2021 Economic Outlook Conference: Impact of Biden-Harris Administration

Events News

About

Membership

Government Relations

Community Advancement

Join Now

2021 Economic Outlook Conference: Impact of Biden-Harris Administration

The 2021 Economic Outlook Conference was different for many reasons – one being it was virtual and the other being that, in addition to the regional and national forecasts, we also had additional speakers to discuss hot topics.

Sara Armstrong, Vice President and Managing Director of Political Affairs and Federation Relations with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Mark Witte, Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston, joined the Chamber’s Adrian Cain for a discussion around the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration.

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Bill

Sara Armstrong said many times that the dollar amount of this Covid relief bill did offer her team hesitation, saying that the money here will take money away from other key priorities. Overall though, the U.S. Chamber supports parts of the bill, including state and local aid to allocated funds (for infrastructure reports, for example). The bill will help but she reiterated that we need to ensure it is executed in the right way.

The U.S. Chamber supported the removal of the $15 minimum wage, stating that this was an issue that needed to be discussed in a separate conversation. They are supportive of an increase, but believe the increase should take place over a period of time.

Mark Witte agreed that $1.9 trillion is a lot of money – he also doesn’t believe that those trying to increase the minimum wage to $15 understand how this will affect the U.S. economy.

Mark said that increasing the minimum wage creates winners and losers.

Winners are the ones that get a raise. Some of the losers are the people that are locked out of the job market and teenagers who are looking for seasonal work.

“Studies have shown that the income of someone at 16 years old impacts the money they will make at 26.”
Mark Witte

Mark also made a great point – $15 can only go as far as your environment allows. In rural areas, $15 can go very far, but in urban areas, not as much.

Increasing the minimum wage affects small businesses and the leisure/hospitality industry – both areas that were hit the hardest from this pandemic. The higher the cost of minimum wage, the fewer job openings that these businesses can offer, resulting in less employment opportunities for entry-level positions, seasonal jobs, etc.

Is this stimulus package necessary?

Sara believes that yes, it was necessary because some of the key components are great movements forward. For example, small businesses and small cities were not first in line for PPP loans – now it is time for them to get the help they deserve.

Trade

Both Sara and Mark agreed that not having domestic medical supplies negatively affected our country’s ability to keep up with demand. Mark believes that all of the disruptions in supply are due to the lack of redundancies – meaning instead of one organization dominating the market, we need to have a variety of suppliers for a variety of goods.

Sara also highlighted that there needs to be important conversations with China.

The challenges of the supply chain internally need to change and there is lot of growth and opportunity with China, but it will be slow.
Sara Armstrong

Immigration

From a business perspective, Sara and her team believe that, in general, we need people to fulfill the job roles available. They are supportive of immigration reform that helps businesses and helps workers.

Housing

Mark said it nicely – whether we like it or not, people are coming to Charleston and we need to have the housing for them.

“Unless we make clear commitments to housing and understanding that density and public transit are critical – we may regret it. We need to have construction and we need to have housing.”
Mark Witte

Sara also made an important point here too – we need infrastructure to support the housing in our region. (The Charleston Metro Chamber couldn’t agree more, which is why these continue to be legislative priorities for us)

This conversation was very interesting and I enjoyed hearing their educated perspectives. View the full discussion.