Nov. 26, 2024, 11:56 p.m.

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Focus on the US Economy during Trump's Term: The Shocks and Reshaping Trends of the Traditional Pattern

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Under the spotlight of the political stage, Trump has been re-elected as the President of the United States. However, what awaits him is by no means a smooth path. The U.S. economy, a grand and arduous subject, is like a thick and thorny answer sheet that urgently requires his analysis and response. The outcomes will not only reshape the prosperity within the United States but also stir up turbulent waves on the vast map of the global economy.

Let's first look at the vicissitudes of the macroeconomy. The growth rate of the U.S. GDP has been fluctuating like a roller coaster in the past quarters. Recent data shows that the annualized growth rate has been fluctuating within a certain range. Although it has not fallen into the quagmire of recession, the shadow of sluggish growth has always loomed large. The unemployment rate data seems to be on a seemingly calm lake at a historical low, but in fact, there are undercurrents. Taking the manufacturing industry as an example, due to the restructuring of the global industrial chain and the impact of technological changes, many jobs have been lost in some regions. For instance, in traditional steel-producing areas, a large number of workers are facing difficulties in re-employment. Although some jobs have been absorbed in the service sector, the issues of salary disparity and job stability are prominent. Many workers are struggling to make ends meet in low-paying service jobs, and the growth of household disposable income is as slow as a snail's pace. Meanwhile, although inflation, like a fierce beast, has been somewhat tamed under the Federal Reserve's forceful interest rate hikes and the year-on-year increase in the CPI has declined, the core inflation remains as tenacious as weeds rooted in the economic soil. The fluctuations in energy and food prices often disrupt the nerves of the market. Consumers hesitate in front of supermarket shelves, and enterprises are struggling to breathe under the high pressure of rising costs, with their investment and expansion plans shelved one after another.

The landscape of the industrial structure is also undergoing profound changes. Traditional manufacturing giants are teetering on the brink in the tempest of international competition. The automobile industry, once the shining pearl of American industry, is now facing fierce challenges from emerging Asian automakers, with its market share being continuously eroded. Although the wave of factory automation transformation is advancing, the huge investment required for technological updates and the shortage of talents have become stumbling blocks, making the road to the revival of traditional manufacturing full of thorns. On the other hand, emerging high-tech industries are shining like bright stars in innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley. Frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing are attracting the attention of global capital and wisdom. Taking artificial intelligence as an example, the United States is one step ahead in algorithm research and development and high-end chip manufacturing. However, the controversy over data privacy protection is raging, the regulatory framework is like a jumbled puzzle yet to be completely assembled, and the boundaries of technological ethics are on the verge of collapse in the face of the rapid development of technology. How to draw a precise course between innovation and regulation has become a difficult problem that the Trump administration must consider.

The scale of U.S. national debt is like a towering Everest of debt, having already exceeded an astonishing figure and continuing to climb. The repayment of principal and interest is constantly draining the reservoir of fiscal revenue like flowing water. The fiscal deficit is like a runaway wild horse that is difficult to rein in. The government's investment in public services such as infrastructure construction, education, and healthcare is often severely curtailed due to a lack of funds. For example, the renovation plans for some old bridges and roads have been postponed due to budget constraints, and the problem of uneven distribution of educational resources has become more prominent under the shadow of a shortage of funds. This not only restricts the release of the current economic vitality but also weakens the foundation and potential for the long-term development of the U.S. economy.

On the international trade stage, the economic and trade relations between the United States and its major global trading partners are like tightly stretched strings. In the trade game with China, after multiple rounds of consultations and frictions, although the tariff barriers have been adjusted to some extent, the balance of trade is still swaying. Issues such as restrictions on the export of high-tech products and disputes over intellectual property rights continue to cause new waves. The trade relationship with the European Union is also fraught with disputes in areas such as agricultural subsidies and competition in the aviation industry. The harmonious melody of transatlantic trade has been interrupted by discordant notes. U.S. agricultural exports have been hit by the EU's subsidy policies, and aviation giants are mired in lawsuits in the struggle for market share. How to skillfully balance between protecting domestic industries and maintaining the global trade order is a difficult challenge for the Trump administration in the international economic and trade chess game.

The financial market is like a lush yet dangerous forest. Driven by loose monetary policies and corporate share buybacks, the U.S. stock market has repeatedly hit new highs, like a seemingly flourishing tree attracting the attention of global investors. However, the excessive expansion of financial derivatives is like hidden thorns. Once market sentiment reverses or macroeconomic policies change direction, credit risk will spread rapidly like a forest fire. The painful lessons of the 2008 financial crisis still ring an alarm bell. The leverage ratio of corporate debt is high, like the sword of Damocles, which may puncture the bubble of economic prosperity at any time, triggering systemic financial turmoil and then hitting the foundation of the real economy, causing enterprises to face a financing winter, residents' wealth to shrink significantly, and the consumption market to fall into a freeze.

The Trump administration is like a navigator who must steer accurately in this economic ocean full of challenges and uncertainties. It needs to formulate a far-reaching strategic plan and carefully orchestrate the combination of fiscal, monetary, industrial, trade, and financial policies. In the era of profound reshaping of the global economic pattern and the surging wave of technological revolution, it must blaze a new path for the giant ship of the U.S. economy to move forward steadily, develop sustainably, and take into account fairness and justice. Only in this way can it write a glorious chapter on this heavy economic answer sheet that meets the expectations of the American people and attracts the attention of the world, and re-establish the dominance and leading position of the U.S. economy on the global stage.

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