Ex-Walmart CEO predicts when US will see high prices drop

foxbusiness.com:

Former Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss the nationwide spike in layoffs that have now extended beyond the Big Tech industry.

The former head of one of the nation’s biggest retailers is confirming Americans’ fears about the worsening state of the economy, detailing how inflationary pressures are here to stay.

«Inflation has been just a killer on the consumer, especially food and rent,» former Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. «It's just brutal. It's very difficult to overcome.»

Simon, who joined Walmart in 2006 just before the country saw its last major economic crisis, explained how inflation poses a bigger risk to Americans’ wallets when compared to a looming recession.

«Until we start seeing significant shifts in the labor market, it's hard to envision what a recession looks like. We've not had a full employment recession in the country ever,» the former CEO said. «And so I think with employment levels still relatively high and wage growth year-on-year relatively high, there's more inflationary pressure than there is recessionary pressure.»

AMERICANS GET POORER AS EXPENSES SURGE

This past week, the Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research Group’s economic and housing outlook report detailed expectations of a recession by the end of 2023. But Simon noted analysts’ mild recession predictions and the country’s history of recovery.

Former Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon told Fox News Digital how inflation «poses a bigger risk» to Americans’ wallets compared to a recession. (Fox News)

«Let's say the unemployment rate goes up to 8% or 6%… that means that 6% of the population is affected because they lost their job or don't have a