NEW YORK (MaceNews) – The U.S. economic recovery is likely to continue even if new federal fiscal support is not forthcoming, New York Fed President John Williams said Tuesday.
“If we do see more fiscal support for the economy, that will give a boost,” he told reporters. “If we don’t, that’s going to be a somewhat weaker outlook. I think the economy is on a pretty good trajectory.”
“So if it is really a matter of more or less fiscal policy that tilts the trajectory more or less,” he said.
Williams added that he remains concerned about the impact on state and local government finances if there is no more federal support.
Williams said the economy has outperformed expectations through the summer, and growth has continued even as Covid-19 cases ticked up, which suggests people are adjusting to life with Covid. “Even with cases rising, we managed to bounce back,” he said.
Williams said consumers have gradually returned to services as they have adopted mask-wearing and other safety measures. But a full recovery to pre-Covid levels of service consumption will require more dramatic improvement in consumers’ sense of safety, and that means a vaccine or better treatments, he said.
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