On U.S. Government Policy
U.S. Fiscal Stimulus: Takeaways for Investors
Timing, scale, and targets of new spending are key considerations.
Katie Deal Washington Analyst U.S. Equity Division
Transcript

The amount of fiscal stimulus passed into law by the U.S. Congress last year involved roughly USD 2.45 trillion in new spending. This came on the heels of roughly USD 2.6 trillion of COVID-19 relief spending in 2020.

There may be more to come if Democrats manage to push through some version of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan in 2022.

What are the potential economic and investment implications of this spending? Let’s go into the details.

We’ll start with the USD 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. It was signed into law by President Biden in March 2021 to help shore up the economy amid the pandemic.

This legislation provided near-term stimulus. 

It included:

  • Direct relief to households in the form of one-time stimulus checks,
  • Extended and expanded unemployment insurance, and
  • Advance payments on an expanded child care tax credit. 

Besides bolstering consumer spending, these disbursements appeared to contribute to improvements in households’ balance sheets.

We believe the roll-off of this extraordinary fiscal stimulus could have important implications for the U.S. economy, the labor market, and some corporate earnings over the course of this year and into 2023. 

Let’s move on to the USD 1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. It went into effect last November and authorizes USD 550 billion worth of new expenditures.

More than 45% of that USD 550 billion in new spending is earmarked for projects related to traditional transportation infrastructure. This includes roads and bridges, passenger and freight rail, airports, and ports and waterways.

We view these investments as a longer-term tailwind for the economy. This federal money will be deployed over the next five years, and many of these projects could take years beyond that to complete.

The bipartisan infrastructure package also earmarks USD 73 billion for upgrades to the nation’s power grid. We regard these investments as critical to growing the adoption of clean energy and electric vehicles.

In our view, investments in electricity transmission, battery-based storage, and smart technologies will prove necessary to balance electricity generation and consumption more dynamically to limit the risk of service disruptions.

These federal outlays could have important long-term implications for utilities, automakers and other industrials, as well as the energy sector.

Finally, let’s talk about the stalled Build Back Better plan.

It remains to be seen whether Democrats can muster enough support to pass a likely slimmed-down version of the ambitious bill using the reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority in the Senate.

What’s at stake for investors in the Build Back Better Act?

The potential end of monthly payments related to the expanded child care tax credit could be a modest headwind to consumer spending in 2022. An earlier draft of the Build Back Better package had proposed extending this program for another year. Whether this measure, or something similar, would make it into the final bill remains uncertain.

Other proposed line items would extend and expand tax credits for clean energy projects and electric vehicles and create new ones for emerging technologies that could advance the transition from fossil fuels. Earmarks for expanding access to health insurance via the Affordable Care Act subsidies could also be an incremental benefit for managed care companies.

Before we go, here’s a quick recap of recent and potential fiscal stimulus.

One: The roll-off of spending that provided a bridge for households and businesses during the pandemic will be most important to the 2022 economic outlook.

Two: Longer-dated investments in infrastructure could provide additional fuel for key secular growth trends in some industries and help to reshape the U.S. economy over the long term.

We will continue to monitor developments in Washington and the possible implications for investors.

The amount of fiscal stimulus passed into law by the U.S. Congress last year included roughly USD 2.45 trillion in new spending, equivalent to more than 10% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, as measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This came on the heels of about USD 2.6 trillion dollars of pandemic‑related relief spending in 2020.

There may be more to come if Democrats manage to push through some version of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan in 2022. But parsing out the potential economic and investment implications for the near term and the long term requires that we go beyond the headline numbers and delve into the details.

"...longer-dated investments in infrastructure could provide additional fuel for key secular growth trends related to the clean energy transition."

The roll‑off of spending that provided a bridge for households and businesses during the pandemic should be most important to the economic outlook over the next 12 to 24 months, given consumers’ contributions to U.S. GDP. Meanwhile, we believe that longer‑dated investments in infrastructure could provide additional fuel for key secular growth trends related to the clean energy transition.

Near‑Term Relief

President Biden signed the USD 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law in March 2021 to help shore up the economy amid the pandemic. Key components of this package included direct relief to households via one‑time stimulus checks, extended and expanded unemployment insurance, and advance payments on the bumped‑up child‑care tax credit.

Besides bolstering consumer spending, these disbursements likely contributed to improvements in households’ balance sheets. U.S. households and non-profits’ currency and transferable deposits surged over the 12 months ended September 30, 2021, reaching a record high and eclipsing USD 3.7 trillion.1 The roll‑off of this extraordinary fiscal stimulus could act as a drag on the U.S. economy and some corporate earnings this year and into 2023, in our view. At the same time, the end of direct payments could encourage some workers to return to the labor market, although progress on containing the spread of the coronavirus would also factor into these decisions.

Investments in the Power Grid Are Critical to the Clean Energy Transition

Upgrades needed to balance dynamically between electricity supply and demand

Upgrades needed to balance dynamically between electricity supply and demand

Source: T. Rowe Price. For Illustration Purposes Only.

Building for the Long Term

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021 and authorizes about USD 550 billion worth of new expenditures. About half of that spending is earmarked for projects related to traditional transportation infrastructure: roads and bridges, passenger and freight rail, airports, and ports and waterways.

This influx of federal money should pull forward the start date for much‑needed infrastructure upgrades while increasing municipalities’ capacity to fund these endeavors. We view these investments as a longer‑term tailwind for the economy. This federal money will be deployed over the next five years, but many of these projects will take longer to complete. Investors looking for companies that might benefit from a wave of infrastructure spending should bear this in mind.

"...the USD 73 billion designated for upgrades to the nation’s power grid, in our view, could be critical to greater adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles."

On the campaign trail, President Biden set the ambitious target for the U.S. electric power industry to achieve net‑zero carbon emissions by 2035. True, the bipartisan infrastructure package did not explicitly include funding for renewable energy. But the USD 73 billion designated for upgrades to the nation’s power grid, in our view, could be critical to greater adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles.

The intermittent nature of wind and solar power can make it difficult for systems to match electricity supply and demand at a given time. Solar energy poses a particular challenge because peak daytime production does not correspond with peak consumption, which typically occurs during the evening. In our view, investments in power transmission, battery‑based storage, and smart technologies will prove necessary to balance load and availability more dynamically to limit the risk of service disruptions.

These federal outlays could have important long‑term implications for utilities, automakers and other industrials, and the energy sector.

What About Build Back Better?

It remains to be seen whether Democrats can muster enough support to pass a slimmed‑down version of the stalled Build Back Better plan using the reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority in the Senate.

Several factors suggest the possibility of compromise. Democrats appear to mostly agree on the revenue‑raising measures, including higher tax rates for corporations. The approach of midterm elections could also imbue lawmakers with a sense of urgency. Depending on the outcome of these contests, this may be the Biden administration’s last chance to achieve its agenda via legislation.

Still, the bill’s fate and final shape remain uncertain at this stage. We would expect clarity to emerge as negotiations pick up over the coming months. We are also watching incoming inflation data, as elevated levels could influence lawmakers’ appetite for further federal spending.

The potential end of monthly payments related to the expanded child‑care tax credit could be a modest headwind to consumer spending in 2022. An earlier draft of the Build Back Better package had proposed extending this program for another year. Whether this measure, or something similar, would make it into the final bill remains uncertain.

Other proposed line items would extend and expand tax credits for clean energy projects and electric vehicles and create new ones for emerging technologies that could advance the transition from fossil fuels. Earmarks for expanding access to health insurance via Affordable Care Act subsidies could also be an incremental benefit for managed care companies.

1 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US), Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Checkable Deposits and Currency; Asset, Level [CDCABSHNO], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on February 24, 2022.

 

Important Information

This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investment advice or a recommendation to take any particular investment action.

The views contained herein are those of the authors as of March 2022 and are subject to change without notice; these views may differ from those of other T. Rowe Price associates.

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Information contained herein is based upon sources we consider to be reliable; we do not, however, guarantee its accuracy.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. All investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. All charts and tables are shown for illustrative purposes only.

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