During his hour-long presentation on January 11th, 2017, Steve Forbes touched on both politics and the economy, and he outlined four areas where he believes reform is coming that will help move the economy out of the “self-inflicted rut that we’ve been in for almost 15 years.”
The first area is taxation, said Forbes, who believes a flat tax should replace the complexities of the current tax code. He also warned against the border adjustment tax, a sales tax on imports that he believes could result in Americans paying higher prices for goods. “Putting in a new tax is a dangerous thing, even if they think it’s for a good purpose,” he said. The second area where Forbes sees potential for reform is healthcare. He noted that while the growing demand for healthcare is considered a crisis, “growing demand for anything else is considered a great opportunity,” he said. The third area that is ripe for reform involves government regulations. Forbes said excessive regulations cost the American economy $2 trillion a year. The final area where Forbes sees reforms coming is in monetary policy. He noted that money is not wealth. “Money measures wealth. Money measures value,” he said. Money works best when it has a fixed value, said Forbes, who advocates a return to the gold standard. In the end, “you need a strong identity. You need a strong brand,” he said. “Trust is key.”
