USA Bankrupt: The government’s multitrillion-dollar problem

As forecasts darken with estimates for huge spikes in unemployment and sharp drops in economic growth, economists and Wall Street analysts are warning that even the huge stimulus package now under consideration on Capitol Hill may only make a small dent. Some suggest the number needs to be at least $2 trillion or perhaps far more.

“They should be doing much more than they are thinking about and doing it much quicker, at least $2 trillion with the promise of more to come,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “We have whole industries like the restaurant industry that have been obliterated already. Jobless claims next week could be two or three million.”

Shepherdson added that “we could see a drop of 5 million jobs in April. We are going to see numbers we never thought possible. This will be the biggest economic hit that any developed economy has ever seen outside wartime.”

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