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As U.S. Presidential Campaigning Heats Up, Explanations of Why Iowa is So Important to Candidates; Examination of A Bank`s Decision Concerning Interest Rates
Aired January 30, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN 10 on this Thursday, January 30th. Gosh that sounds familiar but I really mean it this time. I`m Carl
Azuz. Four days away from the Iowa caucuses, U.S. presidential candidates are out and about in the Hawkeye State. Political advertisements and
attack ads are running. Some show the candidates in a good light and ask Iowans to vote for them. Some show the candidates in a bad light and ask
Iowans to vote for someone else. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a political rally today in Des Moines, the Iowa state capital and
when Iowa holds its caucuses on Monday, dozens of the president`s supporters are set to travel there and charge up enthusiasm for the
incumbent leader.
The Iowa caucuses are the first contests of the 2020 Primary season. Voters aren`t directly choosing a president at this time. They`re helping
each major party narrow down the final candidate who will appear on the presidential ballot in November. President Trump is expected to easily win
the Republican party`s nomination so most of the attention in Iowa has been on the Democrats running for their party`s nomination because there are
currently 12 of them. And winning the Iowa caucuses could give a big boost to any of their campaigns. This doesn`t necessarily predict that they`ll
win the Democratic party`s nomination for president though.
Since 1972, seven of the 10 Democrats who won in Iowa did eventually become the Democratic nominee that`s according to the Des Moines Register. A lot
of this is about momentum, getting publicity, raising funds, positioning for the presidential race. For the candidates who do well, that will be a
lot easier and they can expect a jump in the national polls. For those who don`t do well, this could make the path forward a lot harder especially if
they drop in the polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey my friend are free to chat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually just loaded my gear onto the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t have time right now. I`m at a Michael Bloomberg event.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got in last night from Vegas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you`re in Las Vegas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m actually in Iowa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. It`s really hard to keep up my friend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This episode we`re talking Iowa. You may know it as the state where copias amounts of fried food is ingested by all the
presidential candidates. Basically just like anything you can deep fry and put on a stick is going to be at the Iowa State Fair. It`s also known as
the state where the candidates are little bit conflicted (ph) and all because it`s the first state in the whole country to vote for president
(inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rest of the country doesn`t have to decide who they`re going to support until after Iowa does. Because of that candidates
spend an undo amount of time in Iowa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Literally a presidential candidate could knock on your door at any point. Right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, it happened often.
BERNIE SANDERS: How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came back from lunch today and Bernie Sanders door knockers have left flyers under my door. I got a Christmas card from Amy
Klobuchar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People like to meet their candidates two, three times before deciding that they`re going to caucus for them. People kind of
expect that the candidates will come to them. They want them to, you know, address them by name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want you to spend quality time with them. And they`re going to (inaudible) a house party with you and a house party is
basically like 100 plus people crammed into a very small house. You know, not a lot of air flow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have I told you about Rans Girl (ph)? I was covering Senator Kristen Gillibrand and she`s holding an event at the Airliner Bar
in Iowa City and there was this young woman walking across the bar and it looked like she might want to ask Senator Gillibrand a question. And so
Senator Gillibrand turned to her and the girl goes - -
SENATOR KRISTEN GILLIBRAND: (Inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re seeing people everywhere. They`re seeing at their coffee shop. They`re seeing them at their restaurants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re (ph) really, really unique environment there isn`t it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I mean, like how often do you have to say I`ve got a little too much access to presidential candidates? I`m good. It just
only gets a (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m mean so much of the kind of campaigning tactics that we see happening routinely in Iowa stem from the fact that Iowa has
this unique system of caucusing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a caucus situation, you are gathered in a room in your town surrounded by your friends, your family, your neighbors. You
have to publicly show support for the candidate that you`re going to caucus for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you`re a Hillary person, raise your hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it`s a test of enthusiasm of support. It goes back to them having to spend so much time in Iowa and visit towns over and
over again and build those personal relationships. Because they need to generate so much support and so much enthusiasm for their candidacy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iowa has a habit of - - of sometimes bringing people out that wouldn`t necessarily be obviously winners. People like Barack
Obama who won in Iowa in a bit of an upset. Sometimes Iowa is a little strange. So Ted Cruz won the Iowa caucuses in 2016 but we are not living
in America under president Ted Cruz.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But political nerds look at Iowa as a key indicator of what may ultimately happen in this race?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Winning in Iowa puts you on a path to do well in exit poll primaries because it shows you can win. It shows you have support and
that`s what matters to going to the next crazy couple of weeks of voting that`s just jammed packed one day after the next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these U.S. agencies was established in 1913? U.S. Postal Service, Social Security Administration, Federal Reserve
or Peace Corps. The Federal Reserve Act which established America`s Central Bank was signed in 1913.
Federal Reserve had a meeting yesterday and decided to keep interest rates right where they are. Why does that matter? Interest rates can have
ripple effects across the entire U.S. economy. The lower the rates are, the cheaper it is to borrow money. So let`s say you go to buy a house. A
lower interest rate on the loan means you`re not having to pay back as much every month. It`s the same for credit cards and for businesses planning to
borrow money to buy new equipment or expand, lower interest rates can encourage them to do that. If the economy heats up too fast, so can
inflation when prices go up and money buys less.
The Fed can raise interest rates to try to keep that from happening. There were a few reasons why it decided yesterday to keep rates as they are. The
bank says there are signs the economy is strong and that`s there`s not much inflation so that`s a good thing. But the Wuhan coronavirus, which has
been detected in countries worldwide, could eventually impact the U.S. economy and tensions are still high between the U.S. and Iran. So as far
as interest rates go, the Fed wants to stay the course for now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s go all the way back to the late 19th century when people couldn`t trust that their money was safe in a bank and bank
runs weren`t unusual. That led to the creation of the country`s Central Bank, the Federal Reserve in 1913. It was the first step toward adding
safety and stability to America`s financial system. Today the Fed is essentially the architect of America`s money policy. It`s run by a board
of governors based in Washington, D.C. and has 12 Federal Reserve banks around the country. Those bank presidents and the board meet eight times a
year to make big policy decisions. Decisions that effect the Fed`s two main goals, to make sure prices are stable and that everyone who wants a
job has a job.
So how exactly does the Fed do this? Mainly using three tools, first by adjusting the discount rate. That`s the interest rate the Fed charges
commercial banks for short-term loans and it`s one of the most influential interest rates there is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE : The Dow had its biggest point drop in history today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For example, in 2008 when the economy was tanking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some companies may not be able to make their payroll. Then they have to shutdown a shift at a plant, that means people will lose
their jobs. More people will lose their homes. People will have difficulty getting loans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Fed in an unprecedented move cut interest rates to zero making it cheaper to borrow money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This plan is an emergency plan to put out a fire. To resolve a serious crisis which has real main street implications.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Fed can`t force banks to lend or companies to hire but it can use it`s tools to create an environment for economic
growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Well we started with political news. We`re wrapping up with a mayoral race that will either go to the dogs or get your goat. In this
corner, the challenger Sandy the dog, she serves her community of Fair Haven, Vermont as a canine officer. And in this corner, the mayoral
champion, Lincoln the goat who may or may not be running for re-election. Regardless of the outcome, the money raised by the race will go to build a
new playground.
One takes a "bite out of crime", the other rules as the "greatest of all time". One "shepherd`s" her constituents, the other roams around with
"ruminants". One wants to do some good, the other wants to "chew some cud" but both are adding plenty of flavor to Fair Haven`s race for mayor. It`s
got "twice the legs" to stand on and it makes for one "doggone" "goat" time.
All right. In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, we heard from Ernest Morrow School yesterday. It`s great to see you. Another school will be chosen from
YouTube.com/CNN10 for tomorrow`s show. I`m Carl Azuz.
END
