The Biden administration is pushing back against the idea that the United States is facing a recession — contrary to the sentiments held by most leading economists in the country.
During a White House press briefing today, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the state of the economy by a reporter who pointed out that despite Joe Biden’s denials, most economic experts are warning that the US is facing an incoming recession that may not be avoidable.
“The President said last week that there’s no inevitability around a recession, but there is a greater deal of market concern about exactly that,” a reporter told Jean-Pierre. “I know that inflation is your number one concern, but can you talk a little bit about if you’re doing anything at all to prevent a recession or a rise in unemployment?”
Jean-Pierre denied that the U.S. is heading into a recession, and instead claimed the country is instead facing “stable and steady growth.”
PRESS SEC: "Right now, we don't see a recession right now. We're not in a recession right now. Right now we're in a transition where we are going to go into a place of stable and steady growth." pic.twitter.com/GhSdyUUdE4
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 21, 2022
“So, the way that we see this, and you’ve heard us talk about this, that we’re in a moment of transition,” said the White House Press Secretary. “We are in a unique situation with the historical gains with our economy.”
She said that the “unemployment rate has held steady at 3.6, which is also near historic,” and that “business investment” and “household balance sheets remain strong,” and claimed “there was an analysis that came out recently that showed middle class Americans had an additional $10,000 in savings than before the pandemic.”
The White House credited its “American Rescue Plan” for “historic gains” which will “help us deal with a recession,” but the press secretary stopped herself after using the word “recession.”
“Right now, we don’t see a recession right now. We are not in a recession right now,” she stressed. “Right now we’re in a transition where, where we will, we are going to, going to a place of stable and steady growth.” She added, “That’s, that’s going to be our focus.”
