Latest news with #Republicans'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Potential 2028 presidential hopefuls steal show at Fish Fry, Dem weekend
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at Jim Clyburn's Fish Fry on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Photo by Shaun Chornobroff/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Minutes before 10 p.m. Friday, after Democratic speakers led the audience in jeers to Republicans' efforts to slash jobs and health care and encouraged people to get involved and vote, line dancing broke out. That mix of politics and fun, mostly the latter, is what makes U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's annual fish fry in the state's capital city so popular, attendees said. 'We all came out, and everybody's enjoying themselves,' said Shantell Zimmerman, 58, of Columbia. 'It brings out the community,' agreed Dionne Brown, 55, of Irmo, who's been attending the event for six years. 'Then we actually get to discuss our views and takeaways.' Hundreds of people attended the event that started in 1992, the year voters first elected Clyburn to the 6th Congressional District, as a thank you to the voters who couldn't afford the Democratic Party's high-dollar fundraisers. Over time, the 'World Famous Annual Fish Fry' — which includes free food and drinks — has become a must-attend event for Democrats seeking local, statewide and national office. This year was no different, even if Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate — said they're not running for the 2028 nomination. 'I know I'm not running,' Moore told reporters Friday. 'But the thing I'm also very clear about is that anyone who's talking about 2028 is not taking 2025 very seriously.' Moore and Walz, as well as Clyburn and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison of Columbia, emphasized the importance of focusing on what's happening now in Washington, D.C. Proposed cuts to government safety nets like Medicaid and billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to rapidly slash federal spending were among the topics the governors touched on Friday during speeches at the fish fry, as well as the Blue Palmetto Fundraising Dinner the same night. 'I taught school long enough to know it's because they're weak and they're bullies, and when you stand up to them, they fade away,' said Walz, a former high school geography teacher. While both declined that they're running for president, there's wide speculation otherwise. Their addresses at the events in South Carolina — which last year got promoted from holding the Democratic Party's first-in-the-South to first-in-the-nation presidential primary — sounded a lot like campaign speeches. Walz will also speak Saturday at the state Democratic Party's annual convention. Lucy Owens, an Anderson County delegate to the state convention, discounted the governors' refusals, saying the 2028 presidential campaign has clearly begun. 'They're all going to come through here. They're the first ones,' she said. In 2019, the fish fry drew more than 20 potential candidates hoping to appeal to South Carolina Democrats. The following year, Joe Biden won the South Carolina Democratic primary, a victory that ended up vaulting him to the presidency. South Carolina's primary was elevated for 2024 as Biden's thank you to the state. With Biden gone, the Democratic party in flux, and Harrison no longer leading the national party, South Carolina maintaining its first-in-the-nation status is in question. Clyburn's comments Friday suggest he knows it won't. He doesn't care if the state is first, just that it's early, he said. 'The most important hitter on a team is the cleanup hitter. He comes in fourth place,' Clyburn told reporters at his event. 'I'm not concerned about whether or not we're first, second, third. Please, let us be at least four,' he said. That would take South Carolina back to having the first primary in the South. In the aftermath of Trump's landslide victory and the Republican Party gaining control of both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party is in a reset. Walz and Moore, the first Black governor in Maryland's history, are among the early faces of it. Winning South Carolina, which changed the trajectory of Biden's 2020 presidential run, will be crucial for Democratic hopefuls. Owens, the Anderson County delegate, pointed to the stage where Walz and Moore spoke, saying every Democrat who wants to be president will eventually appear in that exact spot. 'They got to come through here. Not South Carolina. They got to go right there,' she said. Both governors received raucous ovations from South Carolina Democrats, drawing cheers, standing ovations and even a few laughs as they took shots at the GOP. Owens said 'they're both very great candidates,' and she's 'excited' to hear more from them over the coming years. That was the general consensus from attendees who spoke with the SC Daily Gazette. However, they were significantly more familiar with Walz because of his time on the campaign trail last year with Vice President Harris. 'I know less about Wes Moore than I do about Tim Walz, but I think he's a good speaker,' said Laura Lowery, a 69-year-old from Fountain Inn. 'I think he's done a good job in his state as well.' Moore has recently come under fire for vetoing a bill that would establish a commission to examine state and federal policies from 1877 to 1965 and come up with recommendations for reparations. South Carolina Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, asked the state party to remove Moore as the keynote speaker of Friday's Blue Palmetto Dinner. Party leaders never responded to questions about that request. But for at least some attendees, the veto perturbed them too. 'I didn't understand why he would do that,' said Tony Winbush of Anderson. But once Winbush, a 50-year-old Army veteran, heard Moore speak about his time in the Army, as well as his pardoning of 175,000 cannabis convictions, her opinion changed. 'I think when you don't know the whole story and you just listen to sound bites, which is what we do a lot, we'll make brash judgments about people, when we are really fighting the same fight,' she said.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Republicans want to add work requirements to Medicaid. Even some recipients with jobs are concerned
Without Medicaid, Joanna Parker would have a much tougher time holding down a job. The Garner, North Carolina, resident works for a local home goods store up to 20 hours a week, typically. But she also suffers from degenerative disc disease in her spine and relies on Medicaid to cover her doctor's visits, physical therapy and medication that helps her manage the pain so she can get out of bed in the morning. 'If I lose my insurance, I lose my ability to work,' said Parker, 40, who was uninsured for about a decade until North Carolina expanded Medicaid to low-income adults in December 2023. That's why Parker is so worried about the sweeping Republican tax and spending cuts package that's now making its way through Congress. The bill that narrowly passed the House last week would impose the first-ever work requirement on Medicaid enrollees like her. The Senate will put its stamp on the measure, which aims to fulfill President Donald Trump's agenda, in coming weeks. Though she's employed, Parker fears she could be stripped of her health insurance if she's not able to work enough hours every month or gets tripped up in reporting her time on the job to the state – should the work mandate become law. 'I feel it will be so easy to lose your coverage if you do the reporting the wrong way and you can't fix it,' said Parker, who has applied for full-time jobs over the past 18 months but said she hasn't received responses. The House GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' would mandate that many Medicaid expansion enrollees ages 19 to 64 work, volunteer, go to school or participate in a job training program at least 80 hours a month to obtain or maintain coverage. The requirement, which would go into effect by the end of 2026, would not apply to parents, pregnant women, medically frail individuals and those with substance-abuse disorders, among others. The provision would help achieve Republicans' longstanding goal of introducing work requirements into Medicaid. It's part of an unprecedented set of cuts the House GOP would make to the nation's safety net program. Proponents say the mandate would prompt enrollees who could – and should, in supporters' view – work to get jobs and, eventually, move off of Medicaid. Also, they argue, it would preserve the program for the most vulnerable Americans and reduce spending on the low-income adults who gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act's expansion provision, a frequent target of congressional Republicans. 'If you are an able-bodied adult and there's no expectation of you to work or train or volunteer in any way, there's going to be a large number who don't,' said Jonathan Ingram, vice president of policy and research at the Foundation for Government Accountability, which promotes work requirements in government assistance programs. But many Medicaid enrollees and their advocates fear millions of people would lose their coverage under the proposed measure, including many who already work or qualify for an exemption but would get stuck in red tape. An estimated 4.8 million Medicaid recipients would be left uninsured over 10 years because of the work mandate, according to a preliminary Congressional Budget Office analysis, though that figure could grow due to last-minute changes to the House bill that accelerated the start date of the requirement. (The Senate, which will now consider the bill, is expected to also make changes to the legislation – though any adjustments to its Medicaid provisions remain to be seen.) Many adults with Medicaid coverage have jobs, though the estimates vary. Some 38% of adult enrollees had full-time jobs in 2023, most of them for the full year, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group that looked at folks ages 19 to 64 without dependent children who did not receive disability benefits or have Medicare coverage, which insures people with disabilities. Just over 20% worked part time, up to 35 hours a week. Another 31% reported that they did not work because they were caregivers or in school or had an illness or disability, all of which might qualify them for exemptions from the work requirements under the House bill. Only 12% of the enrollees said they were not working because they couldn't find jobs, had retired or reported another reason, according to the KFF analysis, which is based on US Census Bureau data. 'Most people are doing the things that they're expected to do in terms of qualifying activities or things that could qualify them for an exemption,' said Michael Karpman, principal research associate at the Urban Institute. 'But people have a lot of difficulty navigating the process for reporting their exemptions, or if they're not exempt, reporting their work activities.' He pointed to Arkansas, the first state to temporarily implement work requirements during Trump's first term before the effort was halted in federal court. More than 18,000 Medicaid enrollees lost their coverage over several months – even though the state automatically exempted about two-thirds of those subject to the mandate. Many beneficiaries in Arkansas did not understand the work requirements or did not realize it applied to them, a 2019 Urban Institute report found. Participants tend to move frequently so their contact information may have been outdated. Others had difficulty using the online reporting portal, especially if they did not have access to computers and internet service. 'That population has all kinds of challenges with interacting with a system like that,' said Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, a social and economic justice advocacy group. He noted that many enrollees didn't receive mailed notifications from the state or didn't realize they had to take action. What's more, the mandate was not associated with an increase in employment, though the uninsured rate did rise among low-income residents in the affected age group, said Karpman, who analyzed Census data in a recent report. That finding is in line with a previous study from Harvard University researchers, which was based on telephone surveys. Ingram, however, challenges the assertion that the effort did not spur Medicaid recipients to find work. He noted in a recent report that more than 9,000 enrollees found jobs during the time the work requirement was implemented. Some 99% of them were in the age group subject to the mandate, according to a prior foundation report that cited state data. Katrina Falkner knows what it's like to be stuck in a Medicaid paperwork morass. The Chicago resident, who cares for her elderly father and other family members with disabilities, said she was disenrolled from the program in 2023 after the state Department of Human Services lost the paperwork that she had spent days organizing. The agency told her that it reinstated her, she said. But when she went to the hospital, she found out she was still uninsured. It took several visits to multiple agency offices before the issue was resolved the following year. The department told CNN that such scenarios are 'extremely rare' and it works to 'ensure timely review and enrollment' for all applicants eligible for Medicaid. Falkner, 43, volunteers with several community organizing groups at least 20 hours a week and works every other Saturday as a Head Start ambassador for the Chicago Early Learning program. She also suffers from asthma, anemia, vertigo and other conditions, which can make it hard for her to work or volunteer at times. Being able to meet the reporting requirements concerns her, especially since her electricity and internet access are sometimes cut off. 'If I lost my Medicaid, it would cause me a whole lot of struggles,' she said, noting that the program covers her nebulizer and other health care needs. 'If they don't have the right documents, I won't be able to be in existence because I can't breathe.' Although Dana Bango of Zionville, North Carolina, has dealt with state social service agencies for years, she still 'sweats it every time.' There are many strict deadlines and hoops to jump through, so she has to remain vigilant, she said. The potential work mandate fills her with 'dread' since she's worried that she could fall through the cracks and lose her Medicaid coverage – even though she works 20 hours a week at the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association and delivers for Door Dash 10 hours a week. A cancer survivor who still needs follow up care, Bango is concerned that she may not get the help she could need from state workers to log her hours if the mandate takes effect. 'I've been uninsured before. I don't want to go back there. It's a scary thing,' she said.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Joni Ernst's ‘Well, we all are going to die,' and the GOP's flippant defenses of Trump's agenda
One of the reasons politicians don't often engage in massive overhauls of the American economy is that it's very difficult to defend a massive overhaul of the American economy. However good any given plan is, it often produces losers and – even in the best of cases – some short-term pain. And repeatedly now as President Donald Trump has launched multiple massive overhauls, prominent Republicans have learned that the hard way. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is the most recent. Appearing at a town hall on Friday, Ernst was pressed on cuts to Medicaid – the health care program for low-income Americans – in House Republicans' budget plan. One audience member shouted that 'people will die.' The usual politician thing would have been to take issue with that premise – or to, as other Republicans have strained to do, cast the Medicaid cuts as merely cutting waste and abuse. (That's not the full story, of course; the Congressional Budget Office recently projected that House Republicans' changes to Medicaid, including work requirements for some recipients, would leave 7.6 million Americans uninsured by 2034.) But Ernst decided to go in a different direction. 'Well, we all are going to die,' said Ernst, who's facing reelection in 2026. When hostile portions of the crowd balked at the response, she said: 'For heaven's sakes, folks.' The senator and her office argued Friday that Republicans are in fact trying to 'strengthen' Medicaid. A spokesman said: 'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.' Ernst in her remarks went on to accuse her critics of not wanting to 'listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable. Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect … them.' As a contrast, she cited an oft-invoked GOP claim that 1.4 million undocumented immigrants are receiving Medicaid benefits. But that's not actually what the CBO estimate says – nor does it account for the other millions of people the CBO says would lose insurance. In other words, however bad Ernst's answer was, it might just be that there's not a good answer to be given. Republicans needed to cut spending to pay for Trump's tax cuts, and it's hard to cut enough unless you cut entitlements. It's a political minefield that even some Trump allies like Steve Bannon have warned their party about. And indeed, Democrats quickly leapt to highlight Ernst as the epitome of an uncaring, Medicaid-busting Republican. But Ernst is not the first to wander into this kind of territory. Repeatedly in recent weeks, prominent Republicans who have been asked to account for the pains caused by Trump's bold plans have stumbled into similar territory. Trump himself has repeatedly talked about how the price increases created by his tariffs might mean people have to buy fewer dolls for little girls. 'You know, someone said, 'Oh, the shelves, they're going to be open,'' Trump said. 'Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.' Trump said on the campaign trail that foreign countries would pay the extra cost of the tariffs, not consumers. Conservative Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro called Trump's comments 'a tremendous commercial for Democrats' and urged Trump to avoid language that minimized the impacts of inflation. Back in March, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick addressed the administration's chaotic changes to the Social Security system by claiming that only 'fraudsters' would complain about missing a Social Security check. He pointed to his own mother-in-law. (The administration has pursued a series of sometimes halting changes to the Social Security system, including limiting claims to in-person rather than over the phone – something it later walked back – and cutting staff.) 'Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who's 94 – she wouldn't call and complain,' Lutnick said. He added: 'She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise – screaming, yelling and complaining.' It's logical to assume that Lutnick's mother-in-law wouldn't complain, given her son-in-law is a billionaire. But according to the Social Security Administration, more than 1 in 10 seniors rely on the program for at least 90% of their income. Are any of these game-changing gaffes? Not necessarily. But they are certainly fodder for Democrats to argue that Trump is pursuing a rather haphazard and callous overhaul of the American economy. It's the kind of thing Bannon warns about in cautioning Republicans against Medicaid cuts. There just aren't many good ways to defend millions of poor people being projected to lose their health insurance. And if the early evidence is any indication, it's going to result in plenty of awkward defenses in the future.
USA Today
10 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Can young Democrats threaten Nancy Pelosi and the old guard?
Can young Democrats threaten Nancy Pelosi and the old guard? Young Democrats launch primary challenges against senior incumbents in Congress, arguing that the party has an "inability to change" problem. Show Caption Hide Caption AOC sounds off after Schumer says he'll support Trump's funding bill Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn't hold back after Chuck Schumer said he would support the Republicans' stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. Fox - 32 Chicago Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she isn't fazed by a challenge from Saikat Chakrabarti. Chakrabarti is a former aide to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and to Bernie Sanders. "For a lot of Democrats, new voices represent hope," said David Niven, associate professor of politics at the University of Cincinnati. 'No matter how old you are, you still got to run on your record…if you want to dance, you got to pay the fiddler," said Connecticut Democrat Rep. John Larson, 76. WASHINGTON − Thirty-nine-year-old Saikat Chakrabarti is looking to pull off a political earthquake: Oust California Democrat Nancy Pelosi in next year's primaries. The 85-year-old former House Speaker has been in Congress since 1987, almost as long as Chakrabarti's been alive. He's part of a movement of young progressives looking to knock off their Democratic elders in blue state primaries next year, arguing the veterans aren't doing enough to take the fight to President Donald Trump. His message: "People are fed up with the old guard." More: Elon Musk's rise and fall: From Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit Pelosi's not sweating But the old guard is unimpressed. Pelosi told USA TODAY she doesn't view Chakrabarti's challenge as serious. 'Not at all. Not even slightly,' she said. Chakrabarti, a tech millionaire, is making gerontocracy − rule by the aged − a big part of his campaign. He says he's building an insurgent base through Zoom calls with voters and regular TV appearances. Amid a storm of Trump-induced crises, Chakrabarti says, "The Democratic party has an inability-to-change problem." While political scientists say it will be tough to beat seasoned pols like Pelosi, the bids expose a growing divide as Chakrabarti and others seek a more publicly assertive party. In Georgia, 33-year-old Everton Blair is running to unseat twelve-term incumbent Rep. David Scott, 79. And Jake Ravok, 37, who was eight when his former boss, California Rep. Brad Sherman, 70, was first elected to Congress in 1996, launched a primary challenge in April. It's been a bumpy uprising. Related: Too old or very wise: U.S. leaders are among the world's oldest. Is it a problem? On April 16, Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, 25, announced his support for young progressives challenging "out of touch, ineffective" incumbents, earning a rebuke from Democratic brass. 'This is probably the best opportunity for younger Democrats to run for Congress since the Watergate Babies overran the House in 1974,' said David Niven, associate professor of politics at the University of Cincinnati. "For a lot of Democrats, new voices represent hope." "Traditional voices represent defeat,' Niven said. A new generational tide Chakrabarti got his political start with Bernie Sanders in 2016 and was chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35. He launched his uphill campaign against Pelosi in February, arguing Democrats 'are not recognizing this political moment for what it is.' Progressives were furious in March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, 74, voted to advance a Trump-approved spending bill. Some progressives were appalled as Democrats joined Republicans in voting for a transgender sports ban and the Laken Riley Act, which requires officials to detain undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes. Rakov said his campaign is driven by the generational divide. 'I think not everything has to be a fight to the death, but there absolutely does need to be some fight in our leaders, and I think the voters are wanting to see that," he said. This old House There are currently 13 House members between 80 and 89, according to a January Pew Research Center survey, and 68 between 70 and 79. One Senator is older than 90, five are between 80 and 89, and 27 are between ages 70 and 79. Trump turns 79 on June 14. Joe Biden was 82 when he left office. Blair, who was chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Education in Georgia, said Democrats are missing opportunities to reach voters on Twitch, TikTok, gaming platforms and podcasts. 'I think we just keep it real. People don't necessarily want to hear the wonky principles of your policy agenda,' he said. 'They kind of want to hear that you feel the pain that they feel, and that you have a plan for it.' Running on a record Senior Democrats brushed off age concerns. Pelosi, a Bay Area powerhouse, is now serving her 20th term. She made history in 2007 as the first female House speaker − and frequently sparred with Trump during his first term. Sherman, who represents parts of Los Angeles County, typically gets at three to six primary challengers every year; some in their 30's like Rakov. 'If I'm ever beat, it's going to be somebody with a long record of active involvement in the community organizations of my district,' he said. 'But it's not going to be by somebody who just shows up in the district and says, 'I worked for Sherman back in 2017,'' he said of Rakov. Rakov said he lived in Texas, New York and Connecticut before moving to California earlier this year. But the insurgents cling to hope, recalling Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 upset over Rep. Joseph Crowley, a top House Democrat. Ocasio-Cortez, then 28, ousted Crowley by more than 10 percentage points. "Know your community. It's important to have the right message. It's important to have the right values," Ocasio-Cortez told USA TODAY when asked how young Democrats can win. Age not an issue The old guard isn't worried. 'No matter how old you are, you still got to run on your record…if you want to dance, you got to pay the fiddler," said Connecticut Democrat Rep. John Larson, 76. Larson was in the spotlight after freezing on the House floor in February due to a 'complex partial seizure' and suffering a brief pause at a press conference in April. He's been in Congress since 1999. Other elder Democracts include Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, 85, California Rep. Maxine Waters, 86 and Illinois Rep. Danny Davis, 83. Hogg announced in April that his group, Leaders We Deserve, would spend $20 million on young challengers in safe blue districts. But DNC chairman Ken Martin urged committee officers to stay neutral in primaries, giving Hogg an ultimatum: Resign from the committee or end his role in primary challenges. The DNC credentials committee later voted in favor of a May 12 resolution that recommended voiding Hogg's election as vice chair. Fighters vs folders Some have argued the biggest divide in the Democratic party isn't over age, but who's willing to pick a fight. 'It's about fighters versus folders,' said Texas Rep. Greg Casar, 35, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. 'You know, Lloyd been in Congress for 30 years. He is a fighter," Casar said of his fellow Lone Star Democrat. "Nobody accuses him of being a folder. Bernie got more energy than half the chamber combined.' People 'know we're not going to win every fight, but they need to see us taking every single fight on because Trump's rhetoric is hitting different," said Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who scored a major upset against a ten-term Democratic incumbent in 2018. 'We have to move differently. We have to match their energy. I'm not 25 and I feel that way,' Pressley, 51, said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump vs. Economists: Will GDP Growth Surge to Historic 9% Rate?
President Donald Trump disputed the Congressional Budget Office's 1.8% estimate for annual economic growth over the next decade, predicting the U.S. economy could as much as quintuple that growth rate. If GDP reached 9% economic growth, it would be the fastest expansion since 1943. Professional forecasters give this about a 0% chance of happening. The growth projections have implications for the Republicans' spending bill now being considered in the Senate. Higher growth would mean more room for tax cuts and spending, and smaller federal budget the economy on track to have its fastest growth since 1943? President Donald Trump thinks it could be, but professional forecasters say there's no made his bold economic prediction on Friday in a social media post. In it, he disputed the Congressional Budget Office's projection for the inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at an annual rate averaging 1.8% over the next decade. Trump said the economy could as much as quintuple the CBO's estimated growth rate. The CBO's growth-rate predictions are significant to Trump's public policy priorities. The CBO is tasked with providing budget and economic information to Congress so its members can make informed voting decisions. And the Republican budget bill passed by the House of Representatives needs a fast-growing economy to balance two of Trump's major fiscal priorities—cutting taxes while decreasing the deficit. The higher the economic growth, the more tax revenue the government will collect and the smaller spending deficits will be. The nonpartisan budget research group estimated the Republican bill will increase spending deficits by $3.8 trillion through 2034 if average growth is 1.8% each year. Trump said those estimates are too pessimistic and accused the research group of being biased against him."The Democrat inspired and 'controlled' Congressional Budget Office (CBO) purposefully gave us an EXTREMELY LOW level of Growth, 1.8% over 10 years," Trump posted on social media. "I predict we will do 3, 4, or even 5 times the amount they purposefully 'allotted' to us (1.8%) and, with just our minimum expected 3% Growth, we will more than offset our Tax Cuts (which will, in actuality, cost us no money!)" Five times the CBO's estimated 1.8% growth rate would be 9%. Growth at this level would be a historic economic boom. GDP has grown at an average rate of 2.5% a year since 1990, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. GDP growth has surged several times to rebound from recessions. The most dramatic example was during World War II, when the economy grew at double-digit rates: 1943 was the last year the GDP grew at a rate of 9% or more. The best year for GDP growth in recent times was 2021, when the economy grew 6.1% as it bounced back from the pandemic if any professional economists see 9% economic growth in the cards any time soon. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia surveyed professional forecasters earlier in May and found the median forecast for growth in 2025 was 1.4%, more pessimistic than the CBO projected for the year, and 2% in 2028. The forecasters gave zero probability of 9% economic growth in 2025 or any year through 2028. The GDP is headed the wrong direction in 2025 so far, shrinking at a rate of 0.2% annually in the first quarter. Read the original article on Investopedia
