Joseph Stiglitz criticized Donald Trump, saying the United States is on its way to the second Great Depression.
The inability of Donald Trump to cope with the crisis “Covid-19” has made the U.S. look like a “third world” country that is preparing for the Second Great Depression, warned a leading economist in the world.
Joseph Stiglitz harshly criticized the U.S. president, saying millions of people turn to food banks for work because of a lack of sick leave and die because of health inequalities.
“The number of people who go to food banks is enormous and they are unable to provide for them. It is like a Third World country. The social safety net is not working”, – said the Nobel laureate economist.
Stiglitz, pointed out that 14% of the population depends on food stamps and predicted that social infrastructure will not be able to cope with the unemployment rate, which could reach 30% in the coming months.
“We have a security system that is inadequate. The inequality in the United States is very large. This disease targets the people with the worst health”, – he added.
In the developed world, the U.S. is one of the countries with the worst overall health status and the greatest health inequalities.
Stiglitz also said that Republicans opposed proposals to grant sick people affected by coronavirus a 10-day sick leave, which means that many employees were going to work even during the infection.
“The Republicans said no because they said it would set a bad precedent. It’s literally unbelievable.”
“The security network is not adequate and promotes the disease. There’s very little unemployment insurance and people don’t think they can count on it.”
When asked whether the U.S. is heading for a possible second Great Depression, Elspert said, “If, in short, yes.
“If you leave that to Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell (Senate Majority Leader), we’ll have a Great Depression. If we had the right policy structure, we could easily avoid it.”
Stiglitz pointed out that because of Trump’s unskilled leadership, the White House office responsible for pandemics was closed, funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was cut, and the U.S. entered the crisis without enough test kits, masks and protective equipment.
Trump blamed some parts of the U.S. for reopening, which would cause further spread and transmission and lead to a new outbreak, he added.
“In these circumstances, the government will not enforce closure, it will be fear. The concern is that people are not going to spend anything but on food, and that is the definition of the Great Depression”.