‘There’s more uncertainty, not less’: Recession fears are already gripping parts of the US — and jeopardizing Trump’s reelection

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump, during a recent speech in New Hampshire, told a crowd that no matter how much they might dislike him, they “have no choice” but to reelect him in 2020 in order to save the U.S. economy and keep their 401(k) plans from tanking. Some pundits have argued that whatever happens with Trump on immigration, abortion or foreign policy, the economy could save his presidency in the end. But a report by Shawn Donnan for Bloomberg News explains that with more and more evidence that the U.S. economy is slowing down, the economy might not be Trump’s strong point in the 2020 election.

“The surge in industrial jobs seen in the first two years of the Trump presidency has also gone into reverse in some parts of the country,” Donnan reports. “Nationally, the U.S. has added 44,000 manufacturing jobs so far this year, according to data released on Friday. But that’s way down from the 170,000 added in the same period last year.”

Donnan reports that “for all the debate on whether the U.S. is headed for a recession, there’s plenty of evidence that corners of the economy….. may already have tumbled into one.” And Donnan points to the area of Wisconsin where Kuhn North America is located as an example: at Kuhn North America, which has about 600 employees in its factory and manufactures farm equipment, roughly 250 workers were suffering a two-week furlough around Labor Day Weekend.

View the complete September 16 article by Alex Henderson on the AlterNet website here.