There is a bit of mystery about why the US economy is so resilient this year and it’s increasingly clear to me that there’s one simple reason: Fiscal spending.
The CHIPS and IRA legislation loaded up spending in 2024 and 2025 and that’s driving spending alongside the AI revolution. Other countries are pulling back on spending but the US isn’t.
Citdel founder and CEO Ken Griffin is a Republican mega-donor so it’s no surprise that he’s criticizing the US government but he’s not wrong when he says the deficit at 6.4% of GDP is ‘irresponsible’.
Griffin is one of the richest people in the world and also had this to say:
- The western world needs a significant increase in productivity
- Consumers should benefit from an increase in real income due to declining inflation
- Economic growth is likely to be modest, staying below potential in the US
- Expects a more-favorable climate in the US for fixed income as inflation eases
- Economic landscape will remain challenging in the medium term
These comments are from a letter from Griffin, the first one he’s written to investors since 2017.