Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue poured scorn on both major political parties Tuesday, saying neither one is dedicated to ensuring economic growth.
Both parties have created official platforms that advocate protectionism and tighter regulation, he said, arguing that it will stifle economic growth.
“Unfortunately, neither platform — Democratic or Republican — puts a strong enough emphasis on helping Main Street and accelerating economic growth,” Donohue said on the Chamber’s website.
The 2016 election cycle has seen a distinct turn to economic populism. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton moved leftward during the primary, embracing such measures as a $15 minimum wage and coming out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration.
“The Democratic Party now calls for breaking up the major financial institutions on Wall Street and the passage of a 21st-century Glass-Steagall Act,” presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Glass-Steagall was a Depression-era law that separated commercial and investment banking. It was repealed under President Clinton, but the new platform calls for bringing it back.
“Most troubling, there’s hardly any mention of the dire need for greater economic growth in the entire draft document,” Donohue said.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has leaned leftwards on economic issues as well, also opposing TPP and bashing the financial sector. The party’s platform also calls for a new Glass-Steagall bill, Donohue noted, and backtracks in other areas where the GOP once backed big business.
“The platform moves the party away from its historic vigorous support for sensible trade and immigration policies,” he said.
The Chamber is a major player in elections at the congressional level, working hard to elect business-friendly members of Congress. It does not make presidential endorsements, however, and largely stays out that race.
Donohue nevertheless warned that both candidates were on the wrong track and that would harm the country by ensuring the economic recovery remains sluggish.
“Policies that perpetuate 2 percent or lower growth are bad for the country,” he said, adding, “By the way, a robust economy might put American voters in a better mood — which could come in handy when the next election rolls around.”
