Editor’s Note: This analysis first appeared in the New York Post. We reprint in part here.
So Donald Trump — New York’s charismatic multibillionaire businessman — has thrown his hat into the 2016 presidential ring.
While many question his presence in the race, 2016 may be the year in which America is in desperate need of a suave, successful businessperson like Trump — or former HP CEO Carly Fiorina — to solve what ails our economy.
Unlike most politicians, these two have plenty of experience building things, hiring people — and sometimes firing people — and both have extensive résumés and are not just spouting rhetoric.
There’s no doubt that most Americans are hurting right now. The economy is much weaker than advertised and not expected to get stronger anytime soon — the Federal Reserve on Wednesday downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 1.9 percent.
If that forecast comes to fruition, it will mean seven years in a row of below-3 percent GDP growth. No president has ever had that distinction.
So the next president could use a track record of building and developing growth, since the measures by the Fed of keeping rates at zero and making $4 trillion worth of QE bond buys have done nothing for growth.
If a businessperson were to get the keys to the White House, here’s what he or she would need to do.
The single most important issue is jobs, and Trump is well aware of it. Getting the job market back on its feet will not be easy, but Trump has built a global business that employs thousands of people — from contractors, plumbers and electricians to investment bankers, lawyers and accountants — whom he pays quite well. So he actually knows what it takes.