Legacy Topic: Elections

Ron Paul was among the handful of politicians in 2006-2007 who warned of an impending financial meltdown. And he has been a consistent critic of the prevailing financial order.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman wants to reboot the American economy by eliminating every last tax loophole, lowering the corporate tax rate and switching from six income tax brackets to three.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney lays out his economic platform in a 59-point pamphlet that promises a combination of tax cuts, spending cuts and a scaling back of regulations on business.

Rick Santorum’s economic plan draws as much from family values as it does from economics. Santorum insists that the strength of the American economy is predicated on the strength of the family.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry initially based his economic plan on increasing domestic energy exploration and production while cutting regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Recently, he’s expanded his platform with a proposal that he says would reduce some Americans’ income taxes and all corporate taxes to 20 percent.

Michele Bachmann calls the proposals in her 11-point "American Jobs, Right Now” economic plan “simple” and says she’ll turn the economy around in one quarter.

The New Yorker's Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza explains how growing up impoverished shaped the financial thinking of the GOP presidential hopeful.