‘Bread lines and ugly shoes:’ Explaining economics is easier than you might think

Elon Musk can certainly paint a picture in ways that fiscal conservatives have always struggled to do. It has never been easy to phrase complicated economic policy in such a way that Americans, who are largely uninterested, pay attention. Somehow, he can do it in a handful of characters, and this year his talents are making the case for economic policy that will make a difference in Americans’ quality of life in quick order.

On Sept. 10, we will see if our presidential candidates can do the same.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that an agreement has been reached with the Harris campaign for a debate Sept. 10, 2024, on ABC. While the rules on “hot” microphones during the debate are still unsettled, the American public has made abundantly clear the policy topics they want to hear about. Rather than just pointing out America’s problems, they want a vision on how to fix it for the future.

Despite months of speeches and surrogates, its actually pretty simple: How will each candidate leverage their experience in the White House to improve public safety and bring prices on energy, food, and housing under control?

Outside of our small world of economics majors and policy wonks, political messaging is usually an over-simplified “elevator pitch” solution that is easy to repeat and understand. But people are not dumb. Far from it. In 2024, most people see the dramatic impact of escalating prices and know that it means trouble ahead. The current economic climate has made Americans more aware of the dangers of price controls and how growing government mandates in energy have shaken our very foundation and put our future at risk.

“By not allowing prices to reflect the market realities of supply and demand (along with the inflated money supply), consumers had no incentive to economize and producers had no incentive to produce more,” explains Brian Balfour senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation. “The results are shortages, long lines, and in the case of the food industry, mass slaughter of healthy animals.”

This public hunger for real policy discussion is not lost on the Trump or Harris campaigns. In recent appearances, Trump has outlined policy strategies in economics and public safety. In a recent Asheville speech, he turned his trademark slogan into “Make America Affordable Again.”

In talking about the Obamas’ speeches at the DNC, he said, “You know, they always say, ‘Sir, please stick to policy, don’t get personal,’ and yet they’re getting personal all night long, these people. Do I still have to stick to policy?”

Trump’s rally-goers cheer for the speeches that go personal, but they also say they crave real solutions.

While their campaign’s official website still lacks any mention of policy, Harris and Walz appear to be reading public opinion and seeing an America that increasingly does not agree with them. In recent weeks Harris has been notably quiet on her years-long push for the Green New Deal, electric-vehicle mandates, and closure of natural gas and coal energy generation. She’s even begun to embrace the idea of a border wall, something she repeatedly called Trump’s “vanity project.”  

As the candidates spend next week preparing for the presidential race debate, we can only hope that both are prepared to lay out their real policy goals and beliefs to the American public. If they do not, we do have a backup. We’ve seen both candidates in action. We know what they would do and support from the Oval Office. Even if their talk changes, they’ve already walked the walk.