Investment officer: 'Anger is the new hope'
Nearly 70 percent of American households have less than $1,000 in savings, investment officer Jack Ablin told participants at an economic breakfast at Harper College this morning.
He added that these are the households that rely on the government for Social Security and health care.
"These are the people living paycheck to paycheck and are one skip and a fall away from bankruptcy," Ablin said at the Palatine college's Wojcik Conference Center. "They are scared. They don't feel like Washington has their back."
Ablin, executive vice president at BMO Private Bank, said at the outlook session that this is one of the most poignant factors leading to a feeling that "anger is the new hope" in relation to President Donald Trump's presidency.
The Highland Park resident addressed the political and economic environment surrounding Trump's presidency and current economic trends. He said the growth in our economy is slowing because of lack of growth in the labor force and the fact that productivity is down.
He said we have to look at organic ways of growing in terms of jobs and productivity. One way in strengthening job growth is by starting small businesses, however that number is dwindling, he said.
He noted that 78 percent of American workers are employed by companies with 500 employees or fewer employees. "Small business is really important. We need the dynamism of small business to grow our labor force and productivity."
Ablin added that the number of start ups is half of what it was 40 years ago.
Ablin also addressed the importance of education and its role in the solution. Having a college degree or specialized training is key, he said.
"If you want more jobs, you need to have an educated workforce," he said. "To create productivity, it is critical to have a high quality workforce that can meet the needs of the private sector," adding that cutting the red tape is another crucial element.
Ablin addressed an array of other topics including corporate taxes, considering foreign stocks over the American market and the border adjustment tax, which he said Trump has not embraced at this point.
Those who attended the breakfast said the outlook was informative. "I think he does a great job," said Larry Moatz, a Harper graduate who now works in the commercial real estate industry. He noted that he was surprised with the savings level of most Americans.
"It's not healthy. We need to work on this as a society to change the trend," he said.