Steve Rattner: Life Is Decent for the Average American

EXCERPT:

RATTNER: "Well, to the average person, not having a recession is good news, because recessions mean layoffs, they mean job cuts, they mean income is going down and it’s bad for the economy as a whole. We’ve had two quarters the last six months of last year, we had very substantial growth. There is a chance we might avoid recession. It is not a foregone conclusion, I think the odds have simply gone down a bit. But the Fed still has work to do. As it raises interest rates, it raises house prices, as Mike was speaking about, and that affects the average American. So, recessions are bad for the average American. It just makes them less well-off, it makes the economy less well-off. The flip side is, if we avoid a recession, the jobs machine continues, hopefully wage increases continue, and it’s not perfect but life is decent for the average American."