US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin has said the US economy cannot afford another shutdown even if COVID-19 cases spike again.
His comments come on the backdrop of Wall Street concerns over a second Coronavirus wave in the United States.
Speaking during an interview on CNBC, Mnuchin said;
“We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage.
“And not just economic damage, but there are other areas and we’ve talked About this: medical problems and everything else that get put on hold.
“I think it was very prudent what the president did, but I think we’ve learned a lot.”
He said further that he was prepared to ask Congress for more funds to boost the economy if needed.
“We have the Fed program, we have Main Street [lending program], which is going to be now up and running, and we’re prepared to go back to Congress for more money to support the American worker.
So we’re going to get everybody back to work. That’s my No. 1 job working with the president and we’re going to do that.”
So we’re going to get everybody back to work. That’s my No. 1 job working with the president and we’re going to do that,” he said.
Rising COVID-19 cases in Texas and California amid an effort to re-open the US economy has made investors nervous that the economy could be shut again due to rising infections.
The pessimism led to low market statistics on Thursday as Dow Jones industrial had an 800 point slide and S&P 500 had a 2.6% loss.
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United Airlines was also down by 10%, Cruise Ship operator, Carnival lost 8.8% and GAP shedding 6.6%.
House Democrats had passed a $3.3 trillion stimulus bill in May called the HEROES act. The bill is intended to prolong jobless benefits claims till the end of 2020 as well as provide relief for states whose incomes have been affected by COVID-19.
Republican Senators have however opted to wait for more reliable data before deciding on the need for further stimulus packages.