“Many economists … argue that it is getting actually harder because we are increasingly tied more tightly to our global economy. For example, international trade that we do as a country both in terms of our exports and our imports -- that now accounts for a third of our economy," explains Dr. Walden, a North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist. "So a third of our economy is directly tied to other countries. Also foreign investors are financing right now a third of all investments made in the U.S.

"So the tools that particularly the federal government has to influence domestic spending –- things like fiscal and monetary policy -- have less impact because so much of this domestic spending is now tied to other countries. This is one of the prices that we are paying for global trade," he concludes.