Axios' Mike Allen, Hans Nichols, and Niala Boodhoo hosted a conversation on how the next presidential term will impact the economy and workforce, featuring White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Joe Biden's policy director Stef Feldman and The Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson.
Larry Kudlow discussed the breakdown of stimulus talks between Republicans and Democrats and President Trump's economic performance over the past four years.
- On Trump’s economic record and plan for a second term, which has been criticized as vague: "The president has a track record. He's the incumbent. He has a very clear track record with a very clear set of economic principles. And he will provide more of the same."
Stef Feldman unpacked Vice President Biden's economic platform and the economic impact of COVID-19.
- On this the most recent U.S. GDP report: "Our economy plunged into a recession because of President Trump's failure to have a plan to get the virus under control...Q3 growth wasn't enough to pull us out of the ditch that President Trump drove us into."
Dana Peterson discussed the recent GDP report as well as how the central banks and individual banks can contribute to economic equity.
- On rewiring our economy for a more inclusive future: "We must tackle these issues on multiple fronts. When you think about access to banking, many people are unbanked...Individual banks can do more in terms of making sure that people have access to credit and that they're not being denied for reasons that could potentially be linked to some kind of bias."
Axios co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei hosted a View from the Top segment with USAFacts Steve Ballmer and discussed the U.S.'s economic trajectory.
- On the impact of the COVID-19 stimulus package: "The decline in unemployment started to occur as soon as the government started putting stimulus back into the economy. Obviously, the stimulus for business — the PPP program — was undoubtedly a part of that."
Thank you USAFacts for sponsoring this event.