美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周四指出，强劲的就业增长和低失业率应该，平息对金融衰退日益增长的担忧在宣布经济收缩后连续第二个季度-符合一个常见但非官方的衰退定义。
拜登在华盛顿召开了一次商业领袖会议，他坚称，尽管连续几个季度出现负增长，但美国经济仍然强劲，而且随着美国走出新冠肺炎疫情的深渊，去年的强劲增长之后，预计会出现一些收缩。
“我们的就业市场保持着历史上的强劲势头。自我上任以来，我们的经济创造了900多万个就业岗位，这在很大程度上要归功于这个讲台上的人们。我们的经济在第二季度创造了100多万个就业机会，与今天的国内生产总值报告涵盖的同期相同，我们的失业率为3.6%，接近历史最低水平。第二，家庭和企业，我们经济的引擎，继续向前发展。
“现在，毫无疑问，我们预计增长速度将低于去年，也低于去年的快速增长。但这与平稳、稳定的增长和较低的通胀的过渡是一致的，”他说，承认“今天华尔街和专家们会有很多关于我们是否处于衰退的谈论。”共和党人也迅速抓住了持续下滑的机会。
拜登说:“但是如果你看看我们的就业市场、消费者支出、商业投资，我们也会在第二季度看到经济进步的迹象。”。
他的辩护活动正值共和党人继续抨击他处于历史高位的通胀，他们将通胀与经济放缓联系在一起。
President Joe Biden speaks about the economy during a meeting with CEOs in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 2022.
苏珊·沃尔什/美联社
“这是乔·拜登的衰退。拜登可以撒谎并转移所有他想要的指责，但这不会减轻美国人每次加满油箱、去杂货店购物、检查退休储蓄或平衡预算时的痛苦。共和党全国委员会主席罗娜·麦克丹尼尔在一份声明中说:“拜登和民主党人应对我们不断萎缩的经济负责，他们只会让情况变得更糟。”。
政府加大了宣传力度，让公众相信美国没有进入衰退，并指出美国今年增加了270万个就业岗位，消费者支出也在持续增长尽管通货膨胀严重美联储的目标是通过加息来降温，而不会引发更广泛的经济冲击波。
拜登周四还吹捧国会正在通过的两项立法，他说这将缓解通胀压力。
在他的会议期间，众议院通过了芯片和科学法案，这将为国内芯片制造业注入资金。参议院多数党领袖、纽约州民主党人查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)和西弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)周三也宣布了一项立法协议，该协议将降低处方药成本，应对气候变化，并对企业实施15%的最低税率。
拜登说:“这两项法案都将有助于经济继续增长，降低通胀，并确保我们不会放弃去年取得的所有重大进展。”。
As US economy slows, Biden resists recession label and touts 'historically strong' job market
President Joe Biden on Thursday pointed to robust job growth and low unemployment that should, he argued,quell growing concerns of a financial downturnafter it was announced that the economy contractedfor a second consecutive quarter-- meeting a common but unofficial definition for a recession.
Biden opened a meeting of business leaders in Washington by insisting the economy was still strong despite the back-to-back quarters of negative growth and that some contraction was expected after strong growth last year as the country emerged from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our job market remains historically strong. Our economy created more than 9 million jobs since I came to office, in no small part because of the people on this stage. Our economy created more than 1 million jobs in the second quarter, the same period as today's GDP report covers, and our unemployment rate is 3.6% -- near a record, historic low. Secondly, households and businesses, the engines of our economy, continue to move forward," Biden said.
"Now, there's no doubt we expect growth to be slower than last year and the rapid clip we had. But that's consistent with the transition to a steady, stable growth and lower inflation," he said, acknowledging that "there's going to be a lot of chatter today on Wall Street and among pundits about whether we are in a recession." Republicans, too, were quick to seize on the continued declines.
"But if you look at our job market, consumer spending, business investment, we see signs of economic progress in the second quarter as well," Biden said.
His defensive campaign comes as Republicans continue to hammer him on historically high inflation, which they linked to the slowdown.
"This is Joe Biden's recession. Biden can lie and deflect blame all he wants, but that will not alleviate the pain Americans feel every time they fill up their gas tanks, go grocery shopping, check their retirement savings, or balance their budgets. Biden and Democrats are responsible for our shrinking economy, and they're only trying to make it worse," Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
The administration has ramped up a messaging effort to convince the public that the country has not entered a recession, noting that the U.S. has added 2.7 million jobs this year and consumer spending has continued to risedespite biting inflation, which the Federal Reserve aims to cool through interest rate hikes without setting off broader economic shockwaves.
Biden on Thursday also touted two pieces of legislation making their way through Congress that he says will relieve inflationary pressures.
During his meeting, the House passed the CHIPS and Science Act, which will provide an infusion of funds for the domestic chip manufacturing industry. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also announced a deal on Wednesday on legislation that would lower prescription drug costs, fight climate change and implement a 15% minimum tax on corporations.
"Both of these bills are going to help the economy continue to grow, bring down inflation and make sure we aren't giving up on all the significant progress we made in the last year," Biden said.
