Inflation has cooled, but voters are still thinking with their wallets
As voters head to the polls today, a familiar worry is on their minds: the economy.
A Gallup poll released Friday said registered voters name the economy as the most important factor determining which candidate they are supporting in the presidential election. The 21% of voters who said the economy ranks first includes 35% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 7% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, Gallup said.
Salon’s coverage of economic issues in the 2024 election has analyzed how much control the next president will have over the economy, whether voters should make their wallets a priority, how the candidates plan to tax Americans, the growing role that cryptocurrency voters have played and the overall economic lessons from this election. Here are some of those:
Although half of Americans believe the winner of the election will affect their finances, a president’s impact on the overall economy and the stock market is pretty nuanced and often requires cooperation from Congress.
One notable exception is tariffs — taxes on imported goods from other countries. Federal law allows presidents to impose them without Congress’ approval, and former President Donald Trump has said he would increase rates if elected in order to stimulate American manufacturing. Critics have said the costs would be passed on to consumers and could hurt the stock market.
Tax cuts, hikes and credits proposed by Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris would need a friendly Congress, which means down-ballot races are important when considering which elected officials would most impact the economy.
Even though inflation has cooled, food and housing costs remain higher than before the pandemic. That may be one reason why some people are thinking about voting with their wallet, but experts warn that it’s important to understand a president’s influence over the economy.
