Is there a risk that a budding global recession will eventually catch up to us and push our own economy into recession?
No, because everything is great according to Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow. He doesn't see any sign of a global recession looming on the horizon.
The Trump administration wants to continue trade talks with China and is still planning to host a Chinese delegation for further talks in September, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CNBC on Tuesday. [...]
He added that the U.S. economy was still in good shape and said he saw no signs of a global recession on the horizon despite growing concerns the U.S.-China standoff is slowing manufacturing activity around the world.
“The U.S. economy is very strong. The rest of the world is not. We’re the engine that makes it go. Frankly, I see no signs,” he said, when asked about the prospect of a global recession. “The economic burden is falling vastly more on them (China) than us.”
Manufacturing activity is already in recessionary territory in some of the world's largest manufacturing industries from China, to Germany and South Korea and global growth has slowed, prompting central banks from the United States and Europe to reconsider their wait-and-see approach.
Kudlow's Mr. Magoo routine is disproven by the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates a little more than a week ago in the face of slowing growth and outside threats like Trump's trade war and the Brexit. The Fed wouldn't have cut rates, and they wouldn't be pondering future cuts, if they didn't see the signs.
We may be the "engine that makes it go" to some extent (we're not the center of the universe) but Trump is doing everything he can to diminish the purchasing power of American consumers who may actually be the only force keeping the economy afloat. Trump's tariffs are a tax on American consumers and Trump is about to raise taxes yet again.
It's times like this I am starkly reminded that the president's top economic adviser is a failed television pundit and Trump himself is a reality show host.