The most powerful economic job in the world
With the battle lines drawn, which presidential candidate’s economic plan is set to woo the American public?
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump emerge victorious from their respective party conventions, the level of economic power held by whoever will sit in the White House post-Barack Obama is evident. With the world’s largest economy and 22 percent of the world’s GDP at their fingertips, both presidential candidates have used the past few weeks to outline their policies, including their unique takes on the future economic agenda of the US.
With a critical responsibility towards job creation and maintaining the current economic growth resultant from the Obama administration, we take a look at what both candidates plan to achieve if elected into office.
I think that Sanders has had an impact on the Clinton campaign. She's had to adjust her rhetoric to try and draw his supporters on board as well.
Clinton vows to “stand up to China” – the country’s largest trade partner – and to do more for American workers’ rights, while protecting US trade secrets and opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Income inequality is also high on the democratic nominee’s agenda, with plans to help increase middle-class incomes. As for Clinton’s controversial relationship with Wall Street, a “risk fee” has been proposed to avoid future crises scenarios, correlating with business or bank size.
During her speech on the final night of the Democractic National Convention (DNC), Clinton spoke to concerns of gender inequality. “If you believe that your working mother, wife, sister or daughter deserves equal pay… join us.”
Similarly, Republican nominee Donald Trump is also anti-TPP, going as far as to suggest slapping tariffs on Chinese and even Mexican imports. The tax system would see a major overhaul under a Trump administration, with suggested cuts across the board, especially where corporate tax is concerned, with a new proposed rate of 15 percent.
“America has lost almost one third of its manufacturing jobs since 1997, following the enactment of disastrous trade deals supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton. Remember, it was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA – one of the worst economic deals ever made by our country or, frankly, any other country,” said Trump during his RNC speech.
Megan Greene, director of Manulife Asset Management in Boston, paints a pretty clear picture of the future under either one of the presidential candidates based on their economic policy outlines.
“A few really important elements of Hillary’s plan include infrastructure spending, which I think is absolutely necessary to provide a stimulus to the US economy,” says Greene.
When it comes to the possibility of a Trump presidency, Greene fails to summon the same level of confidence.
“One area in which the president will have absolute authority is trade, and on this Donald Trump is really clear. He’s very isolationist. I think if he were to come to power, we would end up seeing a lot of protectionist measures and actually, I think that could tip the US into a recession, and possibly the globe into a recession.”
Also on this episode of Counting the Cost:
Egypt’s currency crisis: A consistently unsettled political scene and a dramatic decrease in tourism have resulted in a shortage of foreign currency. This week, the Egyptian pound hit an all-time low against the US dollar in the black market. But the government hopes it will secure a $12bn loan from the International Monetary Fund, which would help to cover a six-year budget deficit.
But despite a possible IMF loan and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s foreign trade initiatives, Egypt is still on the ropes.
How did Egypt get to this position? And why does its economic future still look strained? We speak to William Jackson, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, about how the Arab Spring is still affecting the Egyptian economy and how internal policy could be the key to a stronger Egypt.
Apple’s billion and the smartphone era: Currently, over one third of the global population owns a smart phone. With Apple celebrating its one-billionth product sale this week, it seems that the company has a lot to do with increased rates in smartphone ownership. Despite dips in its revenue, Apple’s 2015 $233bn was larger than Ireland’s GDP. But with a market saturated in new innovations – something Apple’s products seem to lack as of late – the competition is heating up, especially where China is concerned. A technology forecast places 25 percent of all smartphone users in China by 2018.
We speak to technology writer and broadcaster Kate Bevan about what makes a good smartphone and what the future may hold for Apple and its competitors.