Trump Start Economic Growth - by Jerry Jasinowski
Donald Trump is riding high on a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton, which was overwhelmingly driven by the voters' demand for significant change. Perhaps his most ambitious promise, and one everyone will be watching carefully, is what he will do to dramatically raise economic growth and create new jobs. This is the most important change Trump can make, but it will require pragmatism and bipartisan skill.
Drawing on what he said during the campaign, but reworking it through a pragmatic bipartisan lens, here are the six priorities he can pursue to Trump-start economic growth and create new jobs.
1.Cutting taxes has been one of his top priorities and should remain so. But the tax cuts have to be balanced in a way that provides incentives for capital investment, encourages small business and entrepreneurs, and includes tax reductions for low income individuals.
2. Trade policies, as he has promised, must be changed and made much tougher. He should resist unilateral imposition of tariffs on countries like China, and instead lead with a much tougher enforcement of existing U.S. trade laws. Beyond that, we need a government wide effort to grow our exports and buy American.
3.Trump has spoken of the need for regulatory reform and there is a great opportunity to Trump-start growth in this area. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget requires that federal agencies submit all new rules to strict cost-benefit analysis, but this needs to apply to existing rules and have strong Presidential backing to work. Billions can be saved in this area.
4.Infrastructure investment is badly needed as a central way to encourage higher economic growth. Donald Trump is a builder and is well suited to pushing a bipartisan bill to rebuild America, but it must start with shovel-ready projects to be followed by a phased implementation of nationwide infrastructure program.
5. Productivity improvement is key to raising economic growth and that requires investments in technology and encouraging innovation. Trump's spending priorities should include major investments in government technology, along with tax incentives to encourage small company entrepreneurship.
6.Trump has promised to revive U.S. manufacturing and he could do a lot of that by toughening our trade laws and reducing regulatory burdens. But he should go beyond that by reinforcing Obama's manufacturing hubs around the country that work with the industry to develop innovative new products and technologies. The Trump Administration should embrace that initiative and make it their own.
Jerry Jasinowski, an economist and author, served as President of the National Association of Manufacturers for 14 years and later The Manufacturing Institute. You can quote from this with attribution. Let me know if you would like to speak with Jerry. November 2016