WASHINGTON, D.C. – To reinvigorate America’s economic dynamism and improve the lives of all Americans, the Chamber today launched the Growth and Opportunity Imperative, calling on candidates and elected officials to support policies that would achieve at least 3% annual real economic growth over the next decade—a 50% increase over current projections. This target should serve as a litmus test for evaluating policy solutions to our nation’s most pressing challenges.
“Many Americans do not feel like the current economy is working for them. To create the future we want, and the next generation deserves, we need to get back to growth,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark. “We need our elected officials to look beyond the next election and set targeted priorities for our collective future. Economic growth is not a red issue or a blue issue. It’s a red, white, and blue imperative.”
At the very time we need faster, sustained economic growth to help solve our most pressing challenges and to create more opportunities for Americans, we face a future where growth is projected to be dramatically slower. From 1950 to 2010, the U.S. averaged a robust 3.4% annual real economic growth, even factoring in recessions. Since 2010, this has slowed to just 2.2%, with projections suggesting it could further drop to 1.8% in the coming decade.
“While economic growth may feel like a static number on a chart, it is far more than that,” said Clark. “It is a snapshot into the lives of everyday people, the value of their efforts, their ability to provide for themselves and their families, the belief that their children’s lives will be better than their own.”
U.S. Chamber calculations illustrate the stark difference between 2% and 3% growth in terms of personal advancement. At 3% growth, a child born today could see their living standard double by their early 20s, compared to their mid-30s under 2% growth.
“America can’t afford for economic growth to be an afterthought in this year’s election,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. “Instead, it should be the national priority, and today the Chamber is calling on all candidates to make it the cornerstone of their agenda.”
Leading up to the November election and beyond, the Chamber will outline a series of growth policies and engage policymakers from both parties to advance this agenda and revitalize the nation’s economy. As part of this initiative, the Chamber has identified several critical policy areas, including AI, trade, housing, immigration, and workforce, to help us achieve this goal. To grow our economy and create better opportunities for individuals and communities nationwide, the Chamber is advocating for policies that:
- Support and develop a larger, more skilled workforce.
- Encourage investment in cutting-edge technology and private-sector deployment of innovation to improve productivity.
- Embrace the economy of the future while giving the private sector the certainty to plan, invest, and grow.
