The Pandemic Relief Challenge Ahead: Ending It
How and when the U.S. phases out support programs will be almost as important as having started them.
Full restaurants will be one sign that relief programs need to end
Photographer: Bloomberg
How and when to phase out Covid-19 relief programs is one of the most difficult policy problems that the Biden Administration will have to solve. Eventually the virus will be vanquished, and the U.S. government won’t be able to keep large swathes of its economy on life support forever. Each relief program presents its own challenges in a phase-out.
The simplest will be the quasi-universal checks. That’s because they’re really just a series of ad-hoc spending measures, limited by income to a part of the population. President Joe Biden is already having trouble with his push for $1,400 checks, so expect this to be the last round unless the pandemic comes roaring back. Down the road, maybe memories of the relief checks will increase support for policies like universal basic income, but for now this is a program that will phase itself out -- though possibly too soon.