A Flourishing Future
- Stephen H Akin
- May 5
- 5 min read
US Markets are the "Primer Destination for Global Capital"
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Remarks before the Milken Institute Global Conference
May 5, 2025
As prepared for delivery
INTRODUCTION
Good morning—and thank you for that kind introduction. It’s an honor to be with you.
If the namesake of this conference is any indication, this is a meeting for bold people with bold ideas. Well, I work for President Donald J. Trump—so I feel right at home.
Mike Milken, like President Trump, is a visionary. In the 1970s, he had the rare combination of guts and intellect to defy the Wall Street consensus. With his heterodox approach to junk bonds, he pioneered a new asset class known today as high-yield bonds.
By staying true to his vision, Mike overturned decades of economic orthodoxy. He bootstrapped entirely new industries by redirecting billions of dollars in capital to non-investment grade companies. His colleagues on Wall Street told him he was delusional and a fool. But history ultimately proved him right.
Sound familiar?
Like Mike Milken, President Trump has no shortage of critics in establishment circles. But he proved them wrong in his first term—and he is proving them wrong again today.
On President Trump’s first day in office, he vowed to usher in a new Golden Age for our country. A Golden Age America deserves a Golden Age economy. So for the past 100 days, we have been preparing the soil.
We have uprooted government waste and harmful regulations. We have planted the seeds of private investment. And we have fertilized the ground with fresh tax legislation.
Next, we harvest. And we want you to harvest with us.
America is the Schelling point of global finance. We have the world’s reserve currency, the deepest and most liquid markets, and the strongest property rights. For these reasons, the United States is the premier destination for international capital. And the administration’s goal is to make it even more appealing for investors like you.
This morning, I will explain how we plan to achieve that goal.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ECONOMIC AGENDA
The primary components of the Trump economic agenda—trade, tax cuts, and deregulation—are not standalone policies. They are interlocking parts of an engine designed to drive long-term investment in the American economy.
Our goal with trade policy is to level the playing field for our great American workers and companies. With a level playing field, American industry can outcompete all challengers.
Tariffs are engineered to encourage companies like yours to invest directly in the United States. Hire your workers here. Build your factories here. Make your products here.
You’ll be glad you did—not only because we have the most productive workforce in the world. But because we will soon have the most favorable tax and regulatory environment as well.
This is where tax incentives and deregulation come into play.
You may have heard of “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL” floating around Congress. This bill is big and beautiful for Main Street America and investors alike.
The President’s signature tax legislation will prevent an enormous tax hike on Main Street by making the small business deduction permanent. It will also provide tax credits and deductions for research and innovation to stimulate investment in high-tech operations. And it will restore 100% expensing for equipment while expanding that incentive to new factory construction.
The objective? To accelerate investment in American industry.
To make that investment as seamless and rewarding as possible, President Trump has embraced an ambitious deregulation agenda. This includes expansive permitting reform. The President doesn’t want to just “Drill, baby, drill!”—he wants to “Build, baby, build!”
To that end, he has signed executive orders to reduce the federal approval process for new energy and construction projects from several years to just a few months. This simple reform will unleash the creative potential of America’s builders. And it will empower business leaders like you to put your capital to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The building renaissance will be fueled by the President’s energy dominance agenda. Energy is the base layer of all economic activity. That’s why the administration champions an all-of-the-above approach to energy development to drive down the cost of doing business.
THE AMERICA FIRST VISION
I hope you can see the bigger picture now.
The Trump economic agenda is more than the sum of its parts. Trade, tax cuts, and deregulation may be three distinct policies. But each policy is mutually reinforcing. And acting in concert, they push toward the same goal—to solidify our position as the home of global capital.
The result of the President’s economic plan will be More.
More jobs, more homes, more growth, more factories, more critical manufacturing plants, more semiconductors, more energy, more opportunity, more defense, more economic security, more innovation.
In short, more of all things we need the most.
The President believes we can achieve More together. This is the abundant vision he has for the future. And he wants everyone here to be a part of it.
Thousands of businesses are now catching the President’s vision. Since he assumed office in January, companies have pledged to invest trillions into the US economy. President Trump has secured more investment for our country in 100 days than President Biden did during all four years.
Entrepreneurs, too, are starting to understand what the President is trying to accomplish. March saw one of the highest levels ever recorded for new business applications. Many of these men and women—like many of you—are grasping that America First is the blueprint for a more abundant world.
CONCLUSION
Now, for a parting thought.
Before I entered public service, I spent more than 40 years in the asset management business. There, one mantra guides one of the world’s most successful investors: “Never bet against America.”
Warren Buffett coined the phrase—and it’s been his lodestar as long as he’s been in the game.
“Never bet against America” captures a time-tested truth: The U.S. economy is unstoppable.
Throw whatever you will at our capital markets—the Great Depression, two World Wars, 9/11, a global recession, the COVID pandemic, or the last few years of sky-high inflation. Each time the American economy gets knocked down, it gets back up again. And it gets back up even stronger than it was before.
US markets are antifragile. Indeed, the entirety of our economic history can be distilled in just five words: “Up and to the right.” On a long-term horizon, it’s never a bad time to invest in America—but especially now.
Up and to the Right!
The United States is entering a new Golden Age of economic prosperity for both Main Street and Wall Street. And we don’t want anyone to get left behind.
Come with us—so we can build a more abundant America together. Thank you.
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