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Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes weighs in on the state of the economy and taxes.
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Some of the world's top business minds are -- Beverly else the milking content that's why we are still here and we have to those mine's David Asman and to Steve Forbes lined up David it's all yours.
Thanks -- all got we got Steve Forbes here today you know Stuart -- earlier was -- a little doubt on the value of conferences like this but when you have people like Steve Forbes.
You realize that there is value to a conference and there are a lot of other capitalism where Steve is known as mr.
capitalists the capitalist tool if you will.
There was a recent poll of Fox News poll that showed that 83% of Americans still believe we're in a recession.
That's just a slowdown but a recession are they right.
Well it's not an official recession but it's a very very slow recovery so it's like going from pneumonia to a bed -- You're not in the bed anymore but you don't feel very good about it and there's no real -- such -- had in the early eighties or other coverage that this thing is really picking up speed.
This lumbering along click on on the highway gone from twenty miles an hour to thirty.
It's faster but we should be gone 78 you know there's an old expression your coasting you're going downhill is there a danger that.
The longer we continue at a slow pace we do eventually head down into recession.
What it means that wouldn't take much to put the economy into recession blow up in Europe something happened in the Middle East.
China stumbles we have nothing to fall back on -- So how do we him.
-- are cutting back up I mean if we don't do within a couple of months even before the elections are we in trouble are we in danger -- really.
Receding into it a genuine recession.
I don't think we'll gone to a genuine recession -- we don't make many more mistakes and where -- by the law of averages and do something right once in awhile.
But in terms of the US economy it is slow.
The weak dollar hurts uncertainty about taxes uncertainty about health care you go down the list.
Been spending that's why we're not moving mean when you consider that magnitude of the although we -- 2008 early 2009 this is the worst recovery.
Sharp downturn in American history even in the depression when we finally turned out it was a sharp when we didn't sustain at least gotta bounce back.
-- -- will bounce back here you mentioned that taxes January 1 taxes go up across the board -- gonna need to take some foreign on the economy how do we stop that from happening.
Well if they don't do it in the lame duck session of congress and number I'm assuming Mitt Romney win.
If he does win markets will assume he'd been an agreement has not reached since January when it comes around -- be temporary extensions of the congress get to work.
On a sensible tax bill if President Obama takes his -- President Obama wins reelection.
Is it just assume that taxes will go up.
That's certainly gonna go up on Obama care that's still around certain gonna go up on high income earners we're gonna go into a recession.
Because these high taxes destroyed capital and that punish people put capital of work.
We've seen this movie before the seventies and raising rates on people try to produce does not work.
But all of those taxes over cut over ten years ago during Bush's administration will all of those taxes go up the President Obama is reelected.
They have to about.
Obama and the congress have to reach an agreement on what to extend and what not to extend if nothing is done if you have a stalemate they all go up.
I think even the presidents of consultation he got reelected there's not gonna let that happen so they have to come to mean it's also have them all of AMT.
Alternative Minimum Tax could hit 27 million middle class Americans come January 1.
They can allow that to happen I don't think so -- get Iraq but are you optimistic or pessimistic about a few.
I'm optimistic because of -- performance come after November real reforms reforms we can believe bit -- -- state boards and Hollywood and -- this is Steve thanks very good guy.
