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Boston Properties Chairman Mort Zuckerman on why he is pessimistic about the outlook for the economy and job growth.
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So if you're looking for a job you got when he and company in fact the unemployment rate has been over 8% for 48 straight months that is along -- stretch on record.
Mort Zuckerman says it's even worse than that he predicted in March the job situation wouldn't improve any any real sense any time soon.
Nicholas.
Companies are not trying to hire people okay in fact if anything they're trying to reduce their employment and they are hiring people they're hiring them at lower wages.
Where exactly this CEO and the chairman of the board director -- Boston properties and he joins me now.
Stick.
Yes I am quite pessimistic it's the most pessimistic period since I have been in the business world and particularly when it comes to employment or unemployment.
The unemployment numbers are -- that are misleading it's not eight point 2%.
If you take into account that that is that one a category called you three there's another government category called U six which measures people.
Who've applied for a job in the last six months.
As compared to just in the last four weeks but the average period of unemployment is almost seven months.
-- -- six is much more relevant that number is fourteen point 8% not eight point 2%.
And if you add to that the people -- left the labor force the real unemployment numbers from between eighteen and 20% those -- the worst numbers since the Great Depression.
We we would have.
Bread lines if we had in the Great Depression we were attending a ten million checks every week to help people get through this so we're in a very very very serious position.
The number of people who are in poverty which we is defined as.
People -- a family of four.
Living under 23360.
Dollars.
That the poverty line is fifteen point 2% that's 52 million people in America we've never -- through anything like that.
-- more pessimistic -- that -- -- yes that includes during the financial crisis I mean if you guessed about this thing you didn't -- will -- a possible.
Because we had a chance to develop policies that would have at least not nice not out of it but at least Scottish onto the positive track.
We did not the policies that were followed by this administration went nowhere nearly adequate to the problem and in many cases compound -- the problem for example.
When you -- half of this the stimulus program to state and local governments which is another.
Word or another phrase for the public service unions you keep the public servants and business but you don't have what is called the multiplier effect of these dollars which is what we needed to do.
To that with a political decision.
When you have the chance with the Bowles Simpson commission to really get the long term deficit.
Under some kind of control.
And you set this commission up in your -- United States and then you ignore that another opportunity that is -- I can go through several others like that but that's what we're now living with -- it's now getting much too late to do a lot of the things that we could've done earlier.
That would have had a great benefit.
Democrat I have been a Democrat all my life.
Yes like what right now our -- frustrated with the current administration -- I am very frustrated with the current administration I think we have.
To migrate this -- because I voted for President Obama and the newspaper that I am.
Associated with that New York Daily News that you advertise all the time on this network.
We endorse it.
But I become increasingly dissolution with the way he runs the government I gave a talk.
To a group of congressman.
But for five weeks ago at their request people who work in the financial area I think what's your relationship with the White House.
They say we have not met with the White House in three and a half years we have not heard from the president he has not come to business we have no relationship with them.
This is insane it's not the way to -- here at the front page story in the New York Times that he had met with Mitch McConnell the Republican leader.
In the senate.
The first eighteen months of his administration also makes no sense when he introduced the American Jobs Act.
That very next day he campaigned against Eric Cantor -- -- the house Republican leader in the house and -- district the next week he campaigned against John Boehner the Republican speaker.
How do you expect to get along and work constructively with people if that's the way you approach it.
But a lot of people say if someone else in the White House anyone else what could they possibly do right now.
That would create jobs it would change the economic climate what's one thing that another candidate -- -- to.
I would we're very carefully to pass something looking -- -- Bowles Simpson program.
Why would that make an immediate.
Because it would change the whole attitude of not only this business community but the business communities over the next couple of years that we weren't gonna can get two point.
Where they -- the level of our national debt.
Was going to be such that it was gonna suppress whatever we're trying to accomplish in the private sector in the economy the second thing I would do.
He's I would actually reform the tax code to which is -- totally distorted by special privilege -- granted to various industries and very individual and without raising rates -- broaden the tax base and lower rates it would help both business and the consumers and the third thing I would do.
Is I would change the H one -- program which is a Visa program.
To allow people mainly engineers people in the heart scientists to work in this country 50% of the graduate students in the -- -- that are foreigners.
We now send them back to their countries in their companies that compete with a this is totally insane yet we're not doing anything in our economic interest he's just Ferris a political interest for this -- that community and we can't get beyond that and that's a problem with this administration.
A lot of people -- criticism is that the president goes out he works with business all they're looking for is tax breaks for business less regulation that's how we gotten.
The financial crisis that's how we got into this -- that's always the -- -- how do you respond to that some of that is true but it doesn't mean it's the end of the story.
What you now have to do take take the tax code is eliminate some of these tax breaks every given to various companies.
And just reduce tax rates and say hey this is the package you have to get this it's a -- you have to buy into.
He'll get lower tax rate but none of those special tax -- -- and everybody kind of in a sense buy into that.
Why because it'll help both the consumers and your company's annual earn your money in the right way not to tax benefits so that's the way about a deal of them did out of deal does well with the issue of the budget deficit.
People are gonna have some people are gonna have to pay higher tech -- I believe that the -- should make a contribution to this because everybody should okay and some of that with gonna have to come out in order to do that.
It because there the elimination of the debt.
And the prospective debt to this country and -- deficits that really caused -- it's critical to our economic future if we don't face up to these kind of serious issues today.
That whole it's just gonna get deeper deeper we've seen -- we've seen it over the last four years.
He didn't address as president he didn't address these issues and now we're in -- much worse situation than we were even then.
He thought about running for present.
I'm running from the president's.
However when this country -- ready for the first appointed Canadian born Jewish -- I'm ready to be concerned package considering.
We're thank you so much for coming on our first show we really appreciate it happy birthday to you I would give you Melissa -- I don't think -- I'm here also went to inflates in Britain.
-- -- so much we appreciate it well.
