Recession warnings on the rise

Martin Feldstein and Larry Summers, two leading economists from opposite political camps, both made comments Wednesday suggesting a significant threat of a new recession.

Feldstein, a top economic adviser to both President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush during the 2000 election, told Bloomberg that he believes the country now faces a 50% chance of a new recession.

"This economy is really balanced on the edge," he said. "Nothing has given us much growth. The economy has been flat to down since the beginning of the year."

Feldstein's current outlook is similar to his view in January 2008, when he was one of the first economists to declare the start of the recession that would last more than two years.

Summers, who was Treasury Secretary under President Clinton and the first director of the National Economic Council under President Obama, wrote an opinion article for Reuters arguing that the economy is already at "stall speed." Summers said that without a policy response to the current economic weakness, there is a one-in-three chance of a new recession.

"The United States's current problem is much more a jobs and growth deficit than an excessive budget deficit," he said.