LOS ANGELES—Consumers aren't picking up the economic slack after—what economist Todd Buchholz, former White House senior economic advisor—calls the complete collapse of the energy and commodities industries. Buchholz spoke at the opening of ALIS yesterday in Downtown Los Angeles, saying that the economy is growing slowly and has not yet found a replacement economic driver.

"When the baton drops in a relay race, it makes a terrible sound. There is a relay race in the world economy, and the baton is being jostled," he said, explaining that when the energy industry, which formerly drove the economy, collapsed, experts believed that consumers would pick up the slack with their gas savings. However, that didn't happen because consumers have a long-term economic view, and need an adjustment period to recognize an increase in income. In 2015, economists predicted massive economic growth. Now at the end of the year, GDP growth has come in at or below 1%.

When consumers are spending money, they are buying durable goods, like cars, cell phones and housing. As consumers begin to realize that the have more money to spend, however, they will takeover the baton from energy—but Buchholz said that we should only expect them to trot with it not run.