Trump and Biden Could Clash On These Money Matters In the First Debate Thursday

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have very different approaches to policies that affect your pocketbook, and Thursday’s debate between the two leading presidential candidates will be an opportunity for each to make their case. 

The debate will air Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on CNN, and viewers without a cable subscription can watch it live on CNN.com. The 90-minute debate will likely give each candidate time to discuss their economic policies, among other issues, in further detail. Inflation, taxes, government debt and tariffs have been topics of discussion among voters and on the campaign trail.

Here's what to expect from each candidate on economic topics.

Taxes

One of the biggest economic issues at stake in the race is what to do about the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Many provisions of the law expire in 2026, which would cause much of the tax code to revert to the way it was before the law was passed.

The top 5% of earners, those making $400,000 a year or more, would gain 40% of the benefits of making the tax cuts permanent, the Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, estimated in 2022. 

Extending the TCJA would also be costly for the federal budget, driving the national debt up by nearly $5 trillion over the next 10 years compared to letting it expire, the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank, estimated.

Inflation

Inflation is top-of-mind for voters as the cost of living has stretched household budgets and the Federal Reserve's fight to quell it has made borrowing money more expensive.

A survey of U.S. adults conducted by Pew Research found inflation is a top concern, with 62% of adults citing it as a "very big problem."

According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation rose to 9.1% in the summer of 2022, the highest in more than 40 years. However, it has trended down since hitting that peak, as CPI was down to a 3.3% annual increase in May.

Federal Debt

The government is spending far more than it took in under both Biden and Trump, and economists don’t see any reason for that trend would reverse itself in the next presidential term, no matter who wins. 

While the country has held debt since its inception, economists think it is growing at an alarming rate. The federal government is $34.75 trillion in debt and that number has been exacerbated by the Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest rate hikes which has made it costlier to service.

Tariffs

In the run-up to the presidential election, trade policy uncertainty indices are at their highest levels since 2018, when the U.S. was involved in a trade war, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

Much of the uncertainty surrounds tariffs, which are taxes imposed by the U.S. on goods and services imported from other countries. Tariffs are often used to influence geopolitics, raise revenues, support fledgling industries or protect competitive advantages.

Some economists worry that increased tariffs would be passed on to consumers in the form of additional costs.