Former Wall Street Journal editor Gerald Seib on CNBC on Wednesday criticized the two 2024 presidential candidates for not campaigning on reducing the federal deficit and debt.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump's campaign team Targeted each other Voters continue to weigh in on economy-related policies Prioritize It has been cited as a top issue in the upcoming elections in November. But during an appearance on The Exchange, Seib criticised both parties for failing to address the US budget deficit and debt crisis, describing it as a “huge long-term danger lurking”.
“Well, you make a very important and interesting point about this entire campaign, and that is two words that you don't hear at either party's conventions or even on the campaign trail: deficit and debt. The markets certainly don't seem to care. They won't care until they do, and by the time they do, it's probably too late to really solve the problem,” Seib said.
“I believe, and have written, that there is a big, long-term danger here. There's debate about when that danger will arrive, but it's somewhere in there,” Seib continued. “And it's really astonishing that neither party is interested in talking about deficits or debt, even when they're accusing the other side of increasing the deficit.”
The national debt topped $35 trillion for the first time in U.S. history in late July, having increased by more than $7 trillion since Biden took office in January 2021. Costly initiatives under Biden's administration, such as the American Rescue Plan and the Curb Inflation Act, have contributed to the debt increase.
The former WSJ editor-in-chief continued to argue that both sides have been negligent in addressing the issue because both administrations have contributed significantly to the debt. Seib also noted that both parties are in “populist mode,” and that each party is essentially warning people to “stay away from handouts.” (Related article: Economists warn Harris' corporate tax hike could lead to double-digit declines in Americans' 401(k) plans)
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Former WSJ editor criticizes both presidential candidates for not campaigning to stop debt flooding pic.twitter.com/OHEN5cZM73
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“Democrats were very vocal after their convention this week about the record of growing the national debt under Trump, but that wasn't a big talking point because I don't think Democrats want to talk much about doing anything on that front either, because the two biggest spending areas, as you say, are defense spending and then entitlement spending like Social Security and Medicare,” Seeb said.
“Neither party will touch it. They're in populist mode right now, and that's true for Republicans and Democrats, and part of that is that they're basically saying leave benefits alone,” Schieb continued. “This is a stark contrast, especially for Republicans, who just eight years ago were talking about doing things to make Social Security and Medicare more robust in the long term, and now they're not.”
Harris faced strong backlash from experts on both sides of the aisle last week after she unveiled an economic plan to address rising food prices and other economic problems. Critics particularly blasted her proposal to put a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” to combat rising food prices, likening it to “price controls.”
On the other hand, Trump's campaign has consistently been based on populist policies, such as trade protectionism and prioritizing American manufacturing.
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