WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the determination from The National Bureau of Economic Research that the U.S. economy officially fell into a recession in February, government watchdog Accountable.US issued the following statement from its president, Kyle Herrig:
“The tens of millions of Americans who’ve lost their livelihood and the over 100,000 small business owners who couldn’t hang on any longer didn’t need to be told the Trump recession is here. While the stock market surges and big companies have access to big government-backed bailouts, working families are hanging on by a thread. The President may be happy with that result, but we know the government can – and should – be doing more for those who are struggling in this economy.”
FAILING ON ALL FRONTS: The recession is a direct result of President Trump’s failed response to the coronavirus pandemic — consistently slow rolling desperately needed aid for struggling small businesses, workers, and states while fast-tracking aid for corporations, the wealthy, and well-connected that need it least. The Trump SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program has been bungled since day one, offering red tape and rejection to struggling small business owners while rolling out the red carpet for large publicly-traded companies that have resources average shops do not. Black workers have “suffered record numbers of job losses over the last two months.” And according to an analysis from NPR, “African-American deaths from COVID-19 are nearly two times greater than would be expected based on their share of the population. In four states, the rate is three or more times greater.”

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