Despite the heated divisions of the presidential campaign, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris are united in their support for protectionism and industrial policy. In a comprehensive new report for the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, AEI Economic Policy Director Michael R. Strain demonstrates how this bipartisan economic consensus is misconceived and self-defeating.

With neither party showing interest in entitlement reform, the Social Security Trust Fund is projected to be exhausted in 2033, triggering 21 percent benefit cuts. In a new AEI Economic Policy Working Paper, Andrew G. Biggs and Kristin A. Shapiro explain how executive action without additional legislation could ensure that recipients with the greatest need still receive full benefits.

To address housing unaffordability, Harris has proposed a suite of subsidies to first-time homebuyers and state and local governments. In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, AEI Housing Center Codirector Edward J. Pinto shows how these policies would only worsen the crisis and identifies better alternatives the federal government could pursue.

Alongside these domestic issues, the next president will have to confront serious foreign policy challenges in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In a memo for the Reagan Foundation, former Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council Paul Lettow recommends that the next administration increase defense spending and recognize that the need to confront China does not require abandoning Europe and the Middle East.

Throughout the campaign, Trump has refused to say if he will accept the results of the election, while continuing to deny the results of the 2020 election. Election administration expert John C. Fortier sits down with AEI President Robert Doar for a podcast interview to explain why voters should feel confident in the accuracy and general integrity of this year’s elections.