The Biden-Harris administration is poised to pull off something that hasn’t been managed in this century, something that has happened only other time since 1965. They’re about to stick the elusive “soft landing” with the economy.
Whenever inflation increases, the usual instrument for bringing it down is higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve. Those higher interest rates can lead to a sharp decline in business purchases and consumer confidence. Buying drops off, the economy cools, and just like that … a recession.
Economists were predicting a recession even before there was a spike in inflation during 2022. The huge disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily sent unemployment soaring to the highest level since the Great Depression, required enormous government intervention to safeguard businesses and prevent individuals from losing everything.
It would take some amazing policies to tame unemployment, bring down inflation, and hold off recession. Managing all that while also creating a renaissance in American manufacturing, bringing tech jobs back from overseas, and shepherding the stock markets to unprecedented heights seems like more than anyone could expect.
Thank goodness the United States had President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
