Monday open thread: The coronavirus wreaks havoc
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Four minutes after trading opened on Wall Street, the tripwire went off and it was halted due to runaway losses.
Donald Trump gambled his fortunes on something as unpredictable as the stock market. Rather than being a place of rational decision making, it is, in fact, an institution which makes the most irrational decisions. A perfect example of this was its continued rise in the face of a trade war between the US and China, and a possible one between the US and the EU. The rally could never be stopped.
Well, it's stopped now. COVID-19 has clarified minds. As the virus spreads across the world, we have this prediction:
Add to this Paul Krugman:Moody’s economist Mark Zandi: US economy now likely to lapse into recession in 2020— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 9, 2020
Meanwhile, in a response to Krugman which is redolent of whistling past the graveyard:Mr. Market is basically saying that we're headed for permanent recession pic.twitter.com/8E6dlQLMWj— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) March 9, 2020
That's right. The stock market crash, must like the coronavirus, is a conspiracy against the Great and Powerful Trump.But seriously folks.... do you notice how the panic is coming CHIEFLY from political hacks masquerading as experts, i.e. our friend Krugman, as well as mayors, governors etc from the bluest of blue states?— CovfefewithCream (@CovfefeUpInThis) March 9, 2020
We're seeing right now how Trump reacts to a crisis he can't spin, and it ain't pretty. While the market tanks and the virus spreads across the country, his only public event today is a fundraiser.
I posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet over the weekend that Gen-X is the best generation. Well, we're about to live through our third recession as adults, sacrificing our prime earning years and retirement to excise the cancer of fascism, and this one might be worse than 2008, because we have the added fillip of a world-wide pandemic. You're welcome.
Saddle up, kids. The road to November is going to be bumpy at pock-marked.