The Most Important Thing Biden Can Learn From the Trump Economy
A “hot” economy with high deficits didn’t cause runaway inflation.
President Trump sent plenty of mixed signals on Fed policy, but that didn’t make him wrong about interest rates during his term.Credit.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Published Jan. 11, 2021Updated Jan. 18, 2021
For all the problems that President Trump’s disdain of elite expertise has caused over the last four years, his willingness to ignore economic orthodoxy in one crucial area has been vindicated, offering a lesson for the Biden years and beyond.
During Mr. Trump’s time in office, it has become clear that the United States economy can surpass what technocrats once thought were its limits: Specifically, the jobless rate can fall lower and government budget deficits can run higher than was once widely believed without setting off an inflationary spiral.