Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned Sunday of “permanent damage” to the economy without a reopening, arguing that restrictions on businesses can be lifted without a significant risk to public health from the novel coronavirus.
“If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I don’t think there’s a considerable risk,” said Mr. Mnuchin on “Fox News Sunday.” “Matter of fact, I think there’s a considerable risk of not reopening. You’re talking about what would be permanent economic damage to the American public.”
Mr. Mnuchin’s comments came in response to a warning last week from Patrick Harker, president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, who said reopening too soon could fuel a spike in cases that would prompt another round of devastating shutdowns.
“We’re going to reopen in a very thoughtful way to get people back to work safely that has them social-distanced,” Mr. Mnuchin insisted.
He said that the jobless rate would likely continue to decline before bouncing back, echoing comments made Sunday by White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who said unemployment could soar over 20% in May or June before a recovery in the second half of 2020.
The unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, a figure that does not include the seven million who have since lost jobs, meaning the actual unemployment figure could already be well over 20%.
.@stevenmnuchin1 tells Fox News Sunday there is a considerable permanent risk to the economy by not reopening the country. #FoxNewsSunday
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 10, 2020
“You are correct, the reported numbers are probably going to get worse before they get better, but that is why we are focused on rebuilding this economy,” Mr. Mnuchin told host Chris Wallace. “We’ll have a better third quarter, we’ll have a better fourth quarter, and next year is going to be a great year.”
He emphasized that the economic damage was caused by the novel coronavirus and ensuing public-health shutdowns, as opposed to the factors that drove the Great Depression.
“Unlike the Great Depression, where you had economic issues that led to this, we closed down the economy,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “So it wouldn’t be a surprise if you close down the economy that in half of the workforces half the people didn’t work. That’s why we’re very focused on rebuilding this economy and getting it where it was.”
