Trump, Colleges and the Economy

Two indisputable facts suggest why the 2016 election potentially is enormously consequential for America’s future. First, the compounding of interest leads to enormous growth in values over time, and, related to that, even modest differences in the assumed interest rate magnify into large longer run impacts. Second, the U.S. economy from the late 17th to the late 20th centuries grew at an average rate exceeding three percent a year, but that growth has slowed to around two percent a year in the first 17 years of the 21st century. If the Trump presidency can mean a resurgence in growth rates, as stock market gains since the election suggest, it has far reaching positive economic consequences.