STATION EDITORIAL
Posted February 6, 2025
This is a station editorial, I’m Randal J. Miller, station president. All signs point towards a growing economy in 2025 based on the figures released by several different organizations.
The Institute for Supply Management, one of the leading organizations that track industrial output and trends, reported U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in January after 26 consecutive months of contraction. They added the Production and Employment Indexes Output was positive in January versus December showing companies are proceeding with growth plans.
The U-S Bureau of Economic Analysis reported consumer spending was up almost 44-billion dollars in January reflecting an increase in spending for services that was partly offset by a decrease in spending for goods.
Yet, there are still headwinds, the biggest being stubbornly high interest rates. But, future trends are predicting a 2-percent inflation rate for 2025 which is the Fed’s benchmark. If that 2-percent number holds as we head further into this year, it’s anticipated the Fed will provide some relief from high interest rates which will be good news for big ticket sales such as homes and vehicles.
It's a lot of information to ponder and predict what the 2025 economy will look like. But, with certainty on who will be in charge in Washington, it’ll likely give some support to the country’s economic train.
My last observation is that despite there not being any talk on beginning to pay on the country’s 36-trillion dollar debt, I’m hopeful those discussions will begin. Interest on the national debt is the single biggest expense the federal government has. Both Republicans and Democrats have contributed to this problem in their quest to get re-elected. At some point, we’ve got to have some sanity in government spending as 43-cents of every dollar they spend is BORROWED, mainly from China and Japan.
All points to ponder as head further into 2025.
That’s our opinion, we welcome yours. Our e-mail address is editorial@randyradio.com.
