The Importance Of Economic Growth In The United States

The period between the American Revolution and the Civil War had great significance for the United States' economy. Although initially the economy seemed unstable at first, after the second war that America fought with England, the economy began to show considerable growth thereafter. This can be seen as the result of the cotton trade in the South and the eventual industrialisation of America, especially in the Northeast and later the West. From the invention of cotton gins to the adaptation of railways one can see how the United States used their opportunities and resources to their full advantage, transforming their economy to be able to compete among the worlds leading economical countries.

The United States economy currently faces several problems affecting people throughout the country. These problems are ultimately affecting the growth of the United States. The growth of federal debt and deficit is seen as a major problem by the people of the United States especially when many people do not see the next president doing much more to improve it. The unbalanced labor market and immigration’s possible role in that has also been a discussion for many American citizens. It is important to also address the inequality regarding income. The deep-rooted trend of the rich getting richer and everyone else declining or remaining the same has created a lot of anger throughout the country. Lastly, the housing market has a huge affect on the economy considering housing is the biggest asset and one of the biggest drivers of wealth. Federal debt and deficit, immigration and the labor market, income inequality, and housing have all had negative effects on the United States economy today, while also affecting each other.

To understand limits to economic growth you must know the meaning of economic growth. Economic growth is a sustained expansion of production possibilities measured as the increase in real GDP over a given period (Rittenberg, L. & Tregarthen, T.). The country’s inhabitants is now much larger and is living longer, which many programs such as social security and military retirement may not be prepared for. Many source of economic growth can be link to improvements in technology and increase rate of productive with less employees. Only thing that can limit production would be the lack of capital or resources.

The U.S. national debt is a serious problem. In order to become debt free, the U.S. government needs to make extreme changes to their budget; additionally, the U.S. population should also employ radical changes. Failure to rectify the National Debt will result in the destruction of American life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. A question to consider: how long can the United States keep borrowing money without providing reimbursement? Is the U.S. financing with no intent on paying back? What are the consequences of borrowing such large amounts of money? Thus far, the U.S. has borrowed trillions of dollars without “breaking the bank,” although not without cost.

Some say you have to spend a dollar to make a dollar, when it’s our government its called deficit spending. Deficit spending is the result in the government spending more during a period of time then they make back in revenue causing a debt. This type of spending is normally during an economic recession and is justified in order to give the economy a jump-start in reviving. The validation of this is to stop the economy from losing more money as individuals become unemployed resulting in lose of taxable revenue. This drastic strategy has its advantages and disadvantages for both long term and short-term economic effects. “There are those that argue that government borrowing and spending would create jobs and induce economic growth which would lead us out of the recession. Conservative economists on the other hand argue that government spending causes high interest rates which in turn curbs investment and economic growth.” (Hassan and Nassar, 2015) While it may help create more jobs, wages and programs it can also cause taxes and interest rates to rise. If a consumer cant afford the inflated economy then the new job starts to seem obsolete.

The American economy is now $19 trillion in debt as opposed to 2008, which is when the great financial crisis occurred, of $10 trillion. This debt increase can be attributed to the overindulgent use of credit and loans to make expensive purchases and later not being able to pay off the loan/ provider of the money borrowed. This in turn creates inflation, which essentially leaves investors in debt or unemployment which in turns lowers consumer spending. Now with prices at an all time high people have to rely on borrowed money to purchase products. So after people buy their said products they have to pay back the money borrowed or loaned out in full and often with interest. Here's the kicker though, people cannot pay back what they borrowed and are now in debt. This not only affects the people owing money, but also affects those who loaned it out, primarily due because they now lost money and profit. This rather small simulation can be applied to: investors,corporate figures,large scale companies,people working minimum wage jobs, and the like which helps us see how much debt the American economy is in. All the debt accumulated over the years has created a large gap in our economy which America cannot pay off.Thus leaving the American economy riddled with debt and people not being able to afford

Big and small businesses alike stagnated and declined without opportunities for new growth and investment, and individuals suffered as each lost his/her homes, savings, and livelihoods. The official US unemployment rate skyrocketed to a historic high since the 1980s and GDP decreased by almost 3%, the first time since World War II. The Obama Administration enacted expansionary fiscal policy in the form of the Stimulus Package, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), in reaction to the recession. The ARRA made it possible for the government to spend over 800 billion in infrastructure, tax cuts, and unemployment insurance, as well as other programs. The Fed lowered interest rates dramatically, and the stimulus package seemed to revive the US from what could have been a worse financial disaster than the Great Depression; however, the Obama Administration response to the Financial Crisis, although commendable, did not go far enough. Despite a steady decline in the US unemployment rate and increase in GDP, the ordinary American is still experiencing the dirty aftermath of the Great Recession. Nearly 10 years since the start of the great financial crisis, economists are still learning from the mistakes of the past and the US government must enact policies and regulations to prevent another collapse or near

Economics growth is, it the short run an increase in real GDP and in the long run an increase in the productive capacity of an economy (the maximum output that the economy can produce). GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product which is the country’s production of goods and services valued at market price in a given time period. Real GDP is when these figures are corrected for inflation using a base year (The UK uses 2003 as its base year). It can be measured in three different ways; the output measure is the value of the goods and services produced by all sectors of the economy; agriculture, manufacturing, energy, construction, the service sector and government. The

The United States today is a paradox, where corporations prosper despite the dire economic state of the rest of the country (Reich, 519-520). This paradox continues to remain true, despite any individual effort a person may make. As Robert Reich, a political economist and professor at Berkeley concludes, this is because the workforce is shifting from the manufacturing industry to service jobs and mostly, jobs that require college degrees(519-521). Presently in the U.S., one 's competitive position in the world economy is starting to depend one’s function, and in this environment, the rich prosper (Reich, 519-520). In response to this situation, many now view a college degree as a key to success, and are seeking out higher education.

The U.S has gone through a major economic struggle and is still fighting for stability. It is, also, undergoing a recession which occurs whenever gross domestic product and the total output of goods and services fall for two consecutive quarters. The 789 billion dollars stimulus package has not created many private sector jobs and the hundreds of billions in TARP money squandered by Treasury Secretary Geithner to bail out General Motors, Chrysler, Bank of America, AIG and Citigroup has not reached most business and working Americans (Peter Morici). Though the unemployment rate has decreased, it is because many Americans have stopped looking for jobs and are no longer in the unemployment rates. This, of course, does not show any improvement in the U.S economy. Most of the taxpayers’ money is being used to support illegal families with American-born babies; while, many illegal Mexicans are taking jobs from citizens who are desperately searching for jobs. With this unattended problem the country’s economical repair will be prolonged.

Consumer concern over a declining housing market, political gridlock in Washington, high energy and healthcare costs, and budget worries collectively have resulted in an economic meltdown in need of a recovery. After 9/11, central banks around the world cut interest rates so low that investors borrowed disproportionate amounts of money leading to reduced liquidity and a buildup of foreign exchange outside the United States. While at the same time, Americans overindulged in consumption without saving any money. Homeowners extracted value from their homes to subsidize mortgagees with government support coming to late. According to United States Department of Commerce (2013) with the national unemployment rate at 7.4 percent, not counting those that have stopped even looking for work, wages paid to workers were the smallest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since the 1950s. In December of 2008, a full recession hit our country and the Federal Open Market Committee answered the call

An increase amount of people have wondered with the high amount of capital costs and some uncertainties that the economy has had brought an economic setback with it been related to the modern agriculture which has made it difficult for young farmers to successfully enter the sector it making the production of quality food very difficult. The average age of U.S. farmers has risen from the age 50 in 1978 to 58 in 2012, and a diminishing fraction of U.S. principal farm operators are younger than age 35 (USDA, 2014b). This has been to some extent with some shifting demographic reflects the overall aging of the population, but it does reflect a steady decline in the rate of new farm entry and the decline number of transfers of family farm

The United States is currently experiencing a slow recovery from the recession of 2008-09. The current unemployment rate is 7.7%, which is the lowest level since December of 2008 (BLS, 2012). However, this rate is believed to higher than the rate that would occur if the economy was operating at peak efficiency, and it is also believed that there are structural issues still underpinning this performance. For example, the number of Americans who have exited the work force as the result of prolonged unemployment is believed to be higher than usual. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO, 2012) notes that long-term unemployment of greater than 26 weeks is at a much higher rate than normal, which will have adverse long-run effects on the economy, since workers with long-term unemployment often find their career paths derailed.

Economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition of economic development. There is no single definition that encompasses all the aspects of economic development. The most comprehensive definition perhaps of economic development is the one given by Todaro: ‘Development is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi – dimensional process involving reorganization and re orientation of the entire economic and social system. Development is a process of improving the quality of all human lives with three equally important aspects. These are: 1.

Economic growth refers to the rate of increase in the total production of goods and services within an economy. Economic growth increases the productivity capacity of an economy, thereby allowing more wants to be satisfied. A growing economy increases employment opportunities, stimulates business enterprise and innovation. A sustained economic growth is fundamental to any nation wishing to raise its standard of living and provide a greater well being for all. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the monetary value of all final goods and services produced over a year. It is the total value of production within the economy. The total value of production is the total value of the final goods or services less the cost of