Yes, there are many reasons besides growth. For example: for gay marriage, for closing gitmo, for pulling out sooner from Afghanistan, etc. These aren't small

Yes, there are many reasons besides growth. For example: for gay marriage, for closing gitmo, for pulling out sooner from Afghanistan, etc. These aren't small issues. They are reasons people vote the way they do. They have nothing to do with growth. Also, just because you've run a successful investment firm or company, doesn't mean you understand well the government's role in creating or hindering growth. I consider those pretty different skill sets. Also, the issues that are commonly identified as problems for growth in our industry aren't being addressed by either candidate. These include immigration reform, patent reform, copyright reform, updating regulations around privacy and health records, etc. Also, those that are already rich have a smaller marginal utility for money, and don't personally care as much about taxes. As an illustrative example, for me personally, a lower cap gains rate directly translates to more angel investing. The common mistaken opposition to low cap gains is that tax rates don't motivate people. The real reason to support low rates is how the increased return would be re-invested. This yields yet another idea no one is proposing: lowering income taxes to match cap gains rates (as opposed to the more common reverse to close the gap). Finally, presidents don't really drive growth, so the entire premiss of your question is incorrect imho.