Page 6 - BusinessWest March 31, 2021

The Shape of Things to
Come
Many Factors Will Decide the Course of the Recovery
With the arrival of spring, stimulus checks, and vaccinations for growing numbers of residents, continued recovery from the steep economic decline of 2020 is in the forecast. But like the weather, economic rebounds are difficult to predict. With this recovery, there is still widespread speculation as to what shape it will take — U, V, W, K, even the Nike ‘swoosh.’ Myriad factors will ultimately determine that shape, from the ongoing threat of inflation to uncertainty about when and to what extent people will gather again, to questions about just how willing Americans are going to be when it comes to spending some of the money added to their bank accounts over the 12 months that ended in January.
$By George O’Brien
4 trillion!
That’s the amount Americans added to their bank accounts
over the past 12 months or so, a savings rate perhaps never before seen in this country, which has hasn’t been known
for that trait.
It came about because of all the things
that people couldn’t spend money on, or didn’t see the need to spend on — every- thing from summer camp to vacation cruises; celebratory meals out at restau- rants to new dress clothes; Red Sox tickets to visits to their favorite museum. Granted, there was some spending going on, espe- cially when it came to things like pools, new flooring, and new deck furniture for the home — or a new home itself, be it a vaca- tion home or a bigger primary residence.
“I am pretty optimistic that people are just to
their wit’s end with being isolated; they really want to get out, do things, and buy things. They just want to live a normal life again.
But, for the most part, Americans were saving in 2020.
And now that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it seems like people will be able to spend some of the money they saved, the speculation involves just how willing they will be to go back in the water, if you will, and do some of the things they had to forgo for a year.
”
6 MARCH 31, 2021
FEATURE
BusinessWest