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Five Key Factors Will Influence 2024 Election Outcome: Jonathan Williams in The Detroit News

The candidate who provides solutions addressing voter concerns in these key areas will hold a clear advantage in November.

ALEC EVP of Policy and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams recently co-authored an op-ed with Dr. Timothy Nash in The Detroit News on the key policies issues that will impact the 2024 presidential race: GDP growth and national debt, inflation, energy independence, the border crisis, and U.S. tax policy.

With November being just around the corner, five key factors will greatly influence how voters make their election-day choices. One factor is GDP growth and the national debt.

On Sunday, Feb. 4, “60 Minutes” co-anchor Scott Pelley asked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell how he assessed the national debt. Powell opened deferentially, explaining it isn’t the Fed’s job to instruct Congress on managing fiscal policy. Pelley pressed Powell, eliciting an uncharacteristically bold response.

“In the long run, the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path [because] the debt is growing faster than the economy,” Powell said. “We are borrowing from future generations,” and have gotten off the path of fiscal sustainability.

By 2054, Pelley noted the debt will total $144 trillion, or $1 million per household. If current spending patterns continue, it will reach almost $50 trillion by 2034, with Social Security and the highway fund unable to meet their financial obligations, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Spending, debt, inflation, energy, immigration and tax policies all play significant roles in the lives of the average American voter who collectively drives two-thirds of U.S. GDP. The candidate(s) who provide solutions addressing voter concerns in these key areas will hold a clear advantage in November.

Dr. Timothy G. Nash is director of the McNair Center at Northwood University. Jonathan Williams is chief economist for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Read the full op-ed here.