Are We In a Healthy Economy?

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service

Consumers in the US have faced more than two years of record level gas and grocery prices. The costs of housing – both for renters and buyers – have been unstable, with rising mortgage rates that peaked at almost 8% last fall. Small business owners have also experienced the darkest moments brought about by the pandemic.  Speakers at the EMS Briefing discussed what’s ahead for 2024, and how an unstable economy impacts its most vulnerable residents. Small business owners believe that the increase in the cost of living caused by inflation remains the biggest challenge.

Chiling Tong, President and CEO at National Asian & Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE) said that Asian Americans account for 10% of entrepreneurs in the United States, with a total of 9.9 million entrepreneurs. During the pandemic, Asian entrepreneurs encountered many challenges. They not only had to deal with the negative impact of the epidemic, but also suffered hate attacks. During the pandemic, more than 11,000 hate incidents occurred, mostly targeting small business owners.

Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate, Apartment List said sudden and rapid changes in housing supply and demand since the start of COVID-19 have caused price fluctuations. In the early days of the pandemic, many people took their homes off the for-sale market, while others decided it was a good time to buy, so you could see supply drop, demand rise, and prices immediately skyrocket. Currently, home prices are still 45% higher than before the pandemic, and homebuyers face higher mortgage rates.

Denton Cinquegrana, Chief Oil Analyst, Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) that due to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, oil prices soared in 2022 and 2023. This year, oil prices are expected to fall slightly. Denton said that the situation in the Red Sea region will delay transportation time. Oil companies need to avoid this area, and the route will become longer. Faced with more and more Americans buying electric vehicles, Denton believes that this will cause a drop in oil prices in the long term, but not in the short term.

In 2024, business owners generally believe that the biggest challenges they face are high inflation, high interest rates, rising cost of living, growth in artificial intelligence, and supply chain issues. However, 74% of small business owners are currently optimistic about the future and believe that they can embrace changes and adapt to new technologies and developments. As an important part of new voters, entrepreneurs generally hope that leaders can pay attention to and solve economic problems and help business owners get out of the pandemic predicament.