No matter who wins the election in November, the incoming president cannot change the economy overnight. But he or she will certainly set the tone. ‘You can argue about tax cuts versus trade agreements, but the fact is that the president is a symbol for whether the country is interested in strong economic growth or not,’ said Todd Buchholz, former White House director of economic policy under George H.W. Bush and author of The Price of Prosperity. Buchholz is also a former managing director of the Tiger hedge fund and a winner of Harvard’s annual teaching prize in economics. His previous books include New Ideas from Dead Economists and New Ideas from Dead CEOs. He said the debts that have been piled up including Social Security and Medicare liabilities threaten to destroy America’s future. In his view the president needs to tackle the important issues as opposed to pushing these problems onto the backs of future generations. Buchholz said great empires die out because people have fewer kids. Immigration in America helps solve that demographic problem so it should be encouraged in the country. That said, immigrants need to embrace the culture they are coming to, not stay in their own enclaves. ‘We need to create a country that people want to come to and they want to feel as if they are part of this country, not simply coming in to take jobs,’ said Buchholz. Improving America’s infrastructure is another hot topic on the campaign. Buchholz said fixing the country’s infrastructure is not that simple a solution since America is doing more business via the digital economy than over roads and bridges. ‘I don’t actually think infrastructure is the answer to America’s economic growth although it is necessary to repair broken down bridges,’ said Buchholz. Finally, Buchholz said the government should study the effects of raising the minimum wages in certain states to see if it is indeed a good idea. ‘I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs if the minimum wage goes up too high and they will be replaced by robots and other technologies,’ said Buchholz.
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