Elizabeth Warren issued a stark warning about the economy as she rolled out a slew of proposed regulations and trillion-dollar investments amid concerns the country faces a coming recession.
“The warning lights are flashing. Whether it’s this year or next year, the odds of another economic downturn are high. This time, though, we can head it off. Congress and regulators should act immediately,” the senator from Massachusetts and Democratic 2020 presidential candidate tweeted Monday.
The warning lights are flashing. Whether it’s this year or next year, the odds of another economic downturn are high. This time, though, we can head it off. Congress and regulators should act immediately.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 22, 2019
Warren, a driving force behind the Obama administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pointed to the level of personal and corporate debt, exacerbated by “stagnant wages and rising costs.”
“Despite Donald Trump’s promises of a manufacturing ‘renaissance,’ the country is now in a manufacturing recession. For the first time ever, the hourly wage for manufacturing workers has dropped below the national average,” she wrote. “Our country’s economic foundation is fragile, and a shock could bring it all down. Trump’s reckless behavior makes that shock more likely. Financial markets and experts agree: We face a serious risk of another recession by the end of 2021—maybe even by the end of 2020.”
Warren’s plan to stabilize the economy includes ideas she has floated before, including raising the minimum wage to $15, canceling student debt, and making housing more affordable. She similarly proposed injecting $2 trillion in American green research, manufacturing, and exporting over the next decade. She also called for the Financial Stability Oversight Council to be convened to assess the risks corporations are taking on through loans that “look a lot like pre-2008 sub-prime mortgages, and for Congress to eliminate the debt ceiling.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell highlighted weakening U.S. economic indicators to lawmakers this month during an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, increasing the odds of an interest rate cut. A rate reduction would boost markets that have suffered under Trump’s so-called trade wars with countries like China.
Warren amasses 14.6% support nationwide, according to polling averages compiled by RealClearPolitics. The figure ranks her about third in the crowded primary field jostling for the right to challenge Trump next year.
