Harvard economist Ken Rogoff doesn't believe the global financial system is immune to major shocks and crises -- and he shudders to think of what would happen should one occur on President Donald Trump's watch.
Writing in Financial News London, Rogoff argues that the financial system may not yet be equipped to handle a major crisis, especially if it's a crisis that differs significantly from the one that caused a global economic recession in 2008.
"But what if the next crisis is completely different, resulting from say, a severe cyberattack, or an unexpectedly rapid rise in global real interest rates, which rocks fragile markets for high-risk debt?" he asks.
In this case, Rogoff says that the world had better hold onto its seats, because he doesn't believe Trump is up to the job.
"Can anyone honestly say that US President Donald Trump’s administration has the skill and experience to deal with a major collapse?" he asked. "It is hard to know, because the only real crisis the United States has experienced so far during Trump’s presidency is, well, Trump’s presidency."
Rogoff goes down the line of current Trump officials and finds that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has repeatedly attacked during his tenure, as the only person remotely qualified to handle financial turmoil.
"Perhaps Steven Mnuchin, who produced Hollywood movies prior to becoming US Treasury Secretary, can use insights from his acting role in the 2016 movie 'Rules Don’t Apply,'" Rogoff jokes.
