US economy struggles through 2023
There was a good deal of hope among American citizens in December 2021 that a quiet and prosperous 2022 could be on the way. The Ukrainian conflict escalated when, on 24 February 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin invaded the country. The monetary expansion and fiscal stimulus carried out in the U.S. during this period further reinforced inflationary forces unleashed by elevated oil and gas prices.
As the Cold War between the U.S. and China intensifies in 2022, there will be two new flashpoints in the conflict. China became viewed by the U.S. public as an adversary out to destroy U.S. jobs and push U.S. military forces out of Asia, as inflamed by leaders from both political parties and by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aggressive actions. Biden and Congress responded by ensuring America retained its technological leadership.
Fed tightened monetary policy from near zero to 4.25 percent in December following an aggressive monetary tightening campaign. It’s damped the market, and house prices stopped escalating, but it did not immediately result in lower inflation. Most economists believe that inflation will continue to exceed 2 percent by the end of 2022, a recession will begin in 2023, and the unemployment rate will surpass 5 percent by the end of 2022. A truncated descendant of his administration’s US$2.4 trillion Plan to Build Back Better, Joe Biden’s signature accomplishment was the passage of the US$400-plus billion Inflation Reduction Act.
A decade from now, the United States, China, and everyone else will face the challenge of climate change. Because of this, and because the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, a landmark court decision guaranteeing the right to abortion, Republicans barely won the House while Democrats kept the Senate. Climate change is being fought aggressively in the United States.
