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White House Council of Economic Advisers member Jared Bernstein dismissed concerns of a looming recession in 2023, claiming the numbers “are wholly inconsistent with a recessionary call in near-time.”
Fox News host Martha MacCallum pointed out on Friday’s “The Story” that notable economists and financial institutions are predicting an “inevitable” recession on the horizon.
“You said back at the end of December that recession’s not inevitable. And yet, we hear from Alan Greenspan and from J.P. Morgan that they think it is inevitable in 2023. Have you changed your mind?” she asked Bernstein.
“No. I like where I am on that over/under better than where they are,” Bernstein replied. “We’re today talking about an unemployment rate of 3.5%. That’s close to a 50-year low. We’re looking at job gains in December-to-December, the president’s second year in office, 4.5 million. That’s the second-highest year on record of job gains.”
“[T]he numbers that I’m giving you, Martha, are wholly inconsistent with a recessionary call in near-time,” he continued. “And then if you think about our 2023 agenda, implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act, that’s more investment in America and working families to come.”
“So, we like where we are, we like the momentum,” he added, claiming that although the economy is slowing, the Biden administration expects “steady, stable growth” in 2023.
The low unemployment rate and nominal “job gains” don’t make up for the fact that food and energy prices have skyrocketed due to Joe Biden’s war on domestic energy and sanctions against Russia, along with the backdrop of inflation at a 40-year high.
In response to the historic inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates from nearly zero in March to 4.5% by year’s end, with plans to continue its increase to 5.5 percent in 2023.
The majority of financial institutions and economists believe this spike in interest rates will spark a wave of mass layoffs.
And nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction, according to a poll from the Wall Street Journal.
Additionally, 80% of Americans expect 2023 to be another year of economic difficulty, citing higher taxes and an increased budget deficit, according a Gallup poll from this week.
So it seems most of the American people don’t “like where we are” financially.
But these inconvenient facts won’t stop the Biden administration from gaslighting the public about the economy.