In the third installment of AEI’s Debate Debrief, AEI scholars offer their thoughts on last night’s GOP debate in Boulder, Colorado.
Robert Doar:
When it came to talking about what [the candidates] were going to do about these problems, too often the answer was only about cutting taxes. Yes, they mentioned “too many government regulations,” but the portfolio of ideas for getting our economy moving again should be broader than that and more specific. Maybe more policy depth and details is too much to ask for in a debate with 10 candidates…But as the campaign unfolds and real voters in real primary states begin to pay attention, the candidate who offers the most plausible and creative proposals for getting our economy going again is going to be one who has the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton.Karlyn Bowman:
Many of the GOP candidates had good moments in tonight’s debate. I didn’t see a clear winner, though Cruz, Christie, and Rubio might have helped themselves…Jeb sounded solid and substantive, but he isn’t charismatic in these debates. His reserve might be attractive in other settings, but it makes him fade into the background with candidates with stronger personalities.Aparna Mathur:
Personal tax reform is critical for revenue generation and redistribution. While raising taxes at the top is not the simple solution to increasing revenues that we expect it to be, we can adopt better policies to directly help people at the bottom. Marco Rubio mentioned his plan to expand the child tax credit, but I would also like to see some discussion of ways to provide paid family leave particularly for low income families and ways of expanding the EITC which would also help improve labor force participation.Andrew Biggs:
On Social Security, the candidates waged a war between morality and math. Gov. Mike Huckabee argued that the government has a moral obligation to pay every penny of benefits it has promised, while Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Chris Christie pointed out that, mathematically, Social Security doesn’t have the money to do so. A real solution to the Social Security problem demands both morality and math: protecting Americans who need it most, but promote financial independence so future retirees won’t depend so heavily on a government that fails to keep its promises.
For the full Debate Debrief, click here.
To arrange an interview with an AEI scholar on last night’s debate, please contact AEI Media Services at mediaservices@aei.org or 202.862.5829.
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