe workplaces. As the workforce changes with more women and people of color, we also have a moral and economic imperative to ensure historically excluded and undervalued groups finally enjoy the benefits of strong bargaining and labor protections. And we must ensure that equal pay for equal work becomes a business priority just as it is a priority for women across the country. Pete is laying out a set of policies to empower workers and raise wages, going above and beyond existing legislative proposals like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Pete’s goals are to accelerate wage growth for the broad middle class and restore our society’s economic compact. He will get there with policies aimed at doubling unionization, restoring workers’ rights that have been eroded by decades of anti-worker policies by government and corporations alike, and expanding labor rights to workers who have been left out."
Buttigieg's campaign website also lists the following policies: "Guarantee gig economy workers their labor rights, including unionization. Institute gender pay transparency. Impose strong, multimillion-dollar penalties that scale with company size when a company interferes with union elections. Level the playing field in union elections by requiring “equal airtime on company time,” so that workers hear from union organizers and not just employers. Enshrine the right to multi-employer bargaining. Expand federal protections to cover farm and domestic workers. Establish a consistent preference in federal government contracting for unionized employers that provide workers with fair pay and benefits. Raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and indexing to wage growth. End “right-to-work” laws, which ban union security in collective bargaining. Deliver card-check rights. Guarantee workers access to paid sick leave and paid family leave, and the predictable hours and wages they deserve. Ensure that all workers can bargain with the companies that actually control the terms of their employment. Stop employers from permanently replacing workers who strike, enhancing workers’ rights to secondary boycotts. Take steps to prevent union election interference. Create safe, equitable, accessible, and fair workplaces for women and all people that are free of harassment and discrimination. Include domestic workers, who have been historically excluded from many employment laws, in common workplace rights and protections." [source, as of 2019-08-21]
Julián Castro
Julián Castro's campaign website says the following: "Our economy today is not working for working people, the way it did in the past. The costs of caring for your family are rising year after year, while your paycheck is staying the same. The wealthy few have set up the rules to work for themselves, while working families who labor for a living are left behind."
Some of the policies listed on Castro's website include: "Replace the estate tax and gift tax with a unified inheritance gift tax. Establish a Wealth Inequality Tax. Repeal the Trump tax bill. Expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to provide $3,000 per child for every family, ensuring the credit is fully refundable. Expand and Reform the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. Establish a national paid sick leave standard of at least 7 days a year. Enact universal child care for families through federal grants for local, county, state, and tribal governments. I’m proposing Pre-K 4 USA: an extension of public school education to include all 3-and-4 year olds in America in high quality, full day pre-K, supported through federal partnerships with state and local governments. Invest in housing affordability. Ensure quality educational opportunity for all." [source, as of 2019-08-28]
Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard's campaign website says, "From the Great Depression through the turn of the 21st Century, Glass-Steagall helped keep our economy safe. Repealing it allowed too-big-to-fail banks to gamble with the savings and livelihoods of the American people, with devastating, irrevocable consequences. Hawai?i, along with communities across the country, paid the price in 2008 with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the banks that were 'too big to fail' in 2008 are even bigger and more powerful now. We must reinstate Glass-Steagall and create a financial system that works for every American—not just Wall Street bank." [source, as of 2019-09-26]
Kamala D. Harris
Kamala Harris' campaign website says, "In America today, the cost of living is going up, paychecks aren’t keeping up, and the rules keep being written to benefit big corporations and the top 1%. When the bankers who crashed our economy get bonuses but the workers who brought our country back are barely getting by, it’s clear: Our economy isn’t working for working people. Kamala believes we need to fight for working families — to increase paychecks, decrease the cost of living and combat sexism, racism, and corporate favoritism in our economy to ensure every American gets a fair shot."
Harris' campaign website continues, "That’s why Kamala’s first priority as president will be to give working and middle class families an overdue income boost. Under her plan, she’ll reverse President Trump’s trillion-dollar tax cut for big corporations and the top 1% and use that money to give a tax credit of up to $6,000 to working families each year. That’s just the start. To raise wages, Kamala will fight to empower unions, make a $15 minimum wage the national floor, and create stricter penalties for companies that cheat their workers. While Kamala fights for fair wages, she’ll work to constrain the rising costs that keep Americans up at night. She’ll pass her Rent Relief Act to provide a tax credit for people spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent and utilities. She’ll increase the federal government’s investment in child care to ensure working families don’t pay more than 7 percent of their income on care. And she’ll crack down on pharmaceutical companies that price-gouge while empowering the government to negotiate down the price of prescription drugs. As president, she’ll mandate equal pay for women, promote policies that build wealth in communities of color, and crack down on corporations that exploit vulnerable Americans for profit." [source, as of 2019-08-20]
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar's campaign website says, "Too many people aren’t sharing in our country’s economic prosperity. Shared prosperity is about ensuring all families have a fair shot in today’s economy, and Amy believes that this means investing in quality child care, overhauling our country’s housing policy, raising the minimum wage, providing paid family leave, supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as helping Americans save for retirement. We must beat back decades of systemic racism and inequality. Amy believes this begins with early-childcare and fixing our education system, addressing racism in health care such as disparities in maternal and infant mortality rates, ending housing discrimination so that everyone can afford to rent an apartment and own a home in a good neighborhood for their kids, and tackling disparities in wages and in retirement savings. Our laws and our policies have not kept pace with our changing economy and the digital revolution. Amy believes that this means we need to do more when it comes to taking on monopoly power and promoting competition, protecting consumers and their privacy in the digital age, and empowering workers with the tools they need to succeed in the evolving digital economy and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow." [source, as of 2019-08-28]
Beto O'Rourke
Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says the following: "Beto has a plan to return our economy to the people, so we have a minimum wage that’s a living wage, health care for all, a tax code that gives a break to the middle class, and unions that have the power to organize. In Beto’s administration, everyone will participate in the economy—and it won’t only be the world’s biggest economy, but the greatest."
Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Investing in our crumbling infrastructure, improving our airports, increasing access to mass transit, expanding access to rural broadband, and modernizing our water infrastructure. Fighting for a $15 Minimum Wage. Creating clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience jobs as part of our $5 trillion investment in combating climate change. Direct $100 billion in government contracts to small businesses, with half that opportunity going to women and minority entrepreneurs. Impose a 0.1% financial transaction tax and use the revenue to support educational equity programs while also cutting down destabilizing speculation of high frequency traders. Signing into law a bill he cosponsored as a member of Congress called the Social Security 2100 Act. Signing into law the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). Overturning “right-to-work” laws. Close a pay gap which is disproportionately impacting women of color by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. Expand access to affordable child care by increasing funding for the Child Care Block grant." [source, as of 2019-08-27]
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders' campaign website says, "While the Bill of Rights protects us from the tyranny of an oppressive government, many in the establishment would like the American people to submit to the tyranny of oligarchs, multinational corporations, Wall Street banks, and billionaires who now control almost every aspect of our daily lives. But as President Franklin Roosevelt said 75 years ago: “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security.”
His campaign website calls for a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights with the following guarantees: "The right to a job that pays a living wage. The right to quality health care. The right to a complete education. The right to affordable housing. The right to a clean environment. The right to a secure retirement." His campaign website also lists the following priorities on Real Wall Street Reform: "Break up too-big-to-fail banks. End the too-big-to-jail doctrine. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act. Cap credit card interest rates. Allow every post office to offer basic and affordable banking services. Cap ATM fees. Audit the Federal Reserve and make it a more democratic institution so that it becomes responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans, not just the billionaires on Wall Street. Restrict rapid-fire financial speculation with a financial transactions tax. Reform credit rating agencies." [source, as of 2019-08-23]
Thomas Steyer
Tom Steyer's campaign website says, "Under the Justice-Centered Climate Plan, there won’t just be more jobs — there will be better jobs. Tom’s plan will reward workers for the skills and training they acquire to tackle the challenges of this transition and will respect the dignity of working people. One job will be enough, and workers will receive family-sustaining wages and benefits, job stability, and security. As we build a climate-smart economy, the highest job growth will be in in traditionally densely unionized industries, such as the power sector, public works construction, and manufacturing, and we will invest in sectors like agriculture, forestry, efficient buildings and industry, where jobs cannot be outsourced and workers won’t have to compete with exploited workers overseas." [source, as of 2019-09-10]
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren's campaign website says, "After decades of largely flat wages and exploding household costs, millions of families can barely breathe. For generations, people of color have been shut out of their chance to build wealth. It’s time for big, structural changes to put economic power back in the hands of the American people."
Her campaign website continues: "That means putting power back in the hands of workers and unions. It also means transforming large American companies by letting their workers elect at least 40% of the company’s board members to give them a powerful voice in decisions about wages and outsourcing. And it means a new era of strong antitrust enforcement so giant corporations can’t stifle competition, depress wages, and drive up the cost of everything from beef to Internet access. As the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, we can make investments that create economic opportunity, address rural neglect, and a legacy of racial discrimination–if we stop handing out giant tax giveaways to rich people and giant corporations and start asking the people who have gained the most from our country to pay their fair share. That includes an Ultra-Millionaire Tax on America’s 75,000 richest families to produce trillions that can be used to build an economy that works for everyone, including universal childcare, student loan debt relief, and down payments on a Green New Deal and Medicare for All. And we can make a historic investment in housing that would bring down rents by 10% across America and create 1.5 million new jobs." [source, as of 2019-08-26]
Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang's campaign website says, "We need to make the markets serve us rather than the other way around. Profit-seeking companies are organized to maximize their bottom line at every turn which will naturally lead to extreme policies and outcomes. We need government leaders who are truly laser-focused on the public interest above all else and will lead companies to act accordingly."
His website continues, "As president, I will implement the Freedom Dividend, providing Universal Basic Income of $1,000/month to all American adults over the age of 18 so that we may all share in the prosperity we have contributed to and participate in the new economy. Change the way we measure the economy, from GDP and the stock market to a more inclusive set of measurements that ensures humans are thriving, not barely making it by. Rein in corporate excesses by appointing regulators who are paid a lot of money – competitive with senior jobs in the private sector – but then will be prohibited from going to private industry afterward. The government’s goal should be to drive individuals and organizations to find new ways to improve the standards of living of individuals and families on these dimensions." [source, as of 2019-08-29]
Green candidates
Howie Hawkins
Howie Hawkins' campaign website says, "We will never reverse extreme and growing economic inequality as long as capitalists exploit workers for profit and extract more unearned income from the economy as rent and interest. Capitalists pay workers a fixed wage and take the rest of the value workers’ labor creates as profit. Capitalists take more unearned income as rent and interest in excess of the costs of production due to their exclusive ownership of access to resources, such as land sites, natural resources, intellectual property, and monopolies." [source, as of 2020-07-09]
Libertarian candidates
Jo Jorgensen
Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "The real cure for poverty is a vibrant economy that generates plentiful jobs and high wages, combined with an affordable cost of living. As President, I will work to eliminate policies that cripple economic growth. I will give special attention to regulations driving up the cost of housing and health care, as well as those creating barriers to creating new businesses or entering professions. Finally, I will work to repeal laws and regulations that prevent individuals and charitable organizations from helping those in need.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]
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Footnotes
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