Ron DeSantis presented his ambitious proposal for the Declaration of Economic Independence on Monday, arguing that colleges and universities should be “on the hook” for paying off student loans if their graduates don’t get jobs that allow them to pay off their debts.
Florida’s governor turned the focus to the economy — an issue central to many Americans’ voting decisions, while there was widespread criticism of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.
Key points of DeSantis’ ten-point policy proposal are decoupling the economic integrity of the US from Chinese manufacturing and ending environmental, social and corporate governance, also known as ESG investing.
“They’re doing — or trying to do through the economy, which they could never accomplish at the ballot box,” DeSantis claimed during an intimate press conference to a low-key group of about 100 supporters at Prep Partners Group’s warehouse in Rochester, New Hampshire.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday rolled out his Declaration of Economic Independence policy, which includes some ambitious proposals, such as ending ESG investing, decoupling Chinese manufacturing, and allowing universities to pay off student debt
He lauded: “Today we declare our economic independence from the failed elites and policies that have hurt the middle class of this country.”
If DeSantis’ economic proposals are widely accepted, it would clearly run afoul of Biden as he struggles to sell his economic agenda to the public.
Polls consistently show that only about a third of Americans approve of so-called Bidenomics, and that the economy is usually one of the categories where the president scores worst.
DeSantis acknowledged on Monday that it has become a “major challenge” for Americans to go grocery shopping every week because of the deteriorating financial situation in recent years.
He rejected Democratic ideals of canceling student loans, but said the system needs to be reformed to help Americans financially.
‘I think the university should be responsible for student debt,’ he insisted. “You produce someone who can be successful, they pay off their loans, great. If you don’t, you’re on the hook.’
This was a popular point that provoked rare cheers from an otherwise relatively quiet crowd who clung intently to the Florida governor’s words.
DeSantis spoke to a crowd of about 100 supporters who gathered Monday morning at the Prep Partners Group warehouse in Rochester, New Hampshire
The economic rollout came after Florida swung through New Hampshire on Sunday with a church service before stopping at MaryAnn’s dinner with state senator Regina Birdsell.
He then attended former Senator Scott Brown’s No BS Backyard BBQ in Rye, New Hampshire, where he threw himself into President Biden’s son Hunter, his cocaine addiction and short-lived painting career.
“I have young children, so there will be no cocaine in the White House. Maybe some finger paint. Actually, my daughter’s paintings are better than Hunter Biden and he gets $1 million for them,” he told those in attendance.
DeSantis ended his Sunday with a stop at Brown’s Lobster Pound.
Following comments on Monday, DeSantis is sitting for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier and is holding a town hall meeting in Concord, New Hampshire, on Tuesday night. Later in the week, he heads straight back to the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.
The economic rollout is DeSantis’ third major policy announcement since his May campaign launch. Last month, the veteran South Carolina governor and naval officer announced his plans for a “mission-first military,” and during a trip to Texas, he revealed his plan to secure the border and tackle the migration crisis.
“We also need to stop selling out the future of this country to China — it hurts our middle class, it hurts our national security,” DeSantis insisted during his remarks on Monday.
The rollout comes almost exactly a month after President Joe Biden unveiled his plan to address economic problems in Chicago and named the proposal after himself.
‘Bidenomics’ primarily aims to focus on protecting the middle class by rejecting ‘trickle-down’ policies – a direct opposition to the core of President Ronald Reagan’s policies that came to be known as ‘Reaganomics’, and until aims to lower taxes for large corporations so that they can then consistently and exponentially provide jobs to middle-class workers.
Reagenomics allowed big companies to grow, while Bidenomics rejects the idea that further enriching the rich will benefit the middle class.
DeSantis had good words for the iconic Republican president.
“Since Ronald Reagan, we really haven’t had a president support overspending by Congress,” he said toward the end of his remarks on Monday. “So I will be the president who will do that, will stand up for the taxpayer and will stand up for the next generation.”
At the rollout, DeSantis said his solution to tackling student loan debt is to restructure the higher education system and “hook on” universities and colleges if their students can’t pay off their debts. It’s because President Joe Biden hasn’t passed on his widespread relief
It is clear with the economic proposal and others that DeSantis wants to get the US back to basics, even by the names of his policies – like the Parental Bill of Rights and now the Declaration of Economic Independence.
Florida’s governor has long protested against ESG, claiming the practice has muddyed the waters between business and the policy world.
DeSantis’s ongoing war with Disney is a prime example of his discontent with ESG, claiming that this type of investment has caused the “corporate kingdom” to “wake up.”
ESG usually encourages big and wealthy companies to push their agenda, which is usually left-leaning, through their power and influence. While ESG can manifest itself in multiple ways, Republicans particularly disagree with companies that take very public stances on liberal social issues that they believe isolate right-wing consumers.
DeSantis also wants to claim energy independence in the US by tapping into domestic energy resources that Republicans claim are currently underutilized.
Democrats have set strict rules for drilling for oil and tapping other natural energy resources on US soil. Rather, there is a reliance on foreign oil and energy, which Republicans, and now DeSantis, claim weakens the nation’s sovereignty.