“Both Clinton and Trump would increase the debt relative to current law— though Trump would increase it by an order of magnitude more, and Clinton’s plan would slightly reduce deficits if we incorporated unspecified revenue from business tax reform,” the committee wrote.

None of this column is meant to suggest that Mrs. Clinton’s economic plan will usher in a new age of stupendous growth. It won’t. It doesn’t fully address the need for corporate tax reform, and it won’t bring many companies out from under the regulatory morass that they suffer. It won’t bring trillions of dollars back from abroad. Her plan is unlikely to pump up the economy much compared with the path that we are currently on. It is very possible some of her policy measures could even slow the economy.

And finally — again — there is the issue of trade. A centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s economic agenda is renegotiating many of the country’s trade agreements. In a new report published by his campaign, Mr. Trump’s advisers suggest he would threaten, for example, to leave the World Trade Organization to get a better deal. “Without the U.S. as a member, there would not be much purpose to the W.T.O.,” the advisers wrote.

There is no question that the country would be improved by better trade pacts, but Mr. Trump’s risky approach could start a trade war that could be disastrous for the country’s largest companies. And the uncertainty of the negotiations themselves could slow the economy and rattle our foreign neighbors; just look at the resignation of Mexico’s minister of finance for helping bring Mr. Trump there to meet-and-greet with the Mexican president. Other countries will want to avoid similar situations in which they could look like they are caving in to Mr. Trump. (By the way, for those who say, “Who cares about what happens to big businesses that outsource anyway?” think about all the money in all those 401(k) plans that is invested in them.)

The Trump economic report cites the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group representing big business, and its complaints about regulatory burdens. The suggestion is that big business will back Mr. Trump, since he plans to reduce regulation. Yet it is hardly clear the Business Roundtable supports him. The organization has not endorsed either candidate, and its chief executive, John Engler, told The New York Times over the summer: “We’re just on the opposite side of Trump on trade and immigration.”

Mr. Trump, the self-described great negotiator, may brush aside the views of the country’s leading business executives — but perhaps that is because he hasn’t been able to strike a deal with them.