The tax talk will be central to both campaigns as the contest heats up. Yet fiscal policy isn't the only variable that shapes the U.S. economy-something you can tell anxious clients.
"There are a lot of other things that matter, too," says economist Sung Won Sohn, a lecturer at California State University, Channel Islands. "Look at our stock market right now. It gyrates depending on what is going on in Europe, so whether taxes are raised or we have a tax cut, other variables could affect the outcome."