US economy facing headwinds from possible gov’t shutdown -White House

White House chief economist Jared Bernstein speaks about the impact of a looming government shutdown with Economic Policy Institute president Heidi Shierholz, in Washington, U.S., Sept 27, 2023 REUTERS/Andrea Shalal

The U.S. economy is facing headwinds from a possible government shutdown, student debt payments restarting, higher interest rates and an autoworkers’ strike, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday.

The economy will keep going in a “pretty good way” unless there is a policy mistake or exogenous shock, he added, speaking at an event at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank.

“We have wages now beating prices, nominal wages growing faster than prices, and that dynamic in our economy creates a pretty persistent flywheel,” he said.

“In the absence of a policy mistake or an exogenous shock, we think that sort of keeps things going in a pretty good way.”

READ: Shutdown looms as US House Republicans again block own spending bill

Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday rejected a stopgap funding bill advancing in the Senate, bringing Washington closer to its fourth partial shutdown of the U.S. government in a decade with just four days to go.