Outright recession or sub-standard growth, stubbornly high unemployment and fiscal crises have been the topics du jour when it comes to the world's biggest economy.
But now an unlikely champion for U.S. growth under the Obama administration has emerged -- a former adviser to a Republican Party presidential candidate and Harvard history professor, Niall Ferguson, who says America could actually be heading toward a new economic "golden age."
And it has nothing to do with Washington and everything to do with energy.
Energy--fracking in particular:
"This is an absolutely huge phenomenon with massive implications for the U.S. economy, and I think most people are still a little bit slow to appreciate just how big this is," he said in Hong Kong this week.
"Conceivably it does mean a new golden age."
We might be innovative enough to afford even President Obama. For a while, anyway. The urge to spend always exceeds what taxes bring in.
I just don't know how long we can keep drawing to an inside straight with current policies dragging us down.
UPDATE: Oh, I should clarify that while I think this adminsitration is more prone to spending and regulatory solutions, I do not imply that this is new, other than the sheer scale of it now. Both parties have contributed to the growth in federal spending and control. So when I say "Washington, D.C.," I mean both parties.
