Big Ideas to Save the Economy, From Bailouts to Super Chapter 11
Here’s how to help companies outlast the pandemic.
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In economics, there is no Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm. If there were, world leaders would be in serious violation of it. With the noble purpose of saving lives, they are deliberately throttling the global economy. The plan is to put economic activity in a state of suspended animation for weeks or months, get past the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and then resuscitate the patient. Necessary? Probably. Dangerous? Undoubtedly.
Because this has never been done before at this scale, there are no white-haired elders to guide us. We are going to have to invent the plan as we go, recalibrating as facts emerge. Just as overwhelmed doctors must choose which patients to save and which to let go, we will need to decide which sectors, which companies, and which workers are most in need of and most deserving of a rescue.