The Covid Great Recession Explained–Audio Interview
August 28, 2020 by jackrasmus
In mid-August 2020 I was interviewed in depth with host, James Kunstler, on various topics related to the current Great Recession–i.e. what constitutes a bona fide fiscal stimulus, how the current contraction compares to 2008-09, 1929-30, and 1907-13 similar great recessions, how the March Cares Act hasn’t been spent by big business, nor has any real fiscal stimulus passed as yet. The three ‘tail risks’ of inadequate fiscal stimulus, political instability in the US around a contested election, and forces developing toward a potential major financial instability in 2021 as defaults and bankruptcies rise is discussed. Why delinquency rates in housing are rising as evictions also escalate.
To Listen to the hour long interview GO TO:
https://kunstler.com/podcast/kunstlercast-333-confab-with-political-economist-dr-jack-rasmus/
To Listen to the hour long interview GO TO:
https://kunstler.com/podcast/kunstlercast-333-confab-with-political-economist-dr-jack-rasmus/
I found the host annoying but I learned a lot from this interview. I didn’t know it was the FHA who initiated 30 year residential loans or refinanced existing loans. I didn’t understand the almost complete disorder of the oil industry in this country. For years, 350.org has been advocating “keeping it in the ground”, well, it looks like we are going to get what we were asking for and the US taxpayers will pay for it. Finally, I did not realize that some 40% or 40 million Americans through the WPA and other entities were directly employed by the US government out of a total of 100 million workforce. That is something worth repeating and it is the kind of fiscal stimulus that is desperately needed.