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Steve Forbes with League President/CEO Todd Mason.
Politics and the economy were the focus of keynote speaker Steve Forbes’ address at this year’s Legislative Forum. Forbes began his speech with a brief reflection on today’s contentious political environment, the impeachment hearings, and the 2020 election.
“This is a tumultuous time, but America is strong and has a history of persevering in extenuating circumstances,” said Forbes. “The 2020 election will be critical and will determine what kind of country we want to be.”
Forbes shared his views on the value of free markets, trade, and human ingenuity, tying each to economic growth and innovation. He went on to say, “The real source of wealth in any economy is the human brain. We cannot move forward if knowledge is destroyed.”
He also discussed overseas markets, global poverty, and why having sound money is critical to a functioning society.
“When money is trusted, humanity moves forward,” said Forbes. “When you manipulate the way you measure its value, you cannot prosper. I explored this in my documentary, In Money We Trust.”
Before concluding his remarks, Forbes expressed concerns over rising healthcare costs, college tuition, and taxes, and provided suggestions for addressing these challenges.
Following his speech, Forbes sat down for a Q&A session with longtime political reporter Mal Leary from Maine Public. In addition to taking questions from the crowd, Leary probed Forbes about his presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. When asked about what he learned from his experience on the campaign trail, Forbes said, “When running for President, you see how diverse the country is, but you come to recognize how strong we all are because of it.”
Before closing the Q&A session, Forbes encouraged people to come together and close the political divide, referencing the power of grassroots.
“Hopefully the needs of the country will force a debate to get a meaningful discussion going about the issues that really matter. And that doesn’t mean showing up and shouting at someone. If enough people begin to ask the right questions, hopefully we’ll move the needle.”
The 2019 Legislative Forum was the most well attended forum to date.
Relevant Media Coverage:
WMTW-8, “Steve Forbes Says Maine Needs to Change Approach to Business to Grow.”
Mal Leary interviews Steve Forbes at the 2019 Legislative Session.