In his 2025 inaugural address, President Donald Trump said his return to the White House heralded the start of a new golden age for the US, especially for the economy. He and his advisers contend his plans to slap tariffs on imports, deport some immigrants and curtail the arrival of others, cut personal and corporate taxes and slash regulations would unleash growth, reshore manufacturing, and lead to a boom in the economy’s productive capacity.The US economy may indeed be undergoing profound change, though it is unclear how much of the transformation stems from Trump’s policies and how much from the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies whose impact on jobs, prices and output remains to be seen. Gross domestic product measures the total output of goods and services in an economy, and the rate it expands year to year is often cited as a benchmark for economic success.
But there are natural constraints. At a basic level GDP represents the number of people working multiplied by the average output per worker. All things equal an aging society with a low natural population increase and a low immigration level as in the US right now can only grow so fast. Is Trump making America really great ?
