President Clinton on a Possible Return to Clinton-Era Prosperity
The chairman of the Waterfield Group for two decades, J. Randal Waterfield was given the opportunity to moderate a 2014 address to the United Nations from Bill Clinton. J. Randall "Randy" Waterfield also directed a post-address Q&A session, during which he asked the former president how America could return to the era of economic growth that it experienced during the Clinton years.
Mr. Clinton began his answer by acknowledging that the evolving economic climate, aggravated by substantial public debt that has been accumulating for decades, makes any promise of exponential growth tremendously difficult to realize. However, he pointed to several key areas that have the potential to set the US economy in a positive direction.
After listing improvements in national Internet infrastructure and a concentration on energy conversion/renewable power as important steps toward sustaining ongoing growth, Clinton singled out partisan polarization in Washington, DC, as the country’s single “biggest problem.” A more practical and less ideology-driven US Congress, for example, would allow for far greater productive experimentation and development of new economic strategy.
Mr. Clinton began his answer by acknowledging that the evolving economic climate, aggravated by substantial public debt that has been accumulating for decades, makes any promise of exponential growth tremendously difficult to realize. However, he pointed to several key areas that have the potential to set the US economy in a positive direction.
After listing improvements in national Internet infrastructure and a concentration on energy conversion/renewable power as important steps toward sustaining ongoing growth, Clinton singled out partisan polarization in Washington, DC, as the country’s single “biggest problem.” A more practical and less ideology-driven US Congress, for example, would allow for far greater productive experimentation and development of new economic strategy.
