Business
Stephen Moore: More Stimulus Unnecessary With Job And GDP Growth
FreedomWorks economist Steve Moore spoke with Fox Business yesterday. There, he reiterated his belief that the country doesn’t need another massive stimulus bill. He says jobs are coming back quickly, and the media, even the conservative Fox channel, aren’t telling the real story.
“I’ve been listening to what you’ve been reporting just in the last few minutes. And I just think it’s too negative. For example, on the unemployment benefits numbers that came out today, the big story that I look at when I look at those numbers is that a net one million people, slightly less than one million people dropped off of unemployment benefits. So yeah, more signed up, but also more people dropped off than signed up. So that’s a very positive picture. It means we’re probably going to be on the high end on the jobs report that comes out tomorrow.”
He added that when the government reports the official third-quarter GDP numbers, it’s going to be something we’ve never seen before.
“Now another one that is by far the most important: the latest forecast that just came out yesterday for the GDP for the 3rd quarter in the United States is 34-35%. That’s gigantic. We’ve never seen anything like that before in the history of the United States, any kind of number like that. This economy is moving forward at a very, very rapid pace.”
The Economy's Resilience
He says there are still industries that are struggling. However, the resiliency of the American economy means we don’t need more stimulus.
“Look, there are some industries like airlines that are hurting, some industries like restaurants that are hurting, but the spirit of the American economy is coming back much more rapidly than anybody thought, and that’s why I’m going to say I don’t believe we need another stimulus, I just don’t think it’s necessary.”
Moore also credits a decision by President Trump for the strong resurgence in the jobs numbers.
“One of the things that really turned around those numbers, the number of people collecting unemployment, was something very smart that Donald Trump did several months ago that Nancy Pelosi was 100% against, which is we dropped the unemployment benefit level, those bonus benefits from $600 to $300. And you know what happened? Funny how this happened… as soon as those benefits dropped, people went out and got the jobs. There are six million jobs open today, six million! So it’s not as if there’s no jobs out there. Sometimes people aren’t qualified for those jobs, but we’re coming back at a very rapid pace and the idea that somehow all of this government spending is going to stimulate the economy, I just don’t get it.”
Moore on State and Local Revenues
While discussions continue for the next stimulus bill, Moore argues that the amount of money that Democrats are asking for to help state and local municipalities make up their budget shortfall is actually more money than they’ve lost.
“Incidentally, I just looked at the numbers about how much state and local revenues are down this year, and they’re down by an estimated $200 billion. But Congress and the White House are talking about $250, $300, $400 billion dollars for the states and localities, that’s ridiculous, it’s way too much.”
Finally, Moore says we shouldn’t reward the states that are still shut down with taxpayer-funded bailouts. Meanwhile, other states that have reopened aren’t asking for money.
“I want to make one last point about the stupidity and unfairness of this bail out of state and local governments. The ones that are requesting the most money are the ones that are still shut down. Half of the states are open for business today. They’ve got jobs back. Look at Tennessee, look at Texas, look at Utah, look at Florida. Why hasn’t New York opened? Why hasn’t Connecticut opening? Why isn’t Massachuesettes opening? If we give them money, all we are doing is enabling them to stay shut down.”
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