Oftentimes, the United States economy is like a riddle.
“If it’s well constructed, all the pieces are there for you to figure out what the answer is,” David Altig, chief economic adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said during a presentation in Chattanooga on Tuesday. “And most of the time in this job that I have, that’s kind of what it’s like.”
Recently, however, it’s been more like a puzzle with missing pieces.
“Those pieces missing means that we really can’t get anything like a good picture,” Altig said.
Although the outlook remains hazy, Altig told an audience of local business leaders that there are several specific unknowns that could influence the national economy, including President Donald Trump’s tariff plan, future immigration policy and inflation.