GOFFSTOWN, N.H. – GOP Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley unveiled a new economic policy dubbed “The Freedom Plan,” in a speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on Friday.
The various points of the speech revolved around limiting government with the intent that it would rejuvenate the American economy and the American spirit.
Haley cast one of the key benefits of her plan as helping to fight China, which she said is preparing for war and benefiting from the Biden Administration’s policies ranging from China’s purchasing of the national debt through U.S. Treasury bonds to supporting the manufacture of electric vehicles, with many batteries for those vehicles coming from China.
Instead, she believed that cutting taxes, limiting regulation, and stopping subsidies for corporations would allow innovative new industries to flourish. In particular, she seeks to emulate policies in South Carolina that transformed a state losing its textile industry into an economic boom that led South Carolina become known as “The Beast of the Southeast.”
Haley frequently attacked Biden throughout the speech, claiming that his policies sought to install socialism in America, which she described as government control over American lives and the opposite of freedom. However, she also attacked Republicans as well, stating that Donald Trump – along with Biden and Barack Obama – had raised the national deficit more than all previous presidents combined.
She also attacked Congressional Republicans for their earmark spending and “stockholder capitalism” which she described as “Socialism Lite,” with Republicans and Democrats in Washington creating a two-tiered welfare system that harms the truly poor while helping those that don’t need help. While she added that she would not touch Social Security or Medicaid policies beyond requiring higher retirement ages for people currently entering the system, Haley said she would veto any spending bills that raised federal spending beyond pre-COVID levels and mandating zero-based budgeting.
“Politicians can’t spend their way to socialism if they don’t have the cash,” she said. “We need to cut the credit card once and for all.”
Haley continued her attacks on Washington by stating she would support legislation requiring Congress to vote on all regulations and rules proposed by the Executive Branch, imposing term limits on politicians and a five-year limit on keeping federal employees in any one position and stopping the paychecks to Members of Congress if they cannot pass a budget on time.
Earlier in the day, the Democratic National Committee released a press release attacking Haley’s economic record, stating that tax cuts passed during the Trump Adminstration that she supports primarily helped the rich.
“Nikki Haley’s MAGAnomics policies left South Carolina families behind while the wealthy and corporations made millions, and that’s the same failed economic agenda she’s now trying to take nationwide. Let’s be clear about what she’s really proposing: gutting Social Security and Medicare — critical programs that families across the country rely on — while making Trump’s tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations permanent. No matter how she spins it, Haley’s economic plan is about shilling for special interests at the expense of America’s middle class,” said DNC spokesperson Emily Soong.
