"The Economy Is Recovering"

This was one of the first statements today of the mouth of Andrew B. Busch - Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist for BMO Capital Markets' Investment Banking Division in Chicago. I attended the 11th Annual Heartland Bank Economic Forum where Mr. Busch was the keynote. Some interesting take-aways for me were:

• A study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation found that from 1980 to 2005, companies five years old or younger created over 95% off all new jobs in America.
• If the federal government keeps spending at the current rate, we will see Trillion dollar deficits over the next ten years.
• It is a strong possibility that the U.S. could lose its AAA rating by 2014 if current spending continues.
• The Health Care Reform Plan recently passed does anything but encourage job growth. Why would a company at the 50 employee threshold want to hire and go above the 50, since they will now have to cover 100% of the health care coverage for every employee at $8,000 a head? And for those already above the 50, it would be cheaper to pay the $4,000 fine instead of the $8,000 coverage. It just doesn't make any sense.

He also discussed how to create job growth: Lower corporate taxes. He asked how we (U.S.) plans on beating the competition from China when their corporate tax is roughly 12% while ours is 40%. We are not on a fair playing field to start with.

A big thank you to Heartland Bank for the invitation today.

- Posted by Cheri