Second Quarter GDP Is Terrible; The Fed Stays Put
Get the Latest News
Sign up here
The bad news is that GDP cratered in the second quarter of 2020, falling by a record 32.9% (on an annualized basis). The good news is . . . it wasn’t as bad as expected? Not much of an upside, but true: economists were expecting a 34.7% drop. Neither the Depression nor the Recession—nor, in fact, any economic slump in two centuries—caused such an extreme, sudden decline.
Meanwhile, the officers of the Federal Reserve met yesterday, and things pretty much went as expected, according to CNBC.
- The Fed stuck with its low interest rates, holding its overnight lending rate around 0%.
- It also said it would maintain bond purchases, as well as a range of lending and liquidity programs that have been part of its response to COVID-19.
- Their statement said the rate would stay where it is until officials are “confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals.”
The bottom line: While the state of growth has improved over the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic—when businesses were shut down across the country—we’re still well below the level of economic activity and employment at the beginning of the year.
Related
Manufacturers Unveil Competitiveness Agenda Ahead of Midterm Elections
“Competing to Win” offers a path for bringing the country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the midterm elections, the National Association of Manufacturers released its policy roadmap, “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint featuring immediate solutions for bolstering manufacturers’ competitiveness. It is also a roadmap for policymakers on the laws and regulations needed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in the months and years ahead.
With the country facing rising prices, snarled supply chains and geopolitical turmoil, manufacturers are outlining an actionable competitiveness agenda that Americans across the political spectrum can support. “Competing to Win” includes the policies manufacturers in America will need in place to continue driving the country forward.
“‘Competing to Win’ offers a path for bringing our country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The NAM is putting forward a plan filled with ideas that policymakers could pursue immediately, including solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more. Manufacturers have shown incredible resilience through difficult times, employing more workers now than before the pandemic, but continued resilience is not guaranteed without the policies that are critical to the state of manufacturing in America.”
The NAM and its members will leverage “Competing to Win” to shape policy debates ahead of the midterm elections, in the remainder of the 117th Congress and at the start of the 118th Congress—including in direct engagement with lawmakers, for grassroots activity, across traditional and digital media and through events in key states and districts as we did following the initial rollout of the roadmap in 2016.
The document focuses on 12 areas of action, and all policies are rooted in the values that have made America exceptional and keep manufacturing strong: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
Learn more about how manufacturers are leading and about the industry’s competitiveness agenda at nam.org/competing-to-win.
-NAM-
The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org
