Slowing to a Crawl

The battle between Republicans and Democrats have grown so large that both parties managed to shut down the government with sheer stubbornness.  Despite this dispute, there looms a larger problem that can effectively prevent the goals of both parties.  The current U.S. economic growth has decreased.  The U.S. enjoyed a period of great economic growth due to all of the working baby boomers.  But now,  60 years later, the boomers are starting to retire, and economic growth is starting to slump.  If this trend increases, there won’t be enough funding to realize either parties’ goals.  Fortunately, many economists say that this slump will not last, and that these economic problems will fade.  Kathy Bostjancic, a director for macroeconomic analysis at the Conference Board, states that this period is a “pause, not a trend”.  Hopefully the professionals are correct, or else these forecasts will bear bad tidings for us students.  If the current economic situation continues to decrease instead of improve, we will be entering the job market in an era where potential employers will be facing cutbacks and financial issues.