Assignment:
Topic is respond to student Abby 1
There are several factors that influence a country's economic growth. The key factors include: strong property rights, low tax rates, limited government, a stable money supply, free trade, and significant economic freedom.
The historical low in interest rates are helping to spur the housing market, and help create strong property rights. The money supply has remained fairly stable, which aids economic growth.
As we continue to pull out of the recession there are other factors that are inhibiting growth. I would assert that the main hinderance falls with large government. There are a large number of government programs, both state and federal that require funding. The funding for these programs of course comes from taxes. High tax rates are another factor that are inhibiting economic growth in the US. Increased taxes lead to less disposable income. When consumers have less disposable income, they have less economic freedom. Many of the factors for economic growth go hand in hand with one another.
The United States is a successful first world nation that has slipped in economic ranking over the years with other comparable countries. As the US economy pulls out of the recession, hopefully there will be less demand for expensive government programs. A change in politics may also help to downsize centralized government. Without a shift towards smaller government and ensuing change in taxes and economic freedom, the US economy will be hindered in growth. These types of changes will take a long time to implement so it is fair to assume that any change in economic growth will be slow paced.
Student Torrance 2 (150 words response)
There are several factors that limit the growth of the United States economy: demand, natural resources and labor (Rittenberg, 2009). Demand greatly influences growth of the economy. Without demand, an economy would be producing for nothing. In this instance they would be wasting labor, capital and natural resources.
To ensure the demand for U.S. goods stays high, the government can regulate manufacturing practices to promote quality over quantity, and promote innovative and effective production research through the use of grants and scholarships. By investing in the quality of the product and technological advances, the government would be working to promote future economic growth.
Another limiting factor is natural resources. The U.S. alone uses tons of oil to fuel our economy. It is not used only in transportation but in manufacturing processes and as a key element for some goods. Through technological advances, alternative fuel sources are being developed but most lack the efficiency of oil. Another natural resource of concern is water, especially fresh water. World supplies of clean fresh water are becoming scarcer everywhere we look. I know i have read at least 25 or 30 articles over the last few years from various economics and military strategists that the next large scale or world war will be fought over the world's supply of fresh water.
The final limiting factor is labor. If unemployment is below full employment, the economy cannot reach its potential or grow. The government could help the economy reach full employment through fiscal policy, but this has the same pros and cons as well. I am not a huge fan of expansionary polices because of the amount of time it takes them to go into effete.
They also can cause a great deal of damage once they are in effect. I think that it would be a better use of government resources to invest in the human capital aspect. While this may not increase the quality of life immediately, vocational workshops and educational scholarships will increase the quality of life eventually.
Rittenberg, L., & Tregarthen, T. (2009). Principles of Macroeconomics. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge.