Former Trump economic adviser: Odds of a global recession 'close to 100%'

Donald Trump’s former top economic adviser issued some dire warnings about the economic impact stemming from the global spread of the novel coronavirus, saying that he is almost certain the fallout will lead to a global recession and unprecedented job losses.

“I think that the odds of a global recession are close to 100% right now,” Kevin Hassett, who served as Trump’s chair of the Council of Economic Advisers until June 2019, told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on Monday.

Hassett was speaking about how social distancing measures being put into place to stop the spread of the virus will cause the American economy to plummet, with job losses possibly reaching 1 million or more.

“I think the U.S. we’re going to have a very terrible second quarter,” Hassett said on CNN. “You know we just ran the numbers … carefully over the weekend, and we think the second quarter is going to me minus 5%, and we think the jobs number in early April might me as much as minus a million or so, because … nobody’s going to get hired next week.”

Hassett went on to say that if job losses get that high, “you’re looking at the worst job numbers we’ve ever seen.”

Markets have fallen sharply as predictions of a global recession set in, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 1,500 points on Monday as of the time this article was published.

This came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday recommended that gatherings of more than 50 people should be postponed for at least eight weeks  — leading governors across the country to order businesses closed, impacting millions of workers.

Congressional Democrats are seeking to provide economic security to those workers, pushing for paid sick leave and increased access to food security programs, as well as free testing for coronavirus.

A bill that includes those measures passed the House last week, but the Senate has yet to take it up, as GOP senators are opposed to some of the provisions in the House bill.

That means economic protections won’t be passed until at least midweek, NBC’s Kasie Hunt reported.

Democrats have expressed anger and frustration that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent the Senate home over the weekend, continuing to delay passage of worker protections as the economic fallout marches on.

“Every minute, hour, & day that Fed action is delayed on Coronavirus puts lives at risk,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) tweeted on Saturday.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.