A top economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., — former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, now vice chair of Swiss banking giant UBS — tells the Washington Times that the US economy is being weighed down by the belief by Americans that the economy is bad.
“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” Gramm tells the Washington Times, adding that despite all the bad news out there US economic growth continues at a rate of approximately 1 percent. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”
Adds Gramm: “We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline…We’ve never been more dominant; we’ve never had more natural advantages than we have today…Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.” Link
McCain’s response:
“I don’t agree with Sen. Gramm”
“Phil Gramm does not speak for me,” he said. “I speak for me.”
Asked if there was any chance Gramm would be treasury secretary or handle economic policy under a McCain administration, McCain quickly turned to humor.
“I think Sen. Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus, although I’m not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that,” he said.