President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say a US recession is not inevitable, dismissing the concerns of many economists who have predicted an upcoming recession. Furthermore, Biden insisted that the US “will overcome this inflation” while Yellen acknowledged that “inflation is unacceptably high.”
Biden: US recession not inevitable
President Joe Biden reiterated to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday that the US recession is not “inevitable.”
Asking Biden about a possible recession, one reporter said, “Economists are saying a recession is more likely than ever.”
The president immediately interrupted the reporter by saying: “No majority. Come on, don’t make things up.” Biden added: “Now you sound like a Republican politician. I’m kidding. That was a joke, that was a joke.”
Saying that “everyone is kidding,” the president continued:
No, I don’t think so. I was talking to Larry Summers this morning about nothing inevitable about a recession.
Biden cited conversations he had with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who told NBC Sunday: “My best guess is a recession is ahead.”
Summers explained his recession forecast: “I base this on the fact that we don’t have the kind of situation we currently have, with inflation above 4% and unemployment over 4% within a year or two without a recession. And so, I think the likelihood is that to do what is needed to stop inflation, the Fed is going to raise interest rates so much that the economy will slip into recession.
It was not the first time Biden had dismissed concerns of a US recession coming. In an interview with The Associated Press last week after the Federal Reserve announced the biggest rate hike since 1994, he said:
First, it is not inevitable. Secondly, we are in a stronger position than any other country in the world to overcome this inflation.
Yellen expects US economy to slow but claims recession not inevitable at all
Sharing Biden’s optimism about the US economy is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She told ABC News on Sunday that the recession many Americans fear is “not imminent at all.”
“I expect the economy to slow down, it is growing very rapidly as the labor market improves and we reach full employment. It is natural now that we transition towards steady and steady growth. Let’s hope,” Yellen insisted:
But I don’t think recession is inevitable at all.
Nonetheless, the Treasury secretary insisted: “Clearly, inflation is unacceptably high.”
Yellen also said in The Times Dealbook DC Policy Forum earlier this month that “there is nothing to suggest a recession.”
What do you think of President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comments about the US recession? Let us know in the comments section below.
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