2026-05-25
8 分钟The Economist.
Hello, Alice Fullwood here, co-host of Money Talks, our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
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Yet again, America's economy has shown up the rest of the world.
For all the chaos of the past year, its GDP has chugged along merrily at 2% annual growth.
True, that is hardly a blockbuster pace.
And like everywhere else, consumers in America are grumbling about high prices.
But Uncle Sam's peers are doing much worse.
In Britain, France, Germany and Japan, economic growth ranges from roughly zero to about one percent.
America's outperformance began decades ago, but in the 2020s it has become vast, and it is likely to last.
The latest IMF forecasts show American growth besting the rest all the way to 2030 and beyond.
Perhaps that makes this an odd time to look at what America gets wrong.
But remarkably, its world-beating performance has lately come despite a handicap.
Donald Trump's erratic and harmful policies.
Our analysis suggests that what we call the MAGA tax, a toxic mix of high tariffs, zero net migration
and all-encompassing policy uncertainty, shaved around three-quarters of a percentage point off the rise in American
GDP in 2025. That holds lessons for America and other countries desperate for growth.
America was teed up for a strong year when Mr Trump took charge in early 2025. Its robust economy should