Why Ted Cruz Won the Debate

You could see the momentum shift his way, the key to win any election, as Ted Cruz stole the show last night by calling out the elephant in the room–the three CNBC moderators. That’s moderators with an “S” for S-M-U-G. “The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media,” said Cruz. Apparently being smug is a prerequisite to be a starter on the NBC junior varsity team. And it doesn’t translate to real Americans.

Ted Cruz is speaking a language Americans relate to and he’s doing it without seriously dipping into his war chest loaded with cash. He’s likable, he’s sick and tired of Washington, and he’s not out of touch. I’m all ears.

I love Cruz’s op-ed in this morning’s WSJ “A Simple Flat Tax for Economic Growth” calling for a 10% income tax and a 16% business tax. He talks about the potential growth for the economy:

President Reagan knew that after years of economic stagnation the country was ready for a big change, and he knew that he would win if the people had their say.

And the people were right. The Reagan tax cut led to what the late Robert Bartley, then editor of The Wall Street Journal, dubbed “The Seven Fat Years”—the period from 1983-89 when the economy soared by an average of 4.4% a year, including one year by 7.3%. The economy grew by nearly a third, disposable income increased 20%, and 18 million new jobs were created.

This could be the elixir to help get Millennials into the game. When I was at Babson, I had an internship with one of the more successful entrepreneurs in the history of the school. I had dinner the night before my first day with some Babson alumni who had worked for him. They told me stories about how he was successful at everything he did: How his timing was excellent, his execution the best, and on and on. He graduated Babson and hit the ground running. As we were getting up one of the guys said:

“It also didn’t hurt that he was 24 in ’84”

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.