Trump Economy: Top Adviser Discusses 'V-Shaped' Recovery Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Monday that the U.S. economy is still on track for a rapid “V-shaped” recovery, despite coronavirus lockdown measures being reintroduced in some states.
“At the moment, the story looks very good. We’re set for a V-shaped recovery,” Kudlow told CNBC. “Might it change? Yes, it might and we’ll be looking very, very carefully at this.”
As Congress begins negotiations on another stimulus bill later this month, Kudlow said the Trump administration wants to incentivize hiring to boost the economy.
“Our main goal, hopefully, is to get people to get re-employed,” Kudlow continued. “We want to give them, perhaps, a boost, a benefit for re-employment and we want them to come back to work.”
In May, 2.5 million jobs were added as states reopened their economies. Yet, a surge in coronavirus cases in Sunbelt states such as Texas, Florida and Arizona have caused some governors to reverse reopening, threatening the nation’s economic recovery. Texas and Florida have closed down bars, while New Jersey has postponed the reopening of indoor dining as a preventative measure.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave less optimistic remarks on Monday to the House Financial Services Committee, saying “the path forward for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain.”
“Output and employment remain far below their pre-pandemic levels. The path forward for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on our success in containing the virus,” Powell said. “A full recovery is unlikely until people are confident that it is safe to reengage in a broad range of activities.”
In the first quarter of the year, the economy contracted by 4.8%. In the second quarter, the Atlanta Fed projects that GDP could drop nearly 53%.
The U.S. has the most coronavirus cases in the world. As of Monday 5:45 p.m. ET, there are 2,564,153 domestic coronavirus cases and a death toll of 125,928.
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