What a Trump victory would mean for the US economy

The US presidential election in November is critical for many reasons.

- JOSEPH E STIGLITZ

At stake is not just the survival of American democracy, but also sound stewardship of the economy, with far-reaching implications for the rest of the world. American voters face a choice not only between different policies, but between different policy objectives.

While Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has yet to detail her economic agenda fully, she likely would preserve the central tenets of President Joe Biden's programme, which include strong policies to maintain competition, preserve the environment, reduce the cost of living, maintain growth, enhance national economic sovereignty and resilience, and mitigate inequality.

By contrast, her opponent, former President Donald Trump, has no interest in creating a more just, robust, and sustainable economy. Instead, the Republican ticket is offering a blank check to coal and oil companies and cozying up to billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

Moreover, while sound economic stewardship requires setting goals and designing policies to achieve them, the ability to respond to shocks and seize new opportunities is no less important. We already have a sense of how each candidate would perform in this regard. Mr Trump failed miserably in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic during his previous administration, resulting in more than a million deaths.