While talking to reporters, Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow told the unemployed that they don’t need an extra $600/week.
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Kudlow said, “I think they probably needed the $600 last winter.”
When asked, “You don’t think they do now?
Kudlow answered, “No, I think you’ve gotta’. The longer you stay with that where unemployment is higher than the wages, you run the risk of a disincentive. Were we there this winter and spring? I don’t think so. At this point, I believe we should step down slowly, and keep providing liquidity and assistance, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Kudlow, who has been wrong about every major economic event for the last 20 years, said taking away expanded unemployment benefits won’t hurt the economy, because the economy is on a “self-sustaining recovery.”
Video:
NOW: Larry Kudlow says American workers don’t need an extra $600 a week. â¦@realDonaldTrumpâ© pic.twitter.com/qjlktGUSsN
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) August 19, 2020
The flaw that Kudlow and other Trump administration officials continue to overlook in their disincentive argument is that unemployed people can’t be disincentivized if there are no jobs to apply for. There are four to five applicants for each job opening right now.
Many of the unemployed have permanently lost their jobs. They can’t get another job when there are no new jobs.
The official Trump administration position is that the unemployed don’t need expanded unemployment benefits, but the economic numbers will tell a different story in the weeks and months to come.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
