How Trump Can Achieve Sustained 3% GDP Growth
The incoming administration has set a relatively easy goal. Making it last is harder, requiring policy tweaks in six areas.
Donald Trump has ambitious economic goals.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The incoming Trump administration has set a goal of growing the economy by 3% per year, similar to promises made during Donald Trump’s first term in office. In a sense, it’s an easy goal to achieve quickly because we already have. Real gross domestic product has expanded by more than 2.5% on an annualized basis in eight of the past nine quarters through Sept. 30, and the average among those eight quarters has been … wait for it … 3.1%! We won’t get official numbers for the fourth quarter for a few weeks, but the latest tracking estimates are around 2.45%.
The real question is whether the US can achieve sustainable 3% growth over the long haul. That’s much harder, but the benefits of strong economic growth are enough that it’s worth indulging in the idea.