Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the United States was “more likely than not” to have a recession within the next two years.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “Secretary Yellen, who has the job you once had, said this week, quote, there is nothing to suggest a recession is in the works. do you agree with that?”
Summers said, “No, I don’t.”
Bash said, “You think a recession is in the works?”
Summers said, “I think when inflation is as high as it is right now, and unemployment is as low as it is right now, it’s almost always been followed within two years by recession. I look at what’s happening in the stock and bond markets. I look at where consumer sentiment is. I think there is certainly a risk of recession in the next year. And I think given where we’ve gotten to. It’s more likely than not that we’ll have a recession within the next two years. That is something we can manage. We’ve had them for the whole history of the country. We need to be prepared and to respond quickly if and when it happens. I think the optimists were wrong a year ago in saying we’d have no inflation, and I think they’re wrong now.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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