Americans Need a Break on Repaying Their Debts
The economy is grinding to a halt, but consumers and businesses will be crushed unless their financial obligations are put on hold.
Could you please get this thing off my neck?
Photographer: Reg Speller/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesMuch of the U.S. economy is now shutting down to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants, bars and many other businesses that rely on people gathering are closing across the nation. Social distancing and local orders to shelter in place are cutting foot traffic, which will hit every retail store hard except for some that sell food and other essentials. Those shutdowns will ripple through the economy as consumption drops. The U.S. is looking at a plunge in output that, at least in the short term, will make the 2008-09 crisis pale in comparison.
In theory, a partial economic shutdown doesn’t have to cause long-term damage. After the danger of the pandemic ends, U.S. workers can go right back to what they were doing before -- eating in restaurants, walking into stores -- and economic output will go right back up.