Former Barack Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee, who chaired the president’s Council of Economic Advisors that was formed in the wake of the Great Recession, warned that the coronavirus pandemic could create another financial crisis, CNN reported.
“Whoever is coming in there in January 2021 might be facing worse conditions than in 2009, as hard as that is to believe,” he said.
According to Goolsbee, the current American economy, which is in recovery, could decline once again if the country’s leadership doesn’t get a grip on the coronavirus pandemic. He claims that this possibility would spur the collapse of companies and small businesses, which would cause banks to take more losses.
“It could cause a financial crisis. We could be back into conditions like the 2008 financial crisis.”
Goolsbee, who is a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, pointed to his research, which shows a significant correlation between consumer behavior and fear of COVID-19. According to Goolsbee, this relationship remains robust regardless of lockdown orders, and it’s imperative for the U.S. to take America’s recent virus trajectory seriously.
“This is really playing with fire. They must get the spread of the virus under control. That’s what almost every other country has done.”
As The Inquisitr reported, Obama’s chief economist, Jason Furman, previously said that the COVID-19 economy feels worse than the 2008 recession. He noted that the 2008 crash was the result of many factors that took place over months and highlighted the immediacy of the coronavirus.
In addition, Furman said that many industries are being hit by a decline in spending in the current market conditions. Furman also expressed support for a cash stimulus to prevent economic damage from the pandemic, something the White House has provided and plans to do so again in the coming weeks.
Progressive commentator Sam Seder previously accused Donald Trump of attempting to create a culture war of the use of masks. According to Goolsbee, the politicization of the virus could lead to the U.S. being split into two economic recoveries across states who take the virus seriously and those that don’t. Regardless, he expressed hope that the country can take control of the disease before it’s too late.
“We’re not that far from getting control of the virus. I’m guardedly optimistic that it doesn’t take much effort to get back on a path where the virus is shrinking, rather than exploding.”
Trump has recently shifted his approach to COVID-19 and has encouraged Americans to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
