Is the United States about to fall into an economic recession? Some economists and investors are warning that a period of economic decline is looming. But President Joe Biden has said that a recession is “not inevitable.”
Administration officials backed Biden’s position, sticking to its message that the warnings of a recession underestimate the “resilience” of the American economy as it emerges from the Covid pandemic and the Russian war on Ukraine fuels price increases around the world.
National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said that not only is the recession not inevitable but that a lot of people are underestimating those strengths and the resilience of the American economy.
Deese said that the U.S. has been through multiple Covid variations, including Delta and Omicron, as well as a war in Europe. He said that through all of it, the U.S. economy has remained resilient. He said the focus now is on taking every step possible to continue this progress.
Deese’s message echoes the same sentiment of Biden, who last week acknowledged that Americans are “really, really down” after years of the Covid pandemic, a volatile economy, and now record-high prices for gas.
Also using the same language are both Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Yellen said that she expects the economy to slow, as it has been growing at a very rapid rate as the economy and labor market recovered and the country reached full employment. She said it was natural to expect to transition to steady and stable growth.
Yellen also said that inflation is “unacceptably high,” and is Biden’s top priority to bring down inflation. Bringing down inflation and maintaining a strong labor market takes skill and luck, she said, but that she believes it is possible.
It comes after the Fed took aggressive action last week to address skyrocketing prices, launching the biggest interest rate increase in nearly 30 years.
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