| > I really disagree. Both Bernanke (former chair of Fed) and Krugman (Nobel winner) have called the programs to date "disaster relief". Many people cannot work because of the lockdowns, but still need to pay rent and food and such, so the checks are to bridge that gap. > Plus a second wave of infections from premature opening could set recovery back a long, long time. What we need is to stay the course and keep disaster relief in place. Unfortunately, little sign that Trump and allies will do that 5/ * https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1260557224860155906 > To deal with this properly, however, we need to get past standard rhetoric. The economy is, in effect, in a deliberately induced coma—and necessarily so. So this isn’t about “job creation” or economic growth; we don’t need “stimulus.” What we need is disaster relief on an unprecedented scale, to get people through the shutdown with as little misery as possible. * https://www.92y.org/event/paul-krugman * https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/opinion/coronavirus-econo... |