Roads to Nowhere: Politics, Policy & Markets Today with Dan Clifton

FEG Insight Bridge

It’s no secret that today’s political landscape is one of the most volatile in the U.S. since the Civil War. In this episode, we invited Dan Clifton, partner and head of policy research at Strategas Securities, to sit down with Greg Dowling on the FEG Insight Bridge to connect politics, policy, and markets today. Listen in as Dan breaks down some of the most important moving targets for the market, from China’s geopolitical risk to the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Program and the historically large infrastructure bills being debated in Congress. Dan also offers some valuable insight into how the proposed tax bill may impact future S&P 500 earnings as well as the near-term future of the debt ceiling. Dan shares words of wisdom for investors as he details how the “September to remember” has now become the October, November, and even December to remember as markets attempt to absorb the blows of the ongoing political dramas in D.C.
This episode was recorded on October 21, 2021.

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1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Episode Overview (00:00:32)

3. A brief introduction of Dan and Strategas Securities (00:01:23)

4. How Dan originally got into the investing business (00:02:45)

5. The current political environment (00:04:44)

6. What’s in store for October and November now that the “September to remember” has passed (00:06:38)

7. Breaking down Biden’s Build Back Better program (00:09:50)

8. The nuts and bolts of the Infrastructure Bill (00:14:47)

9. Dan’s tax rate forecast and its potential impact on future S&P 500 earnings (00:17:30)

10. The near-term future of the debt ceiling (00:24:38)

11. Jerome Powell’s chances of reelection (00:27:33)

12. Upcoming elections and musical chairs in seats of the House and Senate (00:32:02)

13. Geopolitical risk re: China (00:37:59)

14. Lightning Round (00:43:45)