Kudlow: Growth sustainable
WASHINGTON — White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow on
Friday said strong economic growth is sustainable and will continue.
“I don’t think this is the end of the numbers,” Kudlow said. “I was watching some TV this morning and people are saying well, you know, they got one but it is not sustainable. It is sustainable. We’ve lowered tax rates. We’ve rolled backed regulations. We’ve unleashed energy. We’re moving to fix the broken world trading system.
“My hunch is it’s going to go on for quite a while. It is not just one quarter.”
Kudlow said he recognizes there will be those who fault the growth numbers.
“I know, everybody wants to nitpick and everyone wants to do some ankle biting,” he said. “Basically, the private economy has grown better than 4 percent and virtually no inflation.” level that Trump praised on Friday. And in 2015, full-year economic growth nearly reached the 3 percent level being targeted by the Trump administration this year when it hit 2.9 percent.
Unlike in 2015, growth has accelerated this year, in part, because of the stimulus from Trump’s deficit-funded tax cuts. Trump has said he sees annual growth of 3 percent or more as sustainable. But Federal Reserve officials and outside economists don’t expect a permanent upshift. Their forecasts predict that growth will return to roughly 2 percent, which largely reflects a demographic change beyond the White House’s control.