{"id":1004,"date":"2020-04-30T20:58:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T00:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coldfury.com\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2020-04-30T21:07:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T01:07:29","slug":"the-biggest-shock-since-the-great-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coldfury.com\/wp\/the-biggest-shock-since-the-great-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"“The biggest shock since the Great Depression”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey, no worries. Professional politicians and Deep State bureau-rats universally assure us it can all be turned back on again as easily as flipping a light switch. And when have those supergeniuses ever been wrong about anything<\/a>?<\/p>\n

GDP falls by 4.8 percent, bringing longest economic expansion on record to abrupt halt<\/strong>
\nGross domestic product, which measures the output of goods and services, sank by 4.8 percent in the first quarter on an annualized basis, according to an initial estimate from the Department of Commerce released Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

It’s the steepest decline since the Great Recession, which ended in 2009. Economic growth was tracking at or above 2 percent until mid-March.<\/p>\n

With most of the nation stuck at home, large swaths of the economy have shuttered,\u00a0throwing 26 million people out of work.\u00a0Consumer spending, which drives around two-thirds of economic growth, has plummeted.<\/p>\n

While Wall Street had been steeling itself for the data, the worst is yet to come. First quarter data captured economic activity up to the end of March, but the second quarter will likely include three straight months of decline.<\/p>\n

“You’re looking at something like minus 20 percent to minus 30 percent in the second quarter,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett\u00a0told CNBC on Monday, noting that the coronavirus is “the biggest shock since the Great Depression. It\u2019s a very grave shock and it\u2019s something we need to take seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Congressional Budget Office estimated second-quarter GDP would be down by as much as 40 percent, for the worst quarter since 1947.<\/p>\n

Economists say the U.S. likely entered recession \u2014 generally defined as two consecutive quarters of decline in GDP \u2014 in the second half of March, when lockdowns began.<\/p>\n

“You\u2019re going to see the economy really bounce back in July, August, September,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News earlier this week. “You\u2019re seeing trillions of dollars that\u2019s making its way into the economy and I think this is going to have a significant impact,” he said of the government’s $2 trillion dollar emergency stimulus package meant to buttress the economy.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Damage: done<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

A farmer named Shad Sullivan warned in a viral video that \u201c[America\u2019s] food supply is in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farmers are outraged that subpar imported meat continues to flow into America despite warnings to American farmers to put down their own livestock.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, the first shipment of imported beef from the country of Namibia hit the shores of the United States of America,\u201d said Sullivan.\u00a0 \u201cAnd yet this morning they are telling us to prepare to euthanize harvest-ready cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sullivan questioned, \u201cAm I the only one who sees a problem in this?\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Racist.<\/p>\n

Over 30 Million Americans Have Lost Their Jobs In The Last Six Weeks<\/a><\/strong>
\nIn the last week 3.839 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time.<\/p>\n

That brings the six-week total to 30.31 million, which is\u00a0over 12 times the prior worst five-week period in the last 50-plus years.<\/p>\n

Worse still, the final numbers will likely be worsened due to the bailout itself: as a reminder, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed on March 27, could contribute to new records being reached in coming weeks\u00a0as it increases eligibility for jobless claims to self-employed and gig workers, extends the maximum number of weeks that one can receive benefits, and provides an additional $600 per week until July 31.\u00a0A recent WSJ article noted that this has created incentives for some businesses to temporarily furlough their employees, knowing that they will be covered financially as the economy is shutdown.\u00a0Meanwhile, those making below $50k will generally be made whole and possibly be better off on unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n

As Mises’ Robert Aro noted earlier in the week, the stimulus packages being handed out across this world provide\u00a0us with an\u00a0opportunity to document the anticapitalist process as it unfolds in real time, keeping in mind that when these inflation schemes fail,\u00a0it will likely be blamed on capitalism.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Trump, of course. After all, that was one of the main points of this whole disastrous exercise.<\/p>\n

But no matter. The damage is done now; assuredly, there will be no going back to where we were from this, our New Normal. Wherever you sit, whatever you choose to believe, it all comes down to one thing.
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