Speaker: No wiggle room on economy for next president

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (10/31/08)--The nation's new president--no matter who's elected--will have little wiggle room in searching for solutions to the economic problems facing the country, said a speaker at Southwest Corporate FCU's 31st annual Economic Forum.

The forum met this week in Dallas with nearly 500 attending (LoneStar Leaguer Oct. 30).

Author and economist Jeff Thredgold told the group, "Regardless of whether (Sen. Barack) Obama or (Sen. John) McCain emerges the victor, what the new president wants to do and what he can do are two different things."

"Policy changes will be limited by a large national budget, likely to exceed $400 billion this year. There is just no wiggle room for aggressive spending on new programs," he said.

Thredgold, who expects large wins by Democrats, said he did not believe there will be sufficient political stomach to undo tax cuts passed during the Bush administration. However, he predicted Congress will take action to tighten regulations in the financial industry.

"When we moved from quality of loans to quantity of loans, it was a recipe for disaster," he said, adding the situation will be addressed.

Education will be key to success in the economy as it moves forward, he said. He cited as seven critical industries of the future:

Technology;
Transportation;
Telecommunications;
Financial services;
Energy;
Entertainment; and
Biomedicine.

"And thanks to the baby boomers, we'll also see growth specifically in healthcare, financial planning and leisure activities," Thredgold said.

courtesy of cuna.org