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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194

What Just Happened?

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?

The Biggest Economic Bet in U.S. History

September 24, 2026 · 5:00 am ET · Leave a Comment

“The AI build-out is on track to become the biggest economic bet in U.S. history, dwarfing the investments made to fund other huge U.S. infrastructure projects such as the railroads, the highway system and the plumbing for the internet,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Total investment in data centers and related artificial-intelligence infrastructure is projected to total $10.3 trillion from 2025 to 2032, according to new estimates by economist Stijn van Nieuwerburgh published by the Brookings Institution. That is a staggering 3.6% of gross domestic product a year, on average. Never before has the U.S. economy been so dependent on the build-out of a single industry.”

“The investment is transforming every corner of the economy, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and minting new billionaires.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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