The focus may be on the 2012 presidential election right now, but Financial Planning Association President Paul Auslander wants financial advisors to think about throwing their hats in the ring for future Congressional elections.
Auslander may take his own advice and run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Florida because he says more financial voices need to be heard on the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives.
"You would not be facing fiscal cliffs and patching monetary policy on the short term rather than thinking about the long term if there were more CFPs and financial advisors in office," says the FPA president.
If financial planners were elected to Congress they could address the nation's fiscal problems knowledgeably and they could help protect the interests of those in the financial industry, says Auslander, who is chairman and CEO of American Financial Advisors Inc. in Orlando.
Auslander raised the issue at this year's FPA annual conference Experience 2012 in San Antonio. He said he will make an announcement at next year's FPA conference in Orlando about whether he will run for the Senate in Florida in 2016. Republican Senator Marco Rubio will be up for re-election that year.
"If another candidate steps up, I might work for them but if no one steps up, I will," he says.
"The public servants who are in Congress do not understand the fire they are playing with" on fiscal issues, says Auslander.
People with financial backgrounds elected to public office could provide useful knowledge on dealing with national fiscal policy and regulating the financial industry, he says.
-Karen DeMasters