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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 JA N UA R Y 9 , 2 0 1 7 lower taxes and lessened regulations. ere is prob- ably too much optimism around these changes as it will take time to implement any of them. We there- fore have raised our expectations for next year only slightly. e shift in overall economic policy from a Fed-driven monetary stimulus to a legislatively driven fi scal stimulus is a big step in the right direc- tion and one that should lengthen the expansion. Jonathan Reisman: President Trump is poised to signifi cantly increase economic freedom and hence growth in the United States, but those gains will likely be tempered by potential trade wars and crony capital- ism. Energy, environmental and social engineering regulatory relief, tax reform, executive order reversals and a restoration of the presumption of the rule of law have the potential to boost economic growth to better than 4%, even with a crony capitalism penalty. Trade and foreign policy are concerns. Chinese investment is responsible for the expansion of forest product manu- facturing and employment in Washington County. e Port of Eastport is engaged in international trade. Rachel Bouvier: It's diffi cult to say. President-elect Trump didn't give too many specifi cs during his cam- paign, and even now he seems to be backing away from some of his more overheated rhetoric. Certain industries may be comforted by his tough talk on trade, but our consumption patterns and way of life are now so global in nature that a trade war could very much hurt our standard of living. My specialty is environmental and natural resource economics, and so I tend to look at the economy more broadly. I'm very concerned about a Trump White House's eff ect on the environment, specifi cally climate change, and the weakening of regulations that were passed to protect our health and our children's future. Climate change has the potential to negatively aff ect our fi sheries and our forests, as well as what economists call the ecosystem services that depend on them. And reducing emissions from burning fossil fuels has other benefi ts as well. For example, Maine has the highest childhood asthma rate in the country, creat- ing an economic burden on caregivers and the health care system, as well as aff ecting children's potential. Charles Lawton: He's shaken everything up and shown the conventional wisdom isn't going to work. e question is whether the logjams will get broken up or do we just have another four or eight years like we had in the Obama Administration where everything gets stonewalled. If that's the case, then businesses just struggle along as they always do. Whatever issues plagued them for the past eight years will continue. at could also go for trade wars, labor issues or economic development. Whatever your business goals may be, your local team at People's United Bank can help you go even further. Our expertise extends from commercial and retail banking, as well as wealth management services and beyond. We're a full-service bank with the resources of a larger institution and the personalized service of a bank down the street. In fact, we are the bank down the street. Call or stop by our Southern Maine locations to speak with one of our local experts. FULL-SERVICE BANKING peoples.com 207-828-3067 Local banking. Local perspective. PEOPLE'S UNITED BANK and MAINE Lisa Hook Commercial Banking Ann Marie Swenson Business Banking Dan Thornton President, ME Candy Fitzek Retail Banking John Lescure Wealth Management Lucie AuCoin-Hannigan Treasury Management ©2017 People's United Bank, N.A. | Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » P H O T O / G A G E S K I D M O R E , W I K I M E D I A C O M M O N S President-elect Donald Trump's impact on business remains to be seen. 'Five on the Future' participants say much depends on the administration's ability to work with Congress.

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