Fox Business
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Wyss: Economy in Half-Speed Recovery

Details

  • Description

    Former Standard & Poor’s Chief Economist David Wyss on the latest GDP report.

  • Duration 4:33
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Latest Video

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

-- not good news on the economy economic growth slowing even more in the second quarter at one point 5% growth that's all we've got.

Joining the company from Providence, Rhode Island is -- -- adjunct professor at brown university and former chief economist at standard imports.

David I've been saying an election year recession probably not big slowdown -- Definitely yes and you say.

I don't think it's really a slowdown it's just more of the same in this blog growth that we've been seeing the half speed recovery we've been talking about.

All right look to the future what can we expect.

And more of the same.

At least until the first quarter and and you worry within that fiscal clear if this schedule drop in income interest.

That's a possibility for a recession of congress continues to do nothing.

So you'll just your in that school that says we -- just bumbling along the bottom long 2% growth that's all we've got into the rest of this year right.

And that's what all those numbers are saying and I think that's what we're going to continue to see.

Hopefully if congress does something about the fiscal -- I think will continue to -- into next -- now let's you can mail I get just political for a second.

Do you think it will be a good idea to raise taxes on anybody.

Now or in the future with an economy -- bumbling along the bottom what do you think what -- You someday in the future it may be necessary to do that unless couldn't figure out how to do something about Medicare expending.

But to -- how does not seem like the time to do it.

If we spent more -- the woods.

Who we -- we spend -- government money another stimulus program for example and I believe that's what President Obama wants if we did that.

Would that be good would that stimulate the private sector.

Well you know depends on how you do it if you do a good job of investing the money yeah it it might help.

But boy with the size deficit we have it's hard to justify right now why all we so sluggish for so long.

And basic problem we get into this recession because we were borrowing too much money room we were living beyond our means.

Americans are trying to save more they're trying to borrow less -- banks are trying to lend them less.

If you're borrowing more borrowing less if you're saving more there's no room behind the recovery there's no way to spend money.

So this to you is just a fundamental shift in our economy -- -- not much to do with government policy -- oil -- Well it has -- with government policy to the extent the government was encouraging a lot of that stuff.

And it also has a lot to do with what's going on overseas where European governments have been living much farther beyond their means than -- -- -- -- our debt looks very normal in Europe.

European Europe you're looking at countries with over a 100% debt to GDP ratios.

A lot of people say look what we look a lot like Europe not on the debt side but just the economic growth side of things.

Which you look down the road much further than just into the early part of next you've looked down that road.

All week for the few years to come.

We're gonna look a lot like a European social democracy just in terms of growth.

Well in terms of growth yes -- the reasons are a little bit different but they've got a lot of the same problems we do they've got to collapsing housing market they had excessive consumer borrowing.

Consumer debt levels were higher in Europe than they were in the United States people don't realize that housing was even more inflated over there than here.

I'm I'm gonna make a value judgment -- -- I don't know -- don't into politics and and on I understand that but this seems like really on America.

This is not the America that I've gotten used to we used to be a vigorous dynamic you know busting out society and now Wendell would bumbling along.

-- and I think we'll continue to -- along we gotta get out of this but it's not going to be easy because the rest of the world this in the same fix hello it's not just Europe could we get out of it with tax reform now by about I mean lower tax rates for individuals and corporations found fewer deductions.

It would help.

Lowering the marginal tax rate I think moving to more consumer base taxes rather -- income based taxes.

That would help our international competitiveness and I think it would help growth in the long run.

I just don't see it happening politically OK David where it's always a pleasure you yet you -- on the academic side of the world on chip.

-- nice having summer off the well -- all hasn't always happy back there don't welcome guest on the program and thank you very much day to its.

-- -- -- --

Load More