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"It's part of the job description to worry about when the next
recession will happen," Boushey told an event hosted by the
Washington Post. "But ... right now we remain optimistic that we
will not have to see something that will lead to the kinds of
scarring of American families that we really don't want to see."
Boushey said President Joe Biden's policies had helped fuel
strong job creation and quicker-than-expected drops in
unemployment, which were good indicators of the strength of the
U.S. economy.
Families had also been able to weather numerous crises over the
past year because of the steps taken by the administration to
provide cash payments and other support, she said.
The rising inflation seen now was fundamentally related to
supply-side shocks from the pandemic, but has been exacerbated
by Russia's war in Ukraine, Boushey said.
Asked about Biden's recent comment that a recession was not
inevitable, Boushey said she agreed, adding strong family
balance sheets, the low unemployment rate and the economy's
ability to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and other "storms,"
without elaborating on specific data.
"That gives us some confidence that should oil prices continue
to be high or maybe go up, which would be horrible, ... there's
enough of wiggle room that businesses and families will be able
to make it through because they have resources to fall back on,"
she said.
To address inflation, Biden was looking at a temporary lifting
of the federal gasoline tax, as well potential cuts in tariffs
on Chinese imports, but there were questions about how much of
either of those cost breaks would be passed through to
consumers.
U.S. household debt rose to a record $15.84 trillion in the
first quarter, according to a New York Fed May report, which
also showed that U.S. households were in strong economic health,
with delinquency "very low by historic standards."
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora
Ellis)
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