Kudlow Hails Mass Unemployment As ‘Gales Of Creative Destruction’

Larry Kudlow, Donald Trump's top economic adviser, celebrated the tens of millions of job losses fueled by Trump's failure to contain the coronavirus, calling mass unemployment a "great part of American capitalism."

Kudlow made the comments in an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney on Friday morning.

"I saw something else today, one of the smart Wall Street people are talking about it. And it's an odd thing because the talk is that a lot of folks who became unemployed, all right, most regrettably but they're sticking with it and starting new businesses. They're going to be small businesses. But that's the great part of American capitalism, gales of creative destruction. I just love that new business start-up story," Kudlow said.

Kudlow did not name the "smart Wall Street" person who made this point to him, but that person appears to have their facts wrong.

Months into the pandemic, more than 12 million people remain unemployed, with eight million falling into poverty, thanks to the virus's impact on the economy and the GOP refusal to extend jobless aid.

The job losses have hit the poorest workers the hardest, with nearly 40 percent of people earning less than $40,000 a year losing their jobs at the peak of the coronavirus economic downturn, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank.

Those are the kind of workers that don't have enough money to put food on the table, let alone the savings to start up a business as Kudlow suggests.

Kudlow's tone-deaf comment comes as permanent layoffs increase and the recovery is stalling.

The poor economy further imperils Trump's already flailing reelection bid.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.