There will not be a return to normal. The US’s century long experiment with big government has created the conditions for reduced standards of living across the US.
The cumulative effects of these interventions has now manifested itself in the form of mass inflation, a stagnant business climate, growing poverty, and widening inequality. The US was unique among nations in how it championed limited government, which meant low taxation, low regulation, and sound money.
That completely changed in the 20th century when the US government established a central bank, income taxation, public administration, and a warfare state. These moves represented a significant departure from America’s limited government origins.
As a result, Americans are paying the price for the ruling class’s embrace of big government. The growing set of regulations have added up to the point where economic life in the US has become quite precarious. Even “exceptional” countries like the US are not exempt from the laws of economics. All things considered, the 2020s and beyond could be the period in American history where American citizens witness wholesale declines in their standard of living.
And it’s not because of the evils of capitalism. It’s the product of public policy — government intervention — that has generated such dismal economic circumstances. History has repeatedly shown that societies which embrace an omnipotent state eventually face an inevitable economic collapse.