September 21, 2016 The Skanner MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE EDITION Page 5
MBE 2016
Special Business Edition
REPORT: US Government Inaction is Hampering Economic Growth
Harvard Business School attributes tepid recovery on inability of White House, Congress to reach
agreement on economic programs
By JOSH BOAK
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON — As
the U.S. economy enters
its eighth year of its re-
covery from the Great
Recession, one major fac-
tor is slowing its growth:
Government gridlock.
That inding emerges
from a report by Har-
“
in the annual report .
“We have reached the
conclusion that the pa-
ralysis in the U.S. polit-
ical system is one of the
gravest threats to our
economic competitive-
ness,” said Jan Rivkin, a
professor of business ad-
ministration and co-au-
thor of the report.
The report deines
itiveness had dropped
from 71 percent in 2011 to
42 percent in 2015.
That share then rose to
50 percent this year.
There are still many
strengths that help fuel
U.S.
competiveness,
including
established
inancial markets and
major research univer-
sities. But many of those
strengths
oten
ben-
eit
major
companies
and clusters
of
highly
skilled work-
ers without
necessarily
spreading through the
entire economy.
The report found that
few Americans have de-
veloped opinions about
policies to improve eco-
nomic growth. Fully 46
percent, according to
We have reached the conclusion
that the paralysis in the U.S. political
system is one of the gravest threats
to our economic competitiveness
vard Business School
being oicially released
last week.
The report concludes
that the tepid pace of the
recovery
increasingly
relects the inability of
President Barack Obama
and the Republican-led
Congress to reach agree-
ment on programs to bol-
ster U.S. competiveness
worldwide.
Prosperity has be-
come more concentrated
among fewer Americans,
and the nation’s compet-
itive edge is slipping as
factors that have helped
drive growth in the past
are viewed as worsening.
The U.S. political system,
tax code, health care sys-
tem, public schools, regu-
lation and infrastructure
are now all viewed as
weaknesses for the econ-
omy, according to sur-
veys of Harvard Business
School alumni, students
and the public compiled
competitiveness as be-
ing characteristic of an
economy that enables
companies to succeed
in domestic and inter-
national markets while
raising living standards
for average people.
“
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said that ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to make a decent
life for themselves and their families is the central challenge of our time. This photo was taken during a
forum on criminal justice reform in Northwest Washington, D.C. in July 2015.
Rivkin said those re-
sponses point to the com-
Prosperity has become more concentrated
among fewer Americans, and the nation’s
competitive edge is slipping
One challenge is that
while average Ameri-
cans depend on educa-
tion, roadways, public
transit and health care to
thrive, the survey found
those parts of the econo-
my to be weakening.
A greater share of Har-
vard alums say the econ-
omy is becoming less
competitive, reversing
improvements
docu-
mented in prior reports.
The proportion who ex-
pect declining compet-
the report, held no opin-
ion about infrastructure
spending, a vital need
touted by both Hillary
Clinton and Donald
Trump on the presiden-
tial campaign trail.
Majorities failed to
register any opinion
on creating a sustain-
able federal budget, ix-
ing distortions caused
by trade, rewriting the
corporate tax code or
streamlining regulations
for businesses.
plexity of the issues and
the lack of information
in the public debate.
The indings dovetail
with signs that the elec-
tion is causing many
companies to hold back
on spending.
Roughly a third of U.S.
chief inancial oicers
surveyed said their com-
panies will limit their
investment plans until
ater the election and
the new president shows
how he or she will gov-
ern, according to a poll
released last Wednesday
by Duke University.