Uncertainty is Bad for the economy. Right now the regulatory picture is a total question mark (tariffs! Unless not.), and the slash-and-burn approach DOGE is taking to the feds is leaving everyone sitting on their hands as one of the largest individual actors in the economy commits to not spending even the money they said they were going to spend. Maybe there’s some increased certainty as the picture becomes clearer as the year goes on, maybe we get some clarity from the courts about what’s allowed and what’s not, but this administration has come in and just absolutely upended federal policy and federal spending (and single-handedly added a couple points to unemployment), so of course everyone’s sitting on their hands and holding onto their cash. I’m doing the same.
