Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin provided some detail into what led President Trump to back away from his idea to quarantine the New York tri-state area to contain its surge of coronavirus cases, during an interview on Fox News Sunday morning.
âAnd in the third quarter of this year, youâre gonna see this economy bounce back with very large GDP numbers and very low unemployment back to where we were beforehand.â
Still producing suspension-of-disbelief-required type material, I see.
âWhat I do think is: we are gonna kill this virus. Weâre gonna re-open this economy,â Mnuchin said. âAnd in the third quarter of this year, youâre gonna see this economy bounce back with very large GDP numbers and very low unemployment back to where we were beforehand.â
First of all, youâre not going to âkillâ this virus. Beyond stupid. You may control it with a vaccine or treatment to acceptable levels, but this virus will remain with us.
Secondly, Iâll gladly take the bet the 3rd quarter wonât be this rosy. This will not age well.
âIt was the unanimous decision â the recommendation â of the task force to go forward with the advisory,â Mnuchin said.
âIt was the unanimous decision â the recommendation â of the task force to go forward with the advisory,â and walk back Trumpâs idiotic idea to quarantine New York. There FIFY Mnuchin.
I can tolerate all this happy talk about âgonna kill this virusâ like gleeful chirping about the impending visit from the tooth fairy. What I cannot abide is the vacant promise of an economy âroaring backâ. Economies have momentum. The prosperity American has enjoyed is the continued momentum of a decade-long recovery. The virus represents the force majeure that brought economic activity to a standstill.
For anyone new to this rhetorical gamesmanship: Any interview with an administration official is a substitute campaign rally, especially on issues of the economy. All hopes were pinned on the economy for reelection before this thing hit. Happy talk about what will be is all they have left.
The virus wonât be beaten by the fall nor will the economy recover. Thatâs basically impossible. What is possible, and hoped-for, is that by fall the worst will be over and weâll be in recovery mode. Itâll take years for the economy to truly recover. Itâs not like a car you put in storage for several months while you spend some time overseas, then start back up like nothing happened. Employees will have to be rehired and replacements trained, massive cash infusions and loans will need to be worked out and distributed, factories will have to go back online, distribution networks will have to be restarted, etc.