The global economy has seen its fair share of peculiarity in recent years; much attributed to the developing economies rather than the stable sovereigns of the world. However, the wave of the pandemic has toppled the conventional trend unlike ever before. Whilst the developing economies gain traction, the European economies are crumbling under the whelming pressure of the pandemic.
The US economy, however, is on its track to rebound at nothing but an accelerated pace that is optimistic as it is sinister. Forecasters have been predicting an economic boom post the pandemic for months yet the claims were rebuffed as overly quixotic. The economic boom is on cards that could contract the surging unemployment rates and could even push the economy towards a prolonged growth trajectory.
The economic recovery is evident from the jump in retail sales all over the US: levels anticipated to bloom further amidst speculations of a hefty aid package advocated by president Biden. Moreover, the FED has predicted a growth of 4.5% in the US output; the highest predicted level of GDP growth in over two decades. The optimism is matched by the leading economists, likes of Goldman Sachs putting a word in their perspective: ‘We [US] are very likely to get a very high growth rate’.
The budding confidence in the economy is majorly linked to the rollout of vaccines. Albeit slow-paced, the vaccination drives are striving hard to meet targets set by the authorities. Coupled with the shift in the government, the national focus is primarily etched in the campaigns to ensure timely inoculation before the virus strikes again.
However, the inoculation would grip over the country for most of the year 2021, keeping the natural order of the country at bay. The economy, thus, is bolstered by Federal aid packages; pouring trillions of dollars in rental packages and unemployment benefits. The resulting is a pile of surplus disposable income which awaits an opportunity to be expended. Given the mounding pressure of recession and health crisis cumulated over the yesteryear, the income would be sufficient enough to suffice under the newfound rental and mortgage reliefs purported by the federal government. Combined with free public transportation, the added monetary value could be utilized as soon as the country bounces back from lockdowns.
The surplus income could further expand if congress approves the magnanimous aid package proposed by the democrats under the plan of president Joe Biden. As vaccinations continue to immunize the population and income blooms within common households, approaching summers could prove to be a haven for the US economy to shine bright. Peak demand for hotels and transport is expected in the second and third quarter of 2021; unemployment is predicted to level down to 4.1% due to surging demand for labour in the HoReCa sector whilst simultaneously kickstarting the dormant business of airlines and smattering of other means of transit.
Even the most experienced economists, however, have pitched reservations to the envisioned rebound of the US economy. The prime facet impeding that prospect is the intermittent campaign of vaccination. The inoculation has been slower than expected and the adverse effects of the jabs have instilled a fear that threatens to further stall the efforts to vaccinate the population. With the ensue of new virus variants in California and irregular vaccination drives, the expected recovery could defer to late 2021 and even 2022. This could make the US vulnerable to the 3rd wave of Covid as per the pattern of cases observed last year.
The political standoff is another factor that could push economic prosperity into despair. The simmering tensions post the impeachment trial of Donald Trump have surfaced over the last two months. The demarcation in the senate is as clear as it has ever been over decades and even the split in the republicans has brewed post the acquittal of Trump. Both parties locking horns this early casts a confusion that stood out in the recent energy crisis in Texas; the federal and state governments bumping heads whilst the state drowned in stark darkness and bitter cold. This disparity paints a bleak picture for the United States given Mr. Trump could stir more instability with the prospect of running the election again in 2024.
The escalating oil prices also indicate a tough road for nearly the entirety of the manufacturing sector of the economy along with any lucrative opportunity to the airline industry in the forthcoming months. As the world still reels from the pandemic, the crush in the oil supply from the US has rendered the valuation at high levels; a contrast to the plummeting prices just last year. The Brent index has surged more than 28% since December 2020, pushing the prices up to as high as $66 per barrel. With the forecasts expecting Brent to further climb up the trajectory and the subsequent production crunch from Russia and OPEC members, oil prices could rise up and beyond $70 per barrel. This price surge, as a result, could convert the booming economy into hyperinflation since the US would continue to rely on imported petroleum until it regains the economic traction to be self-sufficient again. Thus, the pilling income could transition into sky-high prices post the pandemic.
Mirroring the recession of 2001, while the economy started to expand within a year, the unemployment rates remained high for the better part of the decade. Drawing parallels from that period, while the growth is projected to touch the 5.8% mark later in the fiscal year of 2021, a congruent projection could not be made on the front of economic recovery. Although high inflation has never been an issue for the US in the past, unlike the developing nations, sluggish recovery in employment, brimming tensions in the political arena, and irregular inoculation rates could widen the gap of wealth in the country. Inequity, thus, is inevitable as an opportunity cost of growth at the expense of an inflating economy. The affluent strata of the society would reap the benefits much more rapidly than the working class. Whether it would be of long-term virtue or despair: time is the deciding factor for the common citizens of America.
