Elizabeth Warren’s Politically Motivated Recession Warning ‘Long on Fear, Short on Facts’

Elizabeth Warren’s Politically Motivated Recession Warning ‘Long on Fear, Short on Facts’

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s politically motivated warning of an economic recession is panned by experts.

July 23, 2019
Elizabeth Warren’s Politically Motivated Recession Warning ‘Long on Fear, Short on Facts’

Jeff Cox, CNBC: Elizabeth Warren’s Recession Scare Is Long On Fear, Shorts On Facts’​

“Specifically, the Massachusetts senator’s alarm-sounding about consumer debt neglects to measure it against the growth in the economy and the ability to pay. And she flatly states, in an essay for Medium, that “the country is now in a manufacturing recession” even though there is scant evidence of that being the case.”

Ben White, Politico:

“She also I think misrepresented some of the numbers, she’s talking about household debt being at unprecedented levels, she didn’t sort of qualify anything for inflation if you look at debt to income right now, it’s actually much lower than it was before the crisis and doesn’t look that bad. So I think there’s some exaggeration in here.”

Cristina Alesci, CNN:

“Elizabeth Warren’s plan to avert another financial crisis plays off the country’s collective PTSD over the 2008 crisis & ignores the risks of raising the national debt to pay for her proposals.” 

Sounds like Warren’s plan to avert a financial crisis might trigger a fiscal crisis. She dodges the issue of how to pay for lower rent, universal affordable childcare & tuition-free public college. Americans need answers.”

Boston Globe: ‘Elizabeth Warren’s Recession Warning Isn’t Up To Her Usual Standards’

“Her heart is in the right place, but the post, titled “The Coming Economic Crash and How to Stop It,” relies on some fear-mongering and a few debatable assertions. Good politics, perhaps, but I give the Harvard law professor’s paper a C.”

“Ironically, Warren’s campaign (and those of the other Democratic candidates) would benefit if a recession were to hit sooner rather than later.”

Rick Newman, Yahoo Finance: Elizabeth Warren’s economic doomsaying

“If you want to believe Armageddon is coming, Elizabeth Warren is your presidential candidate.”

“Should you start stockpiling canned goods and gold? Hardly. Warren’s doomsaying reflects more of a political calculation that an economic one, as Democrats look for ways to ding President Donald Trump despite low unemployment, strong profits and record stock-market highs.”

“Reality, however, is different from what Warren portrays. The New York Federal Reserve says the probability of a recession within 12 months is 33% – not low, but not “high,” as Warren claims. Morgan Stanley puts the odds of a recession at a scant 13%.”

Washington Post: Elizabeth Warren Sees an Economic Crash Ahead. Not All Economists Agree.

As a presidential candidate, it isn’t exactly good politics to cheerlead a recession. But the senator also stands to look badly misguided if the prediction goes bust.” 

“Economists don’t all share Warren’s dire outlook. JPMorgan and HSBC Asset Management economists, for example, both called recession fears exaggerated in recent reports…Others say while the soft spots that Warren identified bear monitoring, none pose a systemic risk to the economy at the moment…And the White House hopeful’s warnings omit some important context.”

Vox: Elizabeth Warren sees “serious warning signs” of an economic crash

“But it’s impossible not to notice that the ideas she lays out for staving off an economic crash are ones she has proposed or backed. In other words, the Massachusetts Democrat is, in a way, saying that the answer to preventing a downturn is to elect her.”

Tim Worstall, Washington Examiner: ‘Elizabeth Warren’s plan to save us from recession isn’t based in reality’

Tim Mullaney, Market Watch: ‘No, Sen. Warren: There’s no crashing coming’