McConnell’s Response to the Coronavirus Recession Fails Key Tests
March 23, 2020
By Mike Konczal
The recent bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tries to stem the current economic crisis. In a previous document, “A Forward-Thinking Response to the Coronavirus Recession,” we outlined five elements that any response needs to include: (1) Help people directly by providing cash, (2) support workers, (3) help states and municipalities, (4) prevent business collapse, (5) and prevent unconditional support for industries that go bankrupt. We can evaluate the bill along these lines.
The McConnell bill is a failure on four of these five dimensions and will struggle on the fifth. Serious changes will be needed in order for this bill to match the scale of our crisis.
Author
Mike Konczal
Former Director, Macroeconomic AnalysisAs former director of Roosevelt’s macroeconomic analysis team, Mike Konczal led research focused on achieving full employment, building an economy that truly works for everybody, and developing the next generation of economic ideas.