Turkey’s divisive President Erdoğan has had a difficult year. From a stinging loss in the 2019 municipal elections to having to confront the coronavirus to lengthy and costly military deployments, the president has been struggling to keep his base satisfied and has given a chance for his opponents to unify against him. Furthermore, Turkey’s problems have been compounded by poor policy decisions that will impact his prospects for re-election in 2023.
As America continues its fight against COVID-19, its economy has taken a serious battering. Even after two major rounds of fiscal stimulus totaling nearly $3 trillion, jobless claims have soared past 35 million in the last eight weeks as large swaths of the country shut down to slow the spread of the virus. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April while unemployment reached 14.7%. The numbers undercount the losses due to methodology and labor force participation rate decline, yet they still represent the largest over-the-month loss in the history of the series. As hard to believe as this may be, current fiscal stimulus is insufficient. We must act bigger and faster if we hope to come out of this crisis any time soon.
