Why stronger economic growth is so important.

• Author: de Rugy, Veronique
• Position: ECONOMICS - Brief article

IF SOMEONE OFFERED you $100,000 in 18 years or $92,000 in 35 years, which would you take? It's a no-brainer, right? Those figures represent the different prospects for an American, on average, under different economic growth scenarios. The difference between 2 percent and 4 percent annual GDP growth might not seem huge, but the effects pile up over time.

Between 2016 and 2026 the U.S. economy is projected to grow at just 1.9 percent per year on average, according to the Congressional Budget Office. While this is a slight improvement over the last eight years (1.4 percent annually), it pales in comparison to the 4 percent growth the U.S. economy saw between 1950 and 1973, or even the 3.2 percent we enjoyed from 1974 through 1981--a time better known for inflation than prosperity. Yet policy makers systematically...