Presidential Showdown Tonight

The 4 questions they should be asked – but likely won’t

Ric Edelman: It's Thursday, June 27th, and we all know what today is. It's the debate tonight. This show is all about the future, but I, although we're talking about something happening today, I think what's happening today could well be portending the future of our nation. I have to believe that this debate is going to be setting the record for the most watched debate possibly ever, certainly in years. 

And it's for all the reasons we all know so very well. We know what they're going to be asked by the CNN commentators. The typical topics are all going to cover everything that, you know, ought to be covered: abortion, immigration, health care, the Supreme Court and judicial appointments. Foreign policy, predominantly Israel, Ukraine, Russia, and China. The economy, of course, taxes and trade. Crime, that'll be a big one along with gun laws and of course, environment and climate. And I may be missing some other major issues, but we know that the moderators are going to ask the two candidates about these questions, but there are four subjects that the candidates are not going to be asked about that I hope the moderators do pose questions on, and those four subjects are: student loan debts, crypto, AI, and Social Security.  

In the area of student loan debts, we know that president Biden campaigned four years ago on the promise of wiping out the student loan debts for virtually all Americans who have student loans. He was going to forgive $50,000 in debt for everybody who has student loan debt, and $50,000 would wipe out the debts for just about everybody with student loans. He has tried relentlessly and with some success, we have seen major executive order that was shut down by the court as unconstitutional and violation of the law. The president has persisted and trying again. And his most recent effort was just this week, shot down by a court freezing the effort on parts of his student payoff plan. The other executive orders have gone through and the president has forgiven over $7 billion of student loan debts. The biggest issue with this of course, is that there's no such thing really as forgiveness of student loans. He's simply eliminating the need for those who have the loans to pay them back. The loans instead will be paid back by the taxpayers. So the lenders of the loans will still get their money back. It's just coming from you and me, as opposed to the people who had borrowed the money. So I hope that the moderators ask both president Biden and former president Trump, what is going to be your policy in the next administration regarding student loans and student loan borrowers? We know what Joe Biden's position is on this based on his actions of the past several years, but we have not really heard very much from Donald Trump on this issue. So is there a contrast? Is there a difference? I hope the moderators ask.  

Second subject is crypto and it is essential. It is vital that they talk about this. I fear that they won't. There are now more than 50 million US adults who own bitcoin out of a population of 400 million people. The fact that 50 million adults own bitcoin means that this is a subject that is now clearly mainstream in US society. It is a standard conversation on Wall Street in the financial services community and among investors. And yet we have had no law, no regulation created to govern this massive new industry, which is got a market cap of over $2 trillion. So, the question to go to both candidates is very simple. Will you support legislation and regulation that fosters the development of blockchain technology and provides consumer and investor access to digital assets, stable coins and tokenization while protecting investors and supporting personal privacy? This is as essential and fundamental as it gets. That question needs to be answered by both candidates. To date, so far, we've seen the Biden administration doing everything they can to crush crypto. The Trump campaign has been demonstrating clear support of crypto, and we need to have these two gentlemen on the record stating very clearly what their intent will be in the subsequent administration, starting in 2025. And second question regarding crypto, will you support or oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency? Virtually every government around the world is in the process of exploring, developing, or already launching CBDCs. The United States is lagging. What is the viewpoint of Joe Biden and Donald Trump on a CBDC? We need to get them on the record.  

And then there's artificial intelligence. Will you support legislation and regulation, fostering the development of AI that protects the rights, privacy and safety of individuals and the American public from all related threats, both foreign and domestic? We all know that we are moving rapidly toward a new, innovative environment of computer technology unseen in human history. But what we have not seen is clarity from either candidate as to their viewpoints on what they perceive to be the government's role of regulating and controlling this technology to protect us from the threats that this technology clearly poses. 

And then finally, and most importantly, saving the most important, biggest and best for last, Social Security. What is your solution for solving the Social Security crisis? And will you make this a top priority for your administration? There is no question that Social Security is the leading economic issue threatening our nation, and most folks are not aware of this. I've been trumpeting this. For over two decades here on the show, ramping it up a lot on this podcast over the past year or two. We know that starting in 2032, the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted. At that time, all Social Security benefits will be cut around 25%. This is going to be an across the board cut that is mandated by current law. This is what's so ironic about it. Joe Biden said in his State of the Union Address earlier this year that he will not touch Social Security. Well, by not touching it, by leaving it exactly as is, you are guaranteeing a 25% reduction in benefit starting in 2032. I'm not sure that's what the president meant in his comments at the State of the Union. I think what he meant was, when he says we're not going to touch Social Security, I think he meant we're not going to cut the benefits. But if you don't cut the benefits, then in order to preserve the benefits, starting in 2033, you have to raise taxes to come up with the cash you need that is no longer going to be available from the trust fund, which will by then be depleted. 

So is Joe Biden suggesting that he's going to be implementing a massive tax increase in Social Security, or will Donald Trump come up with an alternative solution that on the one hand may raise taxes somewhat while lowering or delaying benefits somewhat? What is their position? How are they going to solve this crisis? Because if no action is taken, and all of the nation's retirees suddenly experience a 25% reduction in their Social Security checks, when half of America's retirees are getting more than half of their income from Social Security, suddenly you're going to have tens of millions of retirees unable to pay their rent, unable to buy food or medicine because of a dramatic reduction in income. This crisis is coming because of massive demographic shifts in our nation. Back in 1935, when the Social Security system was established, we had 159 workers for every retiree. Today we have three workers for every retiree. We have been producing fewer babies per year over the last 30 or 40 years than we did in the 1930s and 1940s, and simultaneously old people, rather than dying at as young an age as they were in the 1930s, instead of dying in their 60s, they're living into their 70s and 80s and 90s and 100s, which means we have less money going into the system via payroll tax, and more money coming out of the system in retirement benefits. This is why the system is collapsing. This is why the trust fund is being depleted. And in the face of this, we have seen no commentary that is of a substantial nature from either the president or the former president. Social Security needs to be in the conversation, in the debate, along with crypto, AI, and student loans. 

 It's going to be an amazing debate. I hope it's going to be amazing. I hope it's going to be decisive. I hope it gives clarity to the American public about the policies of these two gentlemen. The biggest question I have, quite frankly, and it's a question not for these two, but for CNN. Why the hell is it starting at 9 o'clock at night? Both of these guys are old. I'm having trouble staying up till 9 o'clock at night. How are they going to perform all the way from 9:00pm until 10:30pm? My goodness gracious, the Super Bowl starts at 6:00pm! So it's going to be a fascinating evening.  

And here's what else is fascinating. Double VISION. I've been talking about this for the past two weeks. The deadline is coming up really rapidly. Your last chance is like today, tomorrow, this weekend – we had a deadline of the end of this month, which is coming up like right now, it's already June 27th today. You've got to sign up right away, but we've extended the deadline to make it easier for you. If you sign up for Double VISION, you will have the entire month of July, a whole extra month to watch all the videos.  

Double VISION is a result of our recording of all the 18 sessions at our VISION conference in Austin earlier this month. You can watch all 18 sessions. I'm giving you all the way through the end of July, a whole extra month to watch them at your leisure. You don't have to watch them all, watch whichever ones are of greatest interest to you in any order that you like. If you do watch them all, you'll get 10.5 CE credits. It's just $24.99 – if you hold the CBDA designation, if you are Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets, it's free.  

Amazing sessions. Bitcoin's Impact on the Economy and Public Policy with Ben Harris of the Brookings Institution, and Donald Marron, the Director of Economic Policy Initiatives at the Urban Institute. We've got Chris Giancarlo. We have a session with Michael Saylor. We have top advisors explaining how they're integrating crypto into their practices. We've got Congressman Wiley Nickel, a Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets. We have Dennis Cristallo, the head of JP Morgan's Onyx blockchain. Yeah. JPMorgan has its own blockchain. We've got a special session on the new spot bitcoin ETFs. We have a session on the spot Ethereum ETFs. We have a session on Beyond Bitcoin with Tony Pecore, the Director of Digital Asset Management for Franklin Templeton, Sui Chung, the CEO of Benchmarks. We've got Matt Hougan of Bitwise, Matt Horne of Fidelity, Grant Engelbart of Carson Group. We've got a session on the institutional adoption of crypto. What pension funds are doing with this, with Katherine Molnar of the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System, and Michael Allegue of MassMutual’s Investment Team. How to Capture Alpha in Crypto, MPT in crypto, Modern Portfolio Theory with Cesare Fracassi, he's the Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Texas. And we've got The Convergence of AI and Crypto, including sessions with Amanda Wick, the CEO of The Association for Women in Crypto, Lee Bratcher, the President of the Texas Blockchain Council. $24.99 gets you access to all this, but you've got to sign up right away. You've only got really two days left. Today's podcast, tomorrow's podcast – last you're going to be hearing about this, the link is in the show notes. You get all month of July. I hope you'll take full advantage of it. With the new Ethereum ETFs coming out, you really need to get up to speed on all this stuff. Here's your chance. I'll see you tomorrow. 

I'd say enjoy the debate, but I'm not quite sure enjoy is the proper verb. 

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Ric Edelman: I’m glad you’re with me here on The Truth About Your Future. If you like what you're hearing, be sure to follow and subscribe to the show, wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube – and remember leave a review on Apple podcasts. I read them all! Never miss an episode of The Truth About Your Future. Follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast app. 

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