[ad_1]
With the November election getting closer, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, bets all his political capital on the reopening of the economy which registers its highest unemployment rate since 1930 and, at the same time, He accepted the risk that this decision would provoke a second wave of infections.
The economic officials of the Trump government this Sunday paraded through the large television channels with the same message: There are protocols to minimize the risk of returning to work and it is necessary to do it as soon as possible to alleviate the ravages of the economic slowdown.
The threat of “permanent economic damage”
In the conservative chain Fox, the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, acknowledged that reviving the economy could pose a threat to the health of Americans, but considered that there will be “no considerable risk” if done carefully.
“I think there is considerable risk if we don’t reopen. We are talking about permanent economic damage to the American people. We are going to resume the activity in a reasoned way, which will allow a safe return to work, “he argued.
The White House left the process of reopening the country to the governors and other local authorities, although Trump on Twitter has called for “liberation” of those states with stricter measures of confinement such as Michigan, governed by Democrats and key to the November elections.
Currently, 35 of the 50 states in the United States have already opened beaches, restaurants and hairdressers, while the rest continue betting on prudence.
Unemployment could reach 20% in May
Similar to Mnuchin, one of the White House economic advisers, Kevin Hasset, warned this Sunday that the unemployment rate could reach 20 percent in May, an abysmal rise compared to the current 14.7 percent that puts unemployment at levels not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“Looking at the arrival of petitions, it seems that we will probably approach 20 percent in the next report” for May, Hasset said on the network. CNN.
To alleviate economic damage, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) launched its entire monetary arsenal with massive injections of liquidity into financial markets, massive debt purchases and has lowered interest rates to practically 0 percent, while Congress approved several fiscal stimulus programs worth nearly $ 3 trillion.
Democrats, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, want to approve in the next few days a stimulus package with a departure of 750,000 million dollars to help states most hit by the pandemic, such as New York.
“Informal” negotiations for a new stimulus package
However, Larry Kudlow, Trump’s main economic adviser, revealed on Sunday that there are “informal” conversations with Democrats for a new stimulus package.
“They are informal conversations. We are gathering ideas to see what the next steps will be,” he told the network. ABC Kudlow, who detailed that on Friday he already had a telephone meeting with 50 Democratic and Republican legislators from the House of Representatives.
Tomorrow, Monday, Kudlow said, he will also talk about the issue with senators from both parties.
