dr. hassett, thank you for your work at aei. i have watched you from a distance and appreciate your contribution to the economy and the way that you have said things -- paint pictures like long tooth recovery. interesting. you have also said that while certain areas of the country are doing remarkably well, the recovery has profoundly been uneven. with large swaths of the country facing chronic rats of unemployment and rice tore cli low levels of new investment. can you elaborate on the cost of this uneven economic recovery? and also, what could we do to bring more resources into distressed communities? >> thank you, senator. i think that one of the things that economists have learned and really the last decade of research that was really startling to me how extreme it was, was that there's so many people if they lose their job and they don't get a job back in a little while then they start to despair and they start to have personal problems and they often it can happen turns to a spiral that takes them to a very bad place. and

dr. hassett, thank you for your work at aei. i have watched you from a distance and appreciate your contribution to the economy and the way that you have said things -- paint pictures like long tooth recovery. interesting. you have also said that while certain areas of the country are doing remarkably well, the recovery has profoundly been uneven. with large swaths of the country facing chronic rats of unemployment and rice tore cli low levels of new investment. can you elaborate on the cost of this uneven economic recovery? and also, what could we do to bring more resources into distressed communities? >> thank you, senator. i think that one of the things that economists have learned and really the last decade of research that was really startling to me how extreme it was, was that there's so many people if they lose their job and they don't get a job back in a little while then they start to despair and they start to have personal problems and they often it can happen turns to a spiral that takes them to a very bad place. and

dr. hassett let me start with you. we had this conversation and let me follow up with this. in 2013 you said in a written research piece, quote with lack lurt gdp growth threatening to become the new normal allowing to more immigrants to enter for the sake of employment is one of the if you policy that is might restore the old normal. if the utah u.s. doubled total immigration and priorize bringing in new worker it can average more than 5 a percentages point a year to expected gdp growth close cloet and despite the clear evidence indicating you are correct here we are in 130u7 l 2017 with the administration pursuing the opposite policies in fact the president's policy of mass deportation is sparking panic and fear in many latino communities causing consumer spending to fall by double digits. this is threaten the the communities confidence in the kpee just as it was starting to be restored after the financial crisis by -- by the way a financial crisis that was hardest hit in nevada. so the question i have now is what you said in 2013 is still true about economic growth. >> i

dr. hassett, thank you for your work at a.e.i. ivepblet watched from you a distance and appreciate your commitment to our economy and the way you have said things, painted pictures. long toothed recovery. interesting. you have also said that while certain areas of the country are doing remarkably well, the recovery has profoundly been uneven. with large swaths of the country facing chronic rates of long-term unemployment and historically low levels of new investment. can you elaborate on the social and economic cost of this uneven economic recovery? and also, what could we do to bring more resources into distressed communities? mr. hassett: one of the things in the last decade of research that was startling to me is that there are so many people if they lose their job and don't get the job back in a little while they start to despair and have personal problems and often it can to a spiral that takes them to a very bad place. and in my hometown, there are a number of people that have substance abuse. there was a really moving piece