The State of the US Term Paper

"This is the first time since March 2001 that Pennsylvania's job count climbed above 5.7 million," Schmerin announced. "Our economy has added 60,000 jobs in the last year and I expect that trend will continue. Pennsylvania's economy added jobs in nine of the past 10 months."

The tables below show the current state of the U.S. economy and the Pennsylvania labor-related economy.

Table 1: United States Economy at a Glance

Footnotes:
(1) In percent, seasonally adjusted. Annual averages are available for Not Seasonally Adjusted data.
(2) Number of jobs, in thousands, seasonally adjusted
(3) For production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted
(4) All items, U.S. city average, all urban consumers, 1982-84=100, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted
(5) Finished goods, 1982=100, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted
(6) All imports, 1-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted
(7) Compensation, all civilian workers, quarterly data, 3-month percent change, seasonally adjusted
(8) Output per hour, nonfarm business, quarterly data, percent change from previous quarter at annual rate, seasonally adjusted
Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Retrieved from the Internet at: http:www.bls.goveagFnote4.

Table 2: Pennsylvania Economy at a Glance
Footnotes:
(1) Number of persons, in thousands, seasonally adjusted
(2) In percent, seasonally adjusted
(3) Number of jobs, in thousands, seasonally adjusted
Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Retrieved from the Internet at: http:www.bls.goveagFnote4.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had an impact on the current state of the U.S. economy (Sterngold, 2005). July 2005 reports put U.S. spending at $314 billion, and, at the time, the Congressional Budget Office expected additional expenses of perhaps $450 billion over the next 10 years. This makes the combined war efforts the most expensive military effort in the last 60 years.

Many critics argue that the war is not making the United States safer; rather, it is negatively impacting U.S. taxpayers by building a major debt burden, since the war is financed with deficit spending. As the government has to pay more interest on its debt, it has less for health care, education and other programs. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska believes that the costs of the war are pushing the U.S. fiscal priorities out of balance (Sterngold, 2005).

Just one year ago, in mid-2004, employment growth was faltering; oil price increases were sharply reducing consumption, and business investment growth was a shaky topic (Minehan, 2005). At that time, the economy was supported by highly accommodative monetary policy and the impact of the fiscal momentum of the 2003 tax cuts. In 2005, the monetary policy is less accommodative, and the last of the recent tax changes-the partial expensing tax credit-is a thing of the past as well. The economy is now in many ways self-sustaining, with annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the last half of 2004 better than four percent.

According to Minehan (2005):
"This is a pace above what most economists see as the economy's steady state potential and more than its average annual growth rate over the past 50 years. It seems to me that this transition occurred for three reasons: (1) consumers kept spending; (2) businesses started spending (and hiring); and (3) the remarkable growth in U.S. productivity allowed this to occur without major inflationary pressures."

In conclusion, while the economy has improved and is maintaining a steady growth rate, there are some measures that can be taken to stimulate the economy. Because increasing oil prices pose a threat to the future of our economy, the United States should take measures to making the energy resources more productive. Instead of reducing employees, companies can reduce unnecessary kilowatt hours and therms of energy (Rosenfeld, 2005). The money saved in energy goes directly to the bottom line. Companies can increase profits and improve their competitive positions within the industry by taking steps to profitably reduce resource use. This ultimately will stimulate the economy.

In addition, tax rate cuts can stimulate further economic recovery. As people's disposable income increases, they spend more money, ultimately creating jobs and income for others. If the tax rate cuts target individuals that are more likely to spend money, then a tax rate can be successful. If the tax rates successfully stimulate the economy, tax revenues may potentially increase.

These are some measures that can be taken to stimulate the economy. If these measures are successful, our chances for continuous improvement are good.
References
Index Mundi. (2005). United States Economy Profile 2005. Retrieved from the Internet at: http:www.indexmundi.comabout.html.
Rosenfeld, S. (2005). Tax Cuts Aren't the Only Way to Stimulate the Economy. TomPaine.com.
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Retrieved from the Internet at: http:www.bls.goveagFnote4.
Minehan, Cathy. (April 1, 2005). The U.S. Economy: 2005 and Beyond. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston York County Economic Development Summit.
Kohn, Donald.…