Attention Economy


Monday, March 8, 2021

Misguided Stimulus Measures

Stimulus checks are the most indefensible part of the covid relief bill
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/stimulus-checks-are-the-most-indefensible-part-of-the-covid-relief-bill/2021/03/08/39560602-8055-11eb-ac37-4383f7709abe_story.html
Megan McArdle notes:
“Stimulus is a policy to deal with a demand shock — when a vicious cycle of plunging consumer confidence and rising unemployment leads consumers to hunker down and sit on their money, which translates into a sharp contraction in gross domestic product. The idea of stimulus is for government to borrow some money and provide a bit of artificial demand that can halt that cycle.
But we’re not suffering from a demand shock right now — or a crisis of consumer confidence. We’re having a supply shock: The people who are out of work are home largely because we want them to be, because they used to provide some good or service, from oil to restaurant dinners, that just isn’t needed as much for as long as we have to socially distance”.

Rescue Package Includes $86 Billion Bailout for Failing Pensions

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