Larry Kudlow said the White House was working to determine whether it is worth shutting down the U.S. economy to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Late Sunday night, President Trump tweeted, “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
Kudlow, who is a top economic adviser to Trump, agreed with the president about the economic costs of stopping the disease. He told Fox News on Monday that the administration was considering reigniting the economy to prevent individual financial ruin, even if the virus was not fully contained.
“We can’t shut in the economy. The economic cost to individuals is just too great,” Kudlow said. “So let’s see how this thing plays out. More testing is essential. And we’re loading up with tests now. That’s going to be a big help, but the president is right. The cure can’t be worse than the disease.”
He continued: “We are going to have to make some difficult trade-offs. I’m not disposed — I don’t want to get ahead of the story. I spoke to the president about this very subject late last evening. So we’ll be looking at a number of different things. Let’s give it another week.”
Stephen Moore, an economist who has advised Trump and columnist for the Washington Examiner magazine, made a similar argument on Sunday.
“This can’t last for more than three weeks, or else the damage of shutting down businesses, shutting down workers, shutting down factories, people losing money on their 401(k)s, will be so significant that the cure may be worse than the disease,” he said.
The White House is midway through its “15 days to slow the spread” plan, which includes guidance to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.