Ron DeSantis strikes populist tones in ‘economic independence’ plan rollout

Image via Ron DeSantis Rumble.

Florida’s Governor turned his attention to pocketbook issues Monday in New Hampshire, offering a rejoinder to the President and “Bidenomics.” while incorporating rhetoric arguably as home on the left as on the right.

Rolling out his so-called “Declaration of Economic Independence,” Ron DeSantis contended he had a plan to “reverse economic decline” as the “American dream” slipped away from people during the Joe Biden era.

At times, the Governor embraced populist rhetoric that wouldn’t sound out of place from Senators Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

“Costs of life’s essentials have gone through the roof. Things like buying a home, purchasing a car, starting a family. Things that used to be the hallmark of the American dream are now cost-prohibitive for so many people throughout our country. Even getting groceries on a weekly basis has become a major challenge,” DeSantis lamented.

“Think about this: Today, the bottom half of households have less wealth than they did in 1989. Meanwhile, the top 10% have added 29 trillion in wealth.”

DeSantis noted labor force participation has shrunk, with “millions of people (having) left the workforce and still to this day have not returned,” with just 89% of working-age men in the labor pool.

The Governor also maligned a “broken university system” that leads graduates to be “deep in debt” with uncertain job prospects while noting life expectancy is also declining.

“This is not normal. This is not acceptable,” the Governor said.

The Governor also decried “boom-and-bust” policies enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that have been “costly for average Americans,” citing “quantitative easing” to make the rich richer. “Venture socialism” has been the order of the day, DeSantis said, with corporate bailouts and carveouts.

“The idea of too big to fail has led to ‘too difficult to succeed’ for America’s middle class,” DeSantis said, decrying “socialism” for the elites and extolling natural economic cycles.

Addressing the student loan crisis, DeSantis said he had “sympathy” for students “sold a bill of goods” by universities that increased “administrative bloat.” He said, as before, that universities should be responsible for non-performing degrees, adding that he now believes student loans should be “dischargeable in bankruptcy.” A notable difference since, as a Senator, President Biden pushed to make those loans non-dischargeable early in the 2000s.

The Governor blamed foreign enemies and institutional capital for America’s economic “malaise.”

“The reality is if you’ve seen over these many years, American families have been saddled with weak economic growth, high prices … the quality of life has stagnated. Yet we’ve seen our national debt explode, and the Chinese Communist Party continues to eat this country’s lunch every single day,” DeSantis said.

In addition to targeting China, DeSantis also turned his critical eye to corporations.

“We cannot have policy that kowtows to the largest corporations and Wall Street at the expense of small businesses and average Americans. There’s a difference between a free-market economy — which we want — and corporatism, in which the rules are jiggered to be able to help incumbent companies.”

The Governor blames the “elites” for “economic policies that are shortsighted and counterproductive,” including on China.

“The elites sold us a bill of goods,” DeSantis said.

The Governor noted “COVID lockdowns” and the concurrent expansion of the monetary supply only accelerated these trends.

DeSantis vowed to “reshore” the economy’s manufacturing base, stressing economic sovereignty and that America is more than “cogs” in the global economy.

“We want to be a country where you can raise a family on one sole income,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis says he plans to restore “economic sovereignty,” spur economic growth by eliminating “bureaucracy and red tape,” lower tax rates and simplify the tax code, assert “energy independence” from “hostile nations,” and kneecap ESG and social credit scores.

Additionally, he says he will “restore merit in the individual” as a criterion for “economic advancement,” standing against “discriminatory” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

He also vows to “lower the barriers to entry, particularly for blue-collar workers” into education while championing “workforce education and technical training.”

The Governor also said there was a need to “rein in” the Federal Reserve, griping about interest rates making homes unaffordable.

“The Fed needs to have a limited role,” DeSantis says, vowing to pick a Chair who “understands that.”

Additionally, the Governor would “rein in” Congressional spending, saying he backed a balanced-budget amendment and Congressional term limits to that end.