photo: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson
+++ United States +++
President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris walk from the Oval Office of the White House to the Rose Garden to deliver remarks on the American Rescue Plan, 12th March 2021
there are real differences between rural and urban areas in the United States, they are not as stark as our friends overseas ima gine. One of the first pieces of advice I give to diplomats from Europe and elsewhere posted to Washington is to go around the United States and develop a real understanding of the country and its people, in all their diversity. As someone who is from the Midwestern United States but has lived his entire life in and around cities, I think it is important to recognise that rural areas are not monolithic, but are more diverse and vibrant – and frankly essential to the American economy – than is often recognised. I think that rather than focusing on fixing a supposed rural-urban divide, we need to instead seek to help both rural and urban areas address their local problems and promote worker mobility so that individuals can more easily move between different locations. The European: Let’s continue on the subject of the economy: the new president found a worrying situation with the pandemic stirring up numerous sectors. Does Biden see himself as a new Roosevelt, who led the US out of the 1930s economic crisis? Could the huge investment programme he launched this spring help to bring people together and give America new breath? Michael Singh: The Covid-19-induced economic recession in the United States was indeed the sharpest since the Great
Depression, but will be much shorter, thanks to the pande mic’s decline and aggressive fiscal and monetary policies by Congress, the current and previous administrations, and the Federal Reserve. Significant questions remain – how long, for example, it will take the US GDP and unemployment to return to their pre-pandemic trajectories, and whether, as well as which groups of workers will suffer long-term disadvantages. But as things stand today, the US economy appears set to rebound in 2021. The European: But in the longer run, significant internal questions face US economic policymakers... Michael Singh: Indeed. To name just a few challenges, US policy has to reflect how and whether to expand the social safety net, how to cope with the effects of climate change, and to what extent federal debt, poised to reach its highest level ever in proportion to GDP, is a problem demanding action. And we must grapple with these questions in an environment in which Americans of both parties are increasingly skeptical of trade and other forms of international economic integration. These are issues that will demand leadership from the White House. And, most importantly, they will require a revival of Congress’ ability to forge bipartisan compromise for the common good.
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