Steven Mnuchin: We can’t shut down economy again
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that the US economy cannot be shut down again.
Mnuchin was speaking with CNBC‘s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday.
Answering a question by show host Jim Cramer, Secretary Mnuchin said, “We can’t shut down the economy, again,” according to the interview’s unofficial transcript US and Global News received from CNBC owner NBCUniversal. “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 there are other areas.”
He added, “And we’ve talked about this. Medical problems and everything else that get put on hold.”
The treasury secretary called “what the President did” “very prudent,” but added that he thinks the US has “learned a lot.”
He stated that Congress responded with the Trump administration in a novel way to put $3 trillion in the economy and mentioned that there is only about 1.6 trillion actually in the economy.
“And I also would just say, the fact that Congress, the House, the Senate responded with the administration in an unprecedented way to put $3 trillion in the economy–I heard you had Ron Johnson on this morning and he said this, we discussed this last night, actually,” Mnuchin said. “There’s only about 1.6 trillion of that money actually in the economy.”
The secretary added that more than one trillion more will be pumped into the economy over the next month.
“So, you know, over the next month, you’re going to see over another trillion dollars pumped into the economy,” he said. “That’s going to have a big impact.”
Mnuchin said that getting everybody back to work is his number one job.
“We have the Fed program, we have Main Street, which is going to be now up and running,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “And we’re prepared to go back to Congress for more money to support the American workers.”
He added, “So, we’re going to get everybody back to work. That’s, that’s my number one job, working with the President. And we’re going to do that.”
