July 26, 2022 6:30pm EDT
White House economic adviser says U.S. better off than countries ‘facing famine’
Brian Deese says, 'Two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of recession'
By Jessica Chasmar | Fox News
White House economic adviser Brian Deese said Tuesday that while U.S. inflation is hurting Americans in their wallets, at least they’re not facing famine like some other countries.
During the White House press briefing, the National Economic Council director argued that the U.S. is not on the brink of a recession and that the state of the economy, which hit a whopping 9.1% inflation rate in June, could be a lot worse than it is currently.
"I think that our economy is more resilient to the types of challenges that we face," Deese said. "For example, with respect to food, we're a net exporter of agricultural commodities. And obviously, the high prices are hitting Americans very hard, but in a way that is different from some places that are facing famine, for example."
"But I think if you look at the core elements of economic resilience, the United States is better positioned," he added.
Deese said that despite projections by many experts, a recession is not inevitable, and he repeated the curious claim made by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday about the "common definition" of a recession.
Yellen argued that the "common definition" for a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP, and while economists expect to see negative growth again this quarter after seeing -1.4% last quarter, she said that still wouldn’t mean the U.S. is in a recession.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-economic-adviser-says-us-better-off-countries-facing-famine
