Kevin Hassett, senior advisor to President Trump, says we’re going to see unemployment rates similar to what we saw during the Great Depression, but the White House has a plan for an economic comeback.  As Hasset notes: due to various relief programs the overall worker income is still consistent, but outputs from income are non-existent.

In this interview with CNBC Hassett estimates the current unemployment rate at 16 to 17 percent; & the likely result of the second quarter GDP around -20 to -30 percent. Hassett notes the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has several challenges as they attempt to quantify economic activity during the shut-down.  However, those are stunning numbers.

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Fox News host Chris Wallace is to Fox News as George Stephanopoulos is to ABC.  Both members of the allied uniparty system function for the same purpose.  Once you see the strings on the marionette is impossible to go back to a time when you did not see them. Wallace’s job is to manipulate his audience while giving the impression of questioning.

In today’s interview with Secretary Mnuchin the insufferable Wallace is cheering for as much economic damage as possible and questioning anyone who might dare have a more fact-based approach.  At one point Wallace even calls the CBO “independent experts”.

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The biggest of all the bigger financial issues around the economic shut-down will ultimately come down to a battle this spring/summer over a massive bailout for state governments to replace their missing revenue.  States like California, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut & New York have been struggling with financial issues for years.

“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”  ~ Rahm Emanuel

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on Fox Business to discuss more details about reopening the U.S. economy.  As Kudlow shares if we advance Main Street policies to generate economic expansion there will likely be much less need for any financial recovery package.  We cannot spend our way out of the problem.

Providing tax relief and incentives for manufacturing and business investment in the U.S. is one way to generate faster growth and recover jobs without direct spending.

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Representative Jim Jordan appears on Fox Business with Lou Dobbs to discuss Trump Removal 4.0.  As Jordan outlines there are already eight different oversight teams looking over the Wuhan Virus spending. The Clyburn committee was exclusively created to target President Trump.

Additionally, Jordan goes to the big picture and discusses the latest revelations about the DOJ and FBI; while holding cautious optimism toward Bill Barr and John Durham.

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Man, if only the House would have made Jordan the Speaker in January 2017.

::heavy sigh::

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls in to Stuart Varney to provide updates on congressional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Small Business Administration relief package.  Sec. Mnuchin covers a range of topics from Harvard to oil.

After discovering that several large companies have applied to the PPP program, Mnuchin warns them about the statements on the qualifying ‘certification’.  The SBA/PPP program is designed for small businesses without access to the capital needed to continue payroll operations.  Any big business that has access to capital could face severe penalties and/or investigation if they disregard the certification and make an SBA claim under the program.

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With the economy at a halt, and unemployment skyrocketing while various Wuhan Virus mitigation efforts are underway, President Trump has announced his intent to suspend all immigration.  We’re closed:

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As Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announces the reopening of various sectors of the state economy, perhaps a rather obvious point needs to be highlighted….

There are few high-traffic businesses more densely populated than grocery stores.  In fact, within the U.S. economy retail supermarkets have the highest foot traffic of any business sector in the entire economy; that’s just an empirical fact…. and the coronavirus impact increased that foot traffic by an average of 40 percent.  Now, stop and think about this logically & apply a large dose of common sense. Think about human-to-human interface.

♦First, with approximately 90 percent of the total U.S. population penetrating through grocery outlets; and with 100% of that massive number of consumers going through checkout lanes; if the COVID-19 viral strain was as significant as claimed by the worst-case data, then supermarket cashiers would have been the highest exposed profession of U.S. workers in the entire nation.  There wouldn’t even be a close second place.

Considering that metric; and considering the overall population penetration & density within the business operation; there has not been an employee-based business disruption due to the coronavirus.  Put another way: the coronavirus has not stopped the function of the highest human interface occupation in the entire U.S. economy.

♦Secondly, think about the businesses that are closed; perhaps think about your job that may have been shut down…. now frame your risk based on the supermarket example as highest human interface and highest population penetration in any business field.

If the #1 at risk industry has operated, essentially without disruption and with almost zero substantive mitigation, while carrying the largest population exposure rate, then all other less-exposed business operations would have significantly less operational risk.

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It’s tough to see happy warrior Kevin Hassett without a smile.  However, Hassett is a very smart straight-shooter brought back into the administration to specifically advise and assist President Trump on economic plans and strategies to exit the COVID-19 collapse.

Hassett held an impromptu press availability to discuss the current status of our economic situation and took questions about the budget shortfalls amid local and state government. Lets finish battling through the crisis so we can get quickly to the rebound.

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Comrades, senators within the United States government have proposed a terrific scheme to force taxpayers to fund their own confinement.   According to the plan $500 billion will be provided to state and local officials in an effort to offset lost revenue as a result of keeping citizens under house arrest.  Under the remarkable plan, taxpayers will now be paying for their own confinement.

Under the proposal, citizens who are not permitted to work; and who cannot leave the confinement of their homes or residence to earn a living; are now going to be compelled by the authority of the government, to pay the continued salaries of government workers.

Meanwhile, in a brilliant twist to benefit the State, as a result of their dictatorial power there is no currently functioning system of representation for any citizen to petition their unwarranted house-arrest.  You just can’t make this stuff up folks… unfortunately.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate Republican and a Democrat proposed a $500 billion rescue package for state and municipal governments on Monday, as it became increasingly clear that the next coronavirus relief bill will not include money for reeling local authorities.

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appears on CNN to discuss the ongoing congressional funding issues around the Paycheck Protection Program.  Mnuchin notes the effectiveness of the Trump/Mnuchin community banks responding to their small business customers on Main Street.  This success was specifically by design and foresight two years ago.

It is important to remember the modernized community and credit union banking system was specifically created by the Trump administration in 2017 and 2018 to be the direct conduit to main street.  It is likely the effectiveness of that agile financial system has actually stunned the institutional banks and their UniParty big club politicians.  The Big Club didn’t realize how nimble the banking system was that Trump/Mnuchin created.

In my opinion, the effectiveness of the community and credit union banking system has turned the eye of Sauron onto them.  Thus the Wall St. multinational banks are attempting to punish the White House by activating their paid footsoldiers in congress to impede it.

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Congress (both sides) are not blocking the PPP funding program (via SBA for Main Street) for the reasons most people think.  Pelosi and McConnell are both trying to help their Big Bank/Big Club, Wall Street, benefactors by punishing customers of the Main St banking system Trump/Mnuchin put into place two years ago….

It’s a much bigger battle than most understand.

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