[Trumps Economic Policy and the Corona Shock - Perspectives for the USA]

The United States is characterised by a structural populism problem that persists even without Trump as president. Its economic policy is fundamentally contradictory. The US fiscal and deficit policy under Trump was considered risky even before the corona shock, while the aggressive US trade policy is a self-inflicted wound. If we look at effective lifetime income, Germany, France and the United States are on an equal footing. This is due in part to the lag in life expectancy in the US and the much higher health care costs - relative to GDP - in the American system. A transatlantic dialogue on reform would be worthwhile after the corona shock of 2020.