Can a Recession Be Squelched? Never Say Never

Steve Moore, writer, economic policy expert, and former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board brings his perspective this Sunday to the Cats Roundtable, with an update on the latest September jobs report and why he doesn’t buy into recession fears.

The job report, released this Friday, indicated the national unemployment rate had declined to 3.5%. The report also stated the last time the national unemployment rate stood at 3.5 percent was in 1969.

“This just squelches all of this talk about a recession that’s been so much in the news over the last number of weeks,” Moore told Catsimatidis, calling the report a “blockbuster.”

“We have the lowest unemployment now in 50 years, the lowest inflation rate in 50 years, the lowest interest rate in 50 years, the biggest wage gains in 20 years,” Moore listed. “That’s a really, really positive picture.”

“But all you hear is negativity when it comes to a lot of the Democrats and liberal commentators on the economy,” he added.

Addressing Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech this Friday that the economy is in a “good place” and the Fed’s focus is to “keep it there as long as possible,” Moore admits he agrees with Chairman Powell but doesn’t want to oversell a good thing.

“We actually did lose a couple thousand manufacturing jobs,” Moore told the Roundtable, “but let’s not forget Trump has created 1.5 million blue-collar mining and manufacturing jobs.”

Moore clarified: “I do think there is a big slowdown in manufacturing, but consumers are consuming like crazy,” adding technology, construction, and housing are trending well.

As for the effect, a slowdown in manufacturing could have on the US economy, Moore told the Roundtable, “You can’t say one sector of the economy is going to drive the economy into a recession.” He also expressed his shared belief with president Trump that the Federal Reserve should cut its rates once more.

“Nobody can predict with any kind of certainty what’s going to happen six months, nine months, or a year from now,” Moore said, but he doesn’t “see a recession right now on the horizon.”

“I’m not going to say never,” Moore reflected, citing the future trend in the industrial sector and a new trade deal with China. “But this is a very healthy economy,” he revealed. “It’s one of the healthiest economies we’ve seen in our lifetime.”

“It makes you proud to be an American to see these numbers, John,” Moore remarked.