Page 8 - BusinessWest March 31, 2021

and soldiers came home to the G.I. Bill. There were a lot of things that spurred the economy on, and it came back quickly after that initial slump.”
Experts are predicting something along those lines for 2021 and 2022, but there are a number of variables that could determine the ultimate shape of this recovery.
“Looking at what’s taken place after the real substantial decrease in the first half of 2020, which was historic in terms of just how fast the economy contracted, and with the third round of stimulus hitting people’s bank accounts, we
“In many ways, this recession has been the most unequal we’ve ever seen. And it has really exacerbated existing social inequalities, both in Massachusetts and nationally. People who were vulnerable to begin with are just made more vulnerable.”
seem to have avoided some of the worst-case scenarios, which would have been a U-shaped recession, where we dragged along the bottom for a long time before we took off, or a very sharp, V-shaped recovery, which also would have been bad because of worries about inflation,” said Karl
Petrik, a professor of Eco- nomics at Western New England University. “We managed to have missed both of those, and I’ve almost come to the opin- ion that we have a check- mark-like recovery.”
Elaborating, he said the country did see a recovery starting in the second half of 2020, and the second economic- stimulus package in January helped continue that momentum. The third stimulus package, coupled with pent-up demand and the ability to do things one couldn’t do in 2020 (spring break in Miami was one good example), should enable the economy to keep chugging, he went on, with the rosiest of fore- casts calling for 6.5% growth, with the least rosy being around 4%.
William Brideau believes many people are ready to get dressed up, which bodes well for his store, Jackson & Connor, which suffered through a rough 2020.
“Both of which would be very good,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the expectation is that there will be a return to the ‘trend’ growth rate, which, after the Great Recession, was about 2.5%.
“One of the worries when you’re coming out of recession is that you know you’re going to go back to your trend growth rate — that’s why it’s the trend,” he explained. “You just don’t want to go
back too soon because it just prolongs the pain in terms of the economy having the ability to recov- er; that’s what we saw after the Great Recession. We never saw the real takeoff, just a slow, steady, gradual growth rate up to 2019.”
Such fears probably fueled anxiety about going too small with recovery packages, Petrick noted, adding that he believes the $1.9 trillion bill that ultimately passed is certainly big enough.
But questions abound about how this recov-
Join now
BACK TO WORK
Social Distancing graphics and Protective guards
Emerge Stronger, safer and in compliance
Providing fully customized soluons for you, your employees and customers that meet your requirements, style preferences and budget.
• PLEXIGLASS SHIELDS / SNEEZE GUARDS / DESK PARTITIONS
• SEPARATION SCREENS & STANDING DIVIDERS • SANITIZING STATIONS
• WORKPLACE AWARENESS GRAPHICS
31 Benton Drive - East Longmeadow, MA | 413-525-2244 | www.gographix.com
8 MARCH 31, 2021
FEATURE
Staff Photo
62060 TC ,ybnarG tsaE
5331 xoB OP
SESSENISUB
REHTO
HTIW
TCENNOC
gro.rebmahClanoigeRyeldarB@nimdA
3383.356.068 ta su htiw tcennoC
.pihsrebmem
ecremmoC fo rebmahC
fo stifeneb eht yojne dna
KROWTEN
RUOY
DNETXE
BusinessWest