Economists generally agree that reducing spending during a recession will only worsen an already strained economy. The NY Times reports that “Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of the bond investment firm Pimco, warned that cuts would make a weak economy weaker.”
Last week brought the disconcerting news that the economy grew no faster than the population during the first six months of the year, in part because of spending cuts by state and local governments. Now the federal government is cutting, too.
“Unemployment will be higher than it would have been otherwise,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of the bond investment firm Pimco, said Sunday on ABC. “Growth will be lower than it would be otherwise. And inequality will be worse than it would be otherwise.”
He added, “We have a very weak economy, so withdrawing more spending at this stage will make it even weaker.”
This is as true when considering the nation’s economy as it is here in Coos County. Sadly, we have three commissioners dead set on spending cuts that only contribute to a down economy and a diminished quality of life.
