Abstract
As President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade deals continue to roil markets, it seems that the only bright spot in the American economy is AI. In the first half of 2025, GDP would have been flat without data centers. Riskier lending practices in the growing private credit market also portend another financial crisis, albeit not on the same scale as 2008. Every day, an increasing number of economists and financial journalists ask the question: are we in a bubble?
Whether AI or other tech related stocks are in a bubble (they are) or not, this paper argues that the United States government ought to develop a plan for the economy and exercise some degree of authority over financial decisions. Far too much money is being invested in AI and not enough is being invested in infrastructure or American manufacturing. While Trump says he wants to bring back manufacturing jobs, tariffs and trade deals alone will not achieve this. Absent state planning and directing capital allocation, the American worker will continue to be marginalized, the American taxpayer will again be asked to bail out financial institutions after the next crash, and the ultrarich will reap massive short-term profits. Yes, we still need a planned economy, even if we do not yet agree on how it should be run.Journal eISSN: 2332-0419
Language: English
Published on: Jun 30, 2026
Published by: Pi Gamma Mu
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Brendan Moriarty, published by Pi Gamma Mu
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.