, Columnist
How Weaker Consumer Demand Could Help the U.S. Economy
A brief pullback in consumer spending could give the economy just the room it needs to adjust to some peculiar conditions.
The drivers of the U.S. economy.
Photographer: Allison Farrand/Bloomberg
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As concerns multiply about weak consumer demand, so have projections for a reduction in U.S. economic growth. But a brief pullback in consumer spending could give the U.S. economy just the room it needs to adjust.
To be clear, the root cause of the slowdown — the rise of the delta variant of Covid and an accompanying increase in hospitalizations — is indisputably tragic. Declining government support and greater demand for services relative to goods are also factors in downgraded forecasts.