CEO optimistic about economy, America’s future

Addressing concerns raised by those on the left about carbon pollution, Bowen said “climate changers” should take heart that, for every gallon of water used to produce natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, Texas saved 33 gallons of water by generating electricity with that fracked natural gas instead of coal in 2011.

Turning his attention to U.S. debt and deficit levels — seen by those on the right as too high and as death-knell movers of America into Greece territory — Bowen rejected the notion there’s any crisis at hand. Data show the nation’s deficit is going down, he said, and that its gross domestic product is expanding.

“It’s not so,” he said of the notion we’re becoming debt-burdened Greece. “Get to the numbers.”

Bowen also took aim at immigration policy, not exactly a humdrum topic these days. He leaned over his lectern, scanned his audience in the face. “I embrace immigration,” he said, and wondered aloud whether anyone in the room couldn’t trace their ancestry to immigrants. “It’s your gene pool,” he said, “it’s your DNA.”

More data flashed onto the screen: 7.9 percent of U.S. defense/aerospace companies founded by immigrants; 20.1 percent of bioscience enterprises founded by immigrants; 31.7 percent of computers/communications companies founded by immigrants.

Bowen said he doesn’t like narratives, either on the right-wing of the political spectrum or the left. One narrative, he said, argues that America’s best days are behind it as other industrialized nations, such as China, grow bigger on the world stage.

The numbers and trend lines illustrate otherwise, he said. For example, America has 4.5 percent of the world’s population but contributes 25.5 percent of its gross domestic product. The U.S. enjoys major energy cost advantages for manufacturers, he said, and companies are investing billions in new plants.

Census data show America’s labor force will grow by 42.4 percent through 2050, he said, even as it declines in other countries, including China (down 9.8 percent), Western Europe (down 15.6 percent) and Japan (down 43.5 percent).

From the perspective of natural resources, the U.S. is well-positioned to compete with other countries, Bowen said. For example, the Great Lakes region contains roughly 64 percent of North America’s surface fresh water. By contrast, he said, China has 7 percent of the world’s fresh water, although only about 2 percent of it is safe to drink “because they fouled the rest through industrialization.”

Time and again, Bowen urged his audience to avoid guzzling attractive narratives. “At our firm,” he said, “we believe math wins.”

He added, “Don’t get caught in the puff.”

Note: An earlier version of this story estimated that 60 people attended the event, based on numbers supplied to The Columbian. Riverview Asset Management Corp. estimated this morning that total attendance was 126.