During his address, Holtz-Eakin, who was an economic policy adviser to Arizona Senator John McCain during his 2008 run as the Republican presidential nominee, called the platforms of the two chief presidential contenders "disappointing" when it comes to economic growth. He cited Democrat Hillary Clinton's embrace of new entitlement programs – such as paid family leave and free college tuition – as not being part of a pro-growth policy.

Meanwhile, he called Republican Donald Trump a "hot mess." While Trump's proposal to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent would be a help, he said his trade and immigration policies are "hard to charitably call pro-growth." He believes those stances would get rid of about 6 percent of the U.S. labor force and lead the country into recession.

"Neither [candidate] seems to come to grips with the fundamental problems we have," he said. Those problems are "not going to get cured by the 2016 election."

Nonetheless, he added in an upbeat note, "I'm still fundamentally optimistic about this country."

Abbott, of Cpak Technology Solutions, said he came away from Holtz-Eakin's address with a better sense of what's happening in Washington and with the economy.

"We need to hear that," he told IT Best Of Breed. "We don’t know what's real and what's not." From the media, "we really don’t get the true story."