“The US Economy is in a Depression,” UMD Business School Professor Says
The coronavirus has plunged the U.S. economy into a depression, according to a one-time chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission who is now affiliated with University of Maryland.
“The U.S. economy is in a depression. That is a recession from which it cannot easily recover,” Peter Morici, a professor emeritus at UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, told MarylandReporter.com in a phone interview on Friday. “In the weeks since the coronavirus broke, our political and business leaders have dickered and dallied. And now they reap the whirlwind —our citizens and workers be damned.” …
Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, called the numbers in the jobs report “staggering” and said members of her organization “fear they will continue to increase.” Locklair said the current situation is without precedent. “The fact is there is no manual to navigate this situation as it is unprecedented. Retailers are doing the best they can to manage restrictions to keep their employees and consumers as safe as possible. Our job has been to provide as much support, guidance and information we can- it’s all hands on deck.”
