Industry leader is strident on pandemic and adamant that U.S. can't be shut down again
A leading wealth industry CEO in the U.S. has urged people to look at the data rather than the emotion around COVID-19.
In a chest-thumping conference call about the virtues of the “greatest country on earth”, James Bowen, of First Trust, a vocal Republican, said he’d be watching the U.S. election results come in with a cigar, expecting an even better night than in 2016.
Forthright and partisan, Bowen hailed the U.S. for the passion shown during the campaigns, insisting this stems from the DNA of its early settlers, who crossed the Atlantic from England.
He said: “I've watched [advisors] guard the wealth of the most productive people on the planet. And how does that happen? Is it just by chance? Or are we in the greatest country on earth? It’s not braggadocious, it's just fact. No matter how one wants to measure it. There's not another country that measures up. We have a functioning democracy. It's not a perfect Republic but it’s amazing.”
Perhaps more divisively, Bowen spoke about the pandemic and why he is adamant the economy can not be shut down again. While many would agree, the CEO admittedly his plain speaking had upset some people.
He explained: “I’m sorry, I'm not looking to offend but part of me says, ‘listen, you got to look at the data’. I know it gets emotional for people who have lost someone to COVID. And I am not looking to act like I don't know there's been a real cost … I understand that. But we cannot shut our economy, we cannot shut our country.
“When we look at data, 99.98% of the people will survive … and 99.997% of school-age children will survive. In fact, three times as many school-aged children will die due to the flu than will die due to COVID. And these are CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) numbers.
“I'm not looking to offend anyone but I’m looking at the data and removing emotion because that's what we have to do.”
The prospect of civil unrest had people on high alert last night, although, thankfully, those fears appear to be unfounded so far. While Bowen did not condone the possibility of disturbances, he said the intensity of feelings and political polarization is nothing new. The country, he said, is based on people who left “a pretty nice place called England” in search of a better life.
He added: “People can say, ‘we're at each other's throats’. We've seen this – this is not new. If you're not old enough to remember when there were fights at the Nixon polls, then look it up. I'm not old enough to remember when people went insane over FDR!
“When you think about what you're seeing, you're seeing an unprecedented engagement. Yes, two wildly different visions and, yes, I favour one over the other. But two wildly different visions that are going to be brought out [in this election].”
