On Wednesday, Reuters hosted a Newsmaker event in New York with entrepreneur Mark Cuban; economist and former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, Professor Alan Blinder; global economist Dambisa Moyo; and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Moderated by Reuters Editor-at-Large Sir Harold Evans, the panel debated the Trump budget. Among the highlights: --Cuban said the tax rate had no impact on decisions whether to invest in small businesses. "Competition drives what I do in my businesses a whole lot more than tax rates." --Zandi said "what we're observing in Washington today in the Senate bill and the House bill is very bad tax policy." --Moyo said technology, demographic shifts such as immigration, and debt have far more impact than do taxes on growth. "The reality is over the past 50 years what has driven economic growth not just in the United States but across the globe has really been technology, demographic shifts, the absorption of people from the different aspects of the labor market into the broader economy." --Asked by a member of the audience whether he was considering a run for president, Cuban said, "I don't know yet. It's a serious decision and it's not one I have to make today," Watch the full Reuters Newsmaker: www.reuters.tv/l/pTy. You can follow more of the discussion on Twitter by searching #ReutersLive. Media Contact: Heather dot Carpenter at thomsonreuters dot com [Reuters PR Blog Post]
