Super Bowl-level ratings are expected for tonight's presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters plan to tune in, according to a survey by Washington, D.C.-based media analytics firm Deep Root Analytics. One in four say they are looking to the debates for guidance on how to cast their votes.
So, if you could ask Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton one question about money or the economy, what would it be?
NBC Nightly News anchor and debate moderator Lester Holt last week announced the themes of the debate -- "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America" -- leaving wide open the door to discussion on a broad range of topics. What they will to improve Americans' lives will be front and center.
"The most important things voters are concerned about is what will you do to increase economic growth and the number of jobs in this country," said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon, invoking James Carville's famous line from Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. "It's still the economy, stupid."
Money and the economy continue to dominate the American consciousness. In Gallup's "Most Important Problems" poll, economic issues consistently rate highly among respondents' greatest concerns, including the economy in general, jobs and the federal debt.
Of course, it is unlikely voters will get all the answers they want on the candidates' approaches to items like taxes, government spending and economic growth on Monday evening. Clinton, whose tendency is often to get into the weeds on policy points, will face a tough challenge in appealing to voters in a format that often favors style over substance. Trump has largely eschewed getting into specifics on the campaign trail, and it is unlikely this evening will be any different.
"Clinton has plans laid out of standard detail for a presidential candidate," said Ryan Williams, an aide to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and current senior vice president at FP1 Strategies. "Trump hasn't really delved into any policy, financial or otherwise."
We polled a group of political strategists, economists and tax experts to find out what questions on money and the economy they would most like to see asked at Monday's debate, even if the candidates aren't likely to answer them.
1. How do you protect consumers from the implications of anti-trade policies?
"One thing that I think would be extremely useful would be to understand how the candidates view their highly-protectionist measures, or their proposed protectionist measures, how they see those measures influencing consumers," said Gregory Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics.
Trump and, to a lesser extent, Clinton have taken a largely oppositional stance to free trade this election cycle. Both have said they oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership and would strengthen trade enforcement practices. Trump has gone as far as to say he will renegotiate trade deals like NAFTA and impose enormous tariffs on goods manufactured in Mexico and Japan.
The goal, they say, is to give more jobs to American workers and ensure a fairer economy. But there is a flip-side, as most economic models show such policies resulting in higher inflation and import prices, which eventually is passed on to consumers. How would they deal with such a result?
2. How would you approach monetary policy?
The Senate has declined to hold hearings on two potential Federal Reserve governors for more than a year, and Chairwoman Janet Yellen's term will come to an end in February 2018. In other words, the next president will have a heavy hand in selecting who will determine U.S. monetary policy in the years to come.
"That's a huge and important issue that doesn't get much play," said Dean Baker, an economist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Trump has not shied away from discussion of the Federal Reserve and Yellen on the campaign trail, being both complementary and critical of Yellen at various points in recent months. He has at moments called Yellen "capable" and said she, like him, is a "low-interest-rate person." But he has also accused her of politicization, essentially implying she is keeping interest rates low in order to help President Obama.
Clinton has not discussed at great length her take on the Federal Reserve, though she has provided some insight into the types of governors she would appoint. A campaign spokesman in May indicated she would seek out "Fed governors who share this commitment and who will carry out unwavering oversight of the financial industry."
