The long-term consequences for the US economy from Bidenomics are an open question
If there was one big lesson from the political earthquakes of 2016 for
economists and policymakers, it was that judging an economy by national
statistics alone can mean missing major risks.
The year that saw the UK approve Brexit and Donald Trump win the White House also yielded the term "left behind," putting a new focus on people and places that lost out during an era of hyper-globalization.
That lesson has spurred what's often been sold as a revolution in US economic policy during President Joe Biden's time in office. His administration embraced industrial policy and government subsidies to drive investment in strategic sectors, as well as "place-based" policies meant to help lagging communities in the name of what's been dubbed a "modern supply side economics" and "liberalism that builds."
There's no doubt that America has seen benefits. Investment in the construction of new factories has surged. The US recovery from the 2020 pandemic recession has been remarkable. Unemployment has hit historic lows and there's a promise of a glut of new manufacturing jobs ahead as those factories are built.
But when you look below the surface data, as Bloomberg just did, you also find economic cracks that go beyond the familiar inflation concerns or Wall Street gyrations pinned to variations in weekly labor data.
The year that saw the UK approve Brexit and Donald Trump win the White House also yielded the term "left behind," putting a new focus on people and places that lost out during an era of hyper-globalization.
That lesson has spurred what's often been sold as a revolution in US economic policy during President Joe Biden's time in office. His administration embraced industrial policy and government subsidies to drive investment in strategic sectors, as well as "place-based" policies meant to help lagging communities in the name of what's been dubbed a "modern supply side economics" and "liberalism that builds."
There's no doubt that America has seen benefits. Investment in the construction of new factories has surged. The US recovery from the 2020 pandemic recession has been remarkable. Unemployment has hit historic lows and there's a promise of a glut of new manufacturing jobs ahead as those factories are built.
But when you look below the surface data, as Bloomberg just did, you also find economic cracks that go beyond the familiar inflation concerns or Wall Street gyrations pinned to variations in weekly labor data.
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| The long-term consequences for the US economy from Bidenomics are an open question, but there are some cracks in swing-state economies. Photographer: Michael Reynolds/EPA |
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