Michael I. Roth

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Michael I. Roth

CEO
Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), parent of ad agencies Draft; Foote, Cone & Belding, Golin/Harris International

"The new President has to deal first with consumer confidence and confidence in the capital markets. This is going to be a job of both policy and style to reassure businesses and consumers. He has to convince everybody that these problems are manageable. When confidence returns, I think consumer will be more comfortable spending, and companies will be as well. Our clients are pulling back. But it's not because they don't have budgets, it's fear of notegetting a return on those dollars. They want to know whatever they spend are going to have an impact. As long as consumer confidence remains low, getting that impact is far less certain.

Tax policy can drive the economy. There is no question that from a competitive standpoint that U.S. global companies have to be able to compete in a tax environment against countries that in many cases are much more favorable than ours. You really want to look at the world from a global standpoint. Maybe with a new Administration, we can make headway on it. In some cases we have revenue that is double taxed. Other countries do not emulate that, and it gives many foreign companies a competitive advantage. Whether it is a cut in the corporate tax rate or tax credits that get us to the same place, it's a level playing field we have to try and get to.

The real issue is real estate and home values. That's where this problem began and where it still is. We have to bite the bullet and deal with these mortgages that have been placed on properties without sufficient underwriting. We also need to tackle the credit-card problem. We should have a system going forward that extends credit on the basis of a person’s ability to pay. What we have had is a system that extends credit on the basis of having credit to extend. Ultimately, in a difficult environment like this, it comes back to bite you."