Many of the solutions proposed by the esteemed Editorial Board were discussed in the news conference held by President Trump last night which I listened to on NPR on my drive home from work. I don't think Clinton would have done any better in response to the virus. Thank God she is not the President of the United States; thank God for the Electoral College. Thank you.
2
If intelligence ruled or was even present, Senator Sanders with his health program ( somewhat watered down by Congress to a more European system) would run away with the candidacy. Unfortunately, the media, this one included, and the DNC owner have organized his defeat.
I hope y'all enjoy your epidemic and its fallout.
4
Anyone who continues this relentless attack on our President's efforts to deal with the virus has to seriously begin to question the motivation that drives this reckless hatred.
Ongoing CDC reports are ignored in favor of puerile social media gossip, news of the President's economic advisors efforts to restore the stock market's stability and aid small businesses and hourly wage earners is largely just flat blown off, and today's meeting with all the major healthcare companies results in a unanimous decision to waive copays for coronavirus tests.
And what do we see here? Knee-jerking, buzzword parroting and just plain lies.
Buckle up, Democrats: you'll be dealing with - and benefitting from - this President's policies until January of 2025 (when Nikki Haley takes over the reins).
7
@J Brian
Obama didn't do anything about H1N1 until over 1000 died and then he spent much less than trump has already allocated.
The private sector, the drug companies , motivated by profit , will be the ones that come up with a vaccine hopefully something better than most flu vaccines which usually aren't effective.
Death rates in 3rd world countries aren't relevant and the death rate for corona in S Korea is about .5%( 1 in 200). S Korea's death rate is probably an overestimate because in general deaths of the elderly are often attributed to heart failure and infection isn't looked for . The median age of death for those with coronavirus is 80.
We don't know what the death rate will be in the US because we didn't even know of coronavirus until recently and few have been tested.
Each year about 30,000,000 in the US get the flu and between 25,000,000 and 100,000,000 die
2
@J Brian Delusional!
9
@Molly
Interesting: there are 30 million people in this country and every year possibly 100 million die?!
Magic math!
15
trump* cannot gaslight the virus.
(*impeached)
6
Trump recently tweeted that only 22 deaths out of 546 cases was no big deal. That's ~4% - obviously a rubbish stat. but still the one that he chose. If it were correct, then the US is doing about 3X worse than China on the % death rate front. Of course most of the cases haven't been diagnosed because there are hardly any test kits. Trump now hopes that a further round of tax cuts that buoy the stock market will keep him popular.
2
What the economy needs from President Trump? How about his resignation?
13
Imagine if the U.S. had universal health care, and free childcare. Oh, right, that would be a radical "socialist" system and Americans would suffer.
9
What the economy needs from trump is for him to sit down and be quiet .
6
Couldn't have put it better myself. Great article.
4
What the economy needs and what the economy gets from Trump is - zilch!
3
If the Trump could think about ANYTHING but his own re-election, this world could be made a better place.
But no, if you are feeling sick, can't afford to go to the doctor, don't have health insurance, don't have paid sick leave, "no worries" sez the Trump. Just go back to work, and keep that chin up!
Everything will be fine, after the rich get their tax cuts.
9
Donald Trump has proposed eliminating the payroll tax though the November election. The revenues from payroll taxes fund specific programs, including Social Security, healthcare, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation.
In other words, Trump wants to put the health and welfare of millions of Americans at risk to protect the only accomplishment he can claim, i.e., the deficit-funded rise in the stock market.
Shameful.
15
“Nothing can stop what’s coming,” could indicate that he has gone over to the doctrine of predestination, which makes him either a Muslim (unlikely) or a Calvinist (Presbyterian). I recollect the Secretary of State is the latter.
2
After relentlessly bashing Bernie Sanders, the one candidate that has consistently called for universal health care for Americans, the NYT seems to think it is leading the country with this too little to late editorial. Should have been supporting Bernie all along. It is our only chance and it is likely completely spoiled and ruined at this point. Thanks for nothing NYT.
5
“I’ve met with economists and bankers and CEOs and they could’t believe how great I am at this market stuff they all told me I must be a natural.
A natural liar.”
9
The curtain has been pulled aside; The Great And Powerful Wizard Of Oz has been revealed - and he’s a doddering, pompous, old fool.
The President is way over his head here. Every day, it’s more obvious. Standing there telling the world about his genius uncle at MIT and how he himself was amazing all the experts with his knowledge about this coronavirus, he looked pathetic. If I didn’t understand what a real danger he is to the world at large, I’d almost feel sorry for him.
11
If the New York Times editorial board genuinely believes that "our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times," then it should now endorse Bernie Sanders, the only primary candidate who agrees.
5
Gosh... I wonder where the GOP Senate and Trump Administration could find $2trillion in taxes to fund Coronavirus measures?
Anyone???
2
A narcissistic sociopath is completely incapable of caring about how world events affect anybody other than himself and his own personal interests. The CoronaVirus may be the catalyst, but the real problem is that Donald Trump is a major blight on our nation and on the entire world, completely incapable of doing what is best for any other human being. This will not end well.
10
I hope we remember the Grand TajMahal Casio that Trump filed bankruptcy and left the creditors and suppliers with nothing !
It will happen here too . we are already loosing money and "death stalking the elderly " by his inept handling of teh situation as well as killing CDC ( which needed a 8 billion transfusion .. but I doubt its ready to go to fight in this world war of virus! )
What he gets is a negative interest rates so re can redo his finances and USA is left with the bill..
I guess every "short" term TV show ends .. so will our USA dream under this president.
What baffles me .. he still plays politics with this crises!.. He wears a "keep america great" cap at the CDC visit !
How gullible are we in USA really are? I am sorry for the people on the verge of retirement again will have to go back to work .. Kids will loose summer jobs ... Hey its 2008 all over again!
5
His resignation.
Anything else?
8
"Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times."
Yet the NY Times continues to beat up Bernie Sanders for actually addressing this societal construction. Joe, in his own words, promises nothing will change.
4
An excellent set of recommendations, none of which seems to be under consideration by the Grifter-in-Chief.
5
"It takes time to plan projects. But that’s exactly what the situation requires. We’re in this mess because our policymakers failed to plan for the future."
Really, NY Times editors? You expect Donald Trump to PLAN? The guy who has a shorter attention span than a housefly? The guy who only cares about one thing ... Donald Trump?
There are so many common sense things that our government should be doing, but Donald Trump is not going to do any of them.
Nice try.
You would be better off telling that to our NEXT POTUS.
Repost this after November 3.
5
Judging from Trump's past, anything he touches turns to....well, you know.
3
Wait, I thought Donald Trump controlled the economy. No???
3
Trump's inner Bam-Bam would be secretly delighted to bring down the colossus.
1
What we need is Abdication!
Umm, ok - resignation...
3
Reversal of dangerous immigration policies during this time could reduce spread of disease: Announce cessation of ICE arrests of illegals seeking medical care; Announce that legal immigrants will not jeaopardize their citizenship if they utilize safety net services such as health care.
2
What the economy needs from Trump is for him to resign immediately. He is an incompetent, self obsessed, con-man.
4
When you get laid off, you don't have a paycheck, so where does the tax break come from?
6
What I would like from Trump: Keep golfing. Just stay away and keep golfing.
2
What the Economy Needs From President Trump?
Short answer is what we can never get.
Straight talk and honesty.
How you can get honesty from the pathological liar and his lying entourage of cowardice loyalists!
3
Did you just say that a one time tax credit was a good response to give people without paid sick days? A tax credit is based on pay, the cost of staying home and not working is fixed. A tax credit comes in the future at tax time, how does that pay the rent this month? Are you all so accustomed to the capitalist status quo that you cannot see what the needs really are? Here is what those needs look like:
People need universal medical coverage, for free, right now.
People need sick leave insurance that pays their full pay for as long as they are out, right now.
People need to be surrounded by a complete funded medical support system that can respond to any virus with tests, procedures, facts, and national instructions on how the crisis is to be managed, and they need that right now.
This is not just Trumps failure we are seeing, it is the entire neoliberal capitalist exploitation of the working class finally being revealed as the fraud that it always was. And why hasn't the NYT been ahead of this problem? The exploitation of the working class has been going on for forty years. You call yourself the paper of record? You are a joke, and so is your too little and too late editorial board.
You are a disgrace to journalism, a missing arbiter of truth, and the opposite of the free press that this country needs you to be.
Shame on you.
3
More bailouts. How about investors whose stocks are not likely to recover any time soon? Why not let the market run its course. Socialized capitalism is the new norm.
2
Why isn't a suspension of some tariffs being raised? These, too, are taxes that suppress purchasing. By themselves they probably won't cause a recession, but in the 1930s tariffs were blamed for turning recession into depression. This, btw, was GOP dogma prior to Trump. How much has changed with just one election where the country's adversaries were allowed to put their fingers on the scale.
3
"But there is good reason to worry about the public-health effects of encouraging people to go out and spend more money."
I don't think you're going to see that happen. A tax cut would be ineffective because it would not address the fear of becoming sick, which is the reason people would not be out spending money. You can't buy immunity to a virus.
2
March 10, 2010
"The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the goverment."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
4
If Trump will just shut up, the entire nation will breathe easier.
Daily his confusion and incompetence make everyone nervous and cause panic at big box store and on Wall Street.
He has looked at something clearly beyond his grasp and made it his personal albatross.
7
And we Americans can use this disaster to oust Trump from the White House come November. It can't come soon enough.
10
What it needs from Trump is a resignation.
7
The cruelty is the point.
7
One of my genius coworkers thought it was a good idea to come in to work with an upper respiratory infection. She may have exposed us all and cost me another big job that would have been half my income for this month. I cannot in good conscience not tell them as I’d be staying at their house for 10 days.
She has paid sick time, being full time. Why did she not use it? I am part time so I get exactly one day. Not near enough. My other job is a gig job so no help there either.
So how am I going to pay the bills now? I have no flaming clue
People, if you have sick time USE IT!!!!!!
8
Trump and his party have one issue on which to run...Obama’s economy, which is long overdue for a collapse. Will the economy hold until after the election or will it recess despite all the cash republicans try to pump onto it? Oh, the suspense.
3
Excellent and timely editorial, now WH and Congress discuss a fiscal ('stimulus') package. And realistic: chances are that this president will be impossible to discuss sane measures with. So much for the art(ist) of the deal. And at the international level he will be equally intolerable to deal with, while his mediocre economic advisors won't be up to the task. When the tide is out, indeed. Better buckle up because there's no floor to this crisis.
3
Exactly what is this risk we are trying to get under control? If for the majority of the population the coronavirus is akin to a cold or the flu or asymptomatic, then how do we justify this headlong rush to isolate everyone (eventually) and risk a major worldwide recession? Why not isolate only the at-risk population--the elderly and those with respiratory issues of which I am one on both counts--instead of the indiscriminate restrictions that are being imposed. Even among the at-risk population, early (and therefore subject to change) estimates place the death rate is less than 1%. Is there something I am missing here?
JD
1
Heavily leveraged and indebted corporations and hyper-inflated stock prices--What could go wrong that the ordinary Joe Lunchbucket can't bail out? Once again, the one percenters will benefit and walk away unscathed and, oddly, wealthier. Just watch it unfold in real-time as your meager salaries and savings get sucked into the privileged capitalist off-shore banks. Meanwhile, back on Planet Mob-a-Lago the party continues while your family burns. Here's a fact: the history of capitalism shows that wealth accumulates to the chosen as Everyman hits the ground. Death and money have an affinity in a free enterprise system--much like vampires and blood.
4
This is something dTrump has experience with since he already has 5 or 6 under his belt.
You want "Reality TV" then watch but next time pay closer attention to the candidates running for the presidency 'cause this time we got a real scam artist.
3
I'm a conservative who does not support Trump or his ridiculous actions. But I have to ask: Is Joe Biden the best guy you could come up with to challenge this egomaniac? You have some good ideas! Will you please put forth a viable option? We only have so much time here...
14
@Lyle
Is Trump the best you conservatives could come up with. And yet we have been stuck with him. Well...same with Biden. Neither are the best by a long s hot and yet that seems to be what we get stuck with. The problem is not the absence of better candidates. Its the absence of the will to change things by those that are really in control.
19
@Lyle Biden's support come largely from republicans voting in open primaries, or black folks that hate Trump's base so much they can't support Sanders or Warren since their policies would help everyone, including Trump's base. Then their are the Stockholm Syndrome democrats that have been under the foot of the right wingers for so long they sympathize with the GOP positions and see that most in Biden. Basically, Biden is a republican. You as a conservative believe in what he believes in.
@Lyle Are you really a conservative? What policies of trump do you think are wrong? Do you want open borders which will raise welfare costs and lower wages? Do you want Obamacare to continue even though we spend almost 20% of the economy on healthcare and competition would lower that to under 10% without harming health outcomes? In most counties there is only one option for insurance and the government intentionally drives up costs by promoting GPOs, PBMs laws that forbid pharmacists from telling patients that a drug that costs 10% of the one prescribed is as good and so many other corrupt practices
1
Putting money into Bonds, Treasuries or otherwise is NOT the equivalent of hiding your money under (or in) a mattress. Rather, the "money" be it proceeds from selling a stock, or from labour or from whatever, goes into the banking system/money supply, unless, the banking system actually reduces the money supply deliberately. When you buy a bond, someone or some entity gets the money and likely uses it for some other purchase or purpose. The money supply is probably expanding at a good pace right now. If there are any specialist monetary economists reading this comment, I remain open to lessons on what may actually be happening. Another thing to keep in mind: when someone sells a stock, someone buys that stock!!!
1
The viral outbreak highlights out lack of universal healthcare, including for immigrants. If everybody is not eligible to be tested and treated free, then there will be millions of people not included in the fight against the virus.
In Argentina, everyone is treated at hospitals for free, including tourists, visiting students...everyone. That's what we should have.
1
Does anyone seriously question that a temporary cut in payroll taxes will be followed by a cut in the benefits theses taxes fund? Wait for the Republican crocodile tears accompanying the explanation that there just isn't any money left and no one could have foreseen this emergency.
7
Good comment. Republicans have been after Social Security and Medicare for decades. Trump is new to the pursuit but is fully on board with killing both. So, knowing this, why do old white people insist on supporting any republican for election? Oh, yeah...knowing!
1
Even government paid sick leaves has its problems, particularly for the small business owners who may loose the services of most of their workers. In their absence the work is not done, yet the payroll continues even though the income from customers is drastically reduced or stops. The government's contribution to the payroll through a likely delayed tax credit is insufficient to avoid a possible bankruptcy. The owner may get a low-interest carryover loan, but in the meantime the customers may will have go elsewhere.
1
Chances are better than good that this is almost the end of POTUS Trump. Any other candidate could beat him, even Bernie.
If it was ever possible for DJT to see the "big picture", it has been the coronavirus pandemic. But Donald whiffed, bigly.
We need leadership ASAP. "No Trump" need apply.
3
All this talk from the White House of giving aid to airlines, cruise ships, and of paid sick leave, and help for the shale companies impacted by the fall in oil prices.
Sounds kind of socialist to me.
10
This is why American workers need a guaranteed national income as per Andrew Yang. The billionaires will never suffer as noted here. The system is rigged in their favor. What the nation needs is a robust safety net. But we will never get that with Trump, his GOP Senate or his Supreme Court, all three are synced to take care of the super rich and insure the continued power of those who support him. Trump needs to go.
2
The Trump administration wants a payroll tax decrease to bolster its argument for a decrease in Social Security. It's an easy out for him, though he won't get it. A far wiser approach would be a cut in the tariffs he imposed on many products. Meanwhile, I would argue that true investors did not sink the markets; that was done by short-term traders. In my experience over decades, leaving my money where it is wisely invested is always the best course of action, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to short-term news. I have large losses on paper, but in fact, I still have a sizable gain over 208.
2
How much will it all cost? Who knows, but add it to the $28B or so in agriculture supports that Trump's trade war with China has cost (so far).
2
The GOP plan now is to "suspend" payroll taxes through the election. This populist response is a campaign ploy. Once re-elected, and presumably with a GOP-controlled Congress, Trump will seek to slash Social Security and Medicare to "pay" for this "temporary" cut.
These people are using a public health crisis to advance a long-term ideological strategy. And it's highly likely the Democrats will go along simply because every pol likes tax cuts in an election year.
Coronaviruses ultimate victim will be America's already tattered social safety net.
9
A tax credit does NO good when you need the CASH to pay for a doctor visit, drugs and the necessary food and supplies to deal with a 14 day quarantine, self imposed or mandatory. Tax credits don't pay your rent or utility bills while you are quarantined, only CASH does. There are millions of hard working Americans who do not have $400 to cope in an emergency. Sending $1000.* to those on the lower economic scale is what would help. The 1% already got paid back in 2017, now it's the 99%'s turn.
* a tip of the hat to Andrew Yang for that idea
4
@Nina,
"There are millions of hard working Americans who do not have $400 to cope in an emergency."
Whose fault is that? They have chosen not save. I don't care how much money one earns they can some. Delay gratification!
Oh, the Times is a funny publication. Republicans are going to make it look like they are doing something for the masses when they are really doing nothing at all. No matter what happens here, the Republican party will double down on the tax cuts for the wealthy and resume the dismantling of the safety net. It absolutely astounds me how you hear nothing, not a single word out of the Republican leadership. Quietly behind the scenes, you hear reporters saying the Congress is in a bit of a panic as they are mostly senior citizens and are wondering should the Congress shut down to protect the members of Congress from Covid. The ones who mockingly wore gas masks to make it seem the reaction was all overblown now sit at home isolated. Remember. Mr Gaetz and all the others draw a paycheck and their benefits come hell, high water, or the coronavirus.
4
Test kits will not solve the health issue. Stop and think for a moment: if on day one you test 100,000 people (how that will be done is anybody's guess but let's assume it somehow is worked out logistically. A week later those tests are no longer relevant - those people may contract the virus. You are not cleared for all time by a negative test result - all that says is as of this day you don't have the virus, tomorrow is anybody's guess. Multiple that time 300 million people, and well its a joke, you can never logistically test 300 million people and even if you do by the next week the test results are of no use to anyone. We are currently in a state of mass hysteria like the St. Vitus Dance. Everyone needs to calm down.
2
@ACA But we sure need more tests of already existing drugs that may cure or at least reduce the effects of the virus.
1
@ACA Yes, the testing does not mean you won't get it, but for someone who suspects they have it and cannot get tested, what do you do? Err on side of caution and self isolate for 2 weeks? What if it's just a mild common cold? Can you afford to take 2 weeks off everytime you get a sniffle? Testing allows the pros (which this admin has run out of town) with the knowledge of how much it has spread, where it is which allows on getting a better handle on it.
The way this admin is running it is by stumbling around with blinders on and saying that all is well.
2
C'mon, Trump's response is "take two rate cuts and a too-little-too-late middle class tax cut and don't call back" AKA "you can't take it with you so just die quietly".
And it's not just Trump, it' the whole Republican Party that's screwing up.
Coronavirus is one of the major reasons for the slowdown but it was coming anyway (both the virus and the slowdown) and the Republicans knew that. Even Trump knew but they don't care about anybody but themselves.
Sure, Biden would be an improvement but he's not enough. I would have preferred Warren but there's no getting past the dilemma of government run by the wealthy for the wealthy until we get money out of the race.
2
We have all been involved in the financial scenario and we know how this scenario is going to end. The regular people get smashed and the rich keep on rolling as they over do.
No missed meals for them Maybe Trump will throw paper towels at all of us as he did in Puerto Rico.
Another newspaper is talking about how the Trump family is paying themselves for their work on the campaign, I am sure they wont miss a hair appointment while the rest of America goes without health care.
Nothing changes but the names who are involved in corruption
5
Conviction and incarceration would be a very good start.
5
Today we are getting what we voted for. That's what a democracy is.
3
Why the failure of the editorial board to not talk about the uninsured who are likely to spread the disease because they don't want to pay out of pocket? John Oliver showed that the segment showed a reporter asking Trump and pence "what about the uninsured?"
I asked the editorial board the same question what about the uninsured? what is it about the New York times that they fear with a good ground framework from Medicare for all? right now there is no floor for those without insurance.
3
If things get very bad, and hospitals treat hundreds or thousands of people who don't have insurance, the government will have to reimburse the clinics for the uncompensated care they provide. If it doesn't hospitals will fail all across the country. Could that be the start of Medicare for all? God works in strange ways.
3
It would be good if he resigned.
That's what the Nation needs.
4
There is a disease spreading that could, realistically, cause the deaths of 1% of the population. That's 3 million Americans at real risk
And the Trump's response ? Cut interest rates and perhaps payroll taxes.
Cutting payroll taxes will perhaps put a few $ in people's pockets - but for what reason - to buy hand sanitizer and stock up on dry goods?
Unbelievable. Does the GOP have any other policy ideas beyond tax cuts?
Hannity - over to you.
7
It won’t even help those who need it most-the people without paid sick leave.
2
@mrc "Cutting payroll taxes will perhaps put a few $ in people's pockets - but for what reason - to buy hand sanitizer and stock up on dry goods? "
Trump is focused on reelection. Pay no attention to that nasty virus man over there. I have free um things!
1
Agree that expanded sick leave make sense, but let's not be so quick to give "tax credits" to corporations to help them pay for it. Corporate America has squandered hundreds of billions on stock buybacks designed to enrich top execs and big Wall Street money. There should be no tax credits for any corporation that has bought back its own stock.
6
The incompetent only come up with incompetent solutions. Tax cuts will do nothing but provide Trump's followers more money for their prosperity ministers --- who probably pay no taxes in the first place.
Disincentivize greed as a first step. Create new taxes to prevent the increasingly corrupt 1% from taking advantage of the virus money to boost stock prices.
Develop an infrastructure spending plan that dovetails with the projected end of the virus so money is available for jobs and projects are shovel ready ready.
Increase unemployment and Medicaid insurance funds so people can live --- pay unemployment to anyone that is quarantined and doesn't get paid by their employer --- regardless of eligibility.
Hope that everything comes together and ignorance and arrogance of Washington doesn't kill off all the nursing home residents and old folks in America.
4
Trump is sanguine because like the buzzard he profits from the misfortune of others. When we see chaos and grief he waits for an opportunity to swoop in and get a free meal. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard that there are "Trump funeral homes" in the works ... or perhaps a remake of the Addams Family with Ivanka, Jared and Don Jr. and Eric in lead roles.
3
Trump doesn't do rational thinking only bombastic attack tweets and boasting of his unlimited genius on every subject. Overcoming the drive of a "malignant narcissist" is impossible as Trump sees the world thru the prism of his fragile ego how does it affect him is the only reaction he has to everything that happens. Trump needs to get re-elected or he faces dire consequences so calling foreign leaders to help him in on the table and the GOP terrified of their monster look the other way.
1
What the American economy needs from Trump is simple. A long walk on a short pier. End of story.
3
1. Note that 85% of the infected show minimal or no symptoms, yet are contagious.
2. The CDC recommends that only those who are infected, where masks.
3. Nobody knows if they are infected or not until tested.
4. Hence everybody should wear masks.
The reason not everybody is tested is because there are not enough tests to go around.
The only reason that not everybody is wearing masks, is because there are not enough masks to go around.
So much for the “Perfect Response” to the crisis from our “Beloved Leader”.
He is putting all of the protections in place where he believes they are needed most: in Wall street.
3
"Nothing Can Stop What's Coming!" is a slogan used by QAnonymous and it was a particular shoutout to them, and the meme may have even been generated by them. That the New York Times Editorial Board can write an op-ed piece that doesn't acknowledge that Trump is signaling the far right conspiracy group is egregious. Where's Steven Miller these days?
4
"... a broad-based tax cut, Washington’s preferred cure for all economic ailments..."
Whoa there, Nelly.
Let's be clear here: cutting taxes indiscriminately is a Republican thing, and has been the GOP's preferred snake oil cure for 40+ years.
1
We need Bernie in the White House and we need him now.
1
The very wealthy are going to use this panic to make a killing in the stock market further widening the wealth gap in this country. It's even more sickening than COVID-19.
1
What the economy needs, what the country and the world need is trump to leave.
Leave office, leave the country, he should just go away after shutting up.
2
Get ready for Trump to use this crisis as a pretext to cut taxes on the wealthy.
1
A crisis like a pandemic doesn't automatically doom a presidency. It's the response, whether ineffective, lacking in credibility or simply out-of-touch, that voters will punish.
Trump has the opportunity to "president" the heck out of this situation. He could propose measures like the ones described in this article. He could inform Americans of the measures that are being taken and where the gaps exist. He could be talking about what can be done to help the homeless, resident aliens, uninsured, elderly, medical workers and other people who might be at greater risk.
He could talk about new ideas for mail-order testing without a prescription, or drive-thru testing, or whatever proposals he has to mitigate the crisis.
Yesterday, when Dr Blix was telling Americans that we all had to work together to slow the transmission of this disease, the president had already left the stage. He's apparently concerned about the hotel industry but didn't have time to tell Americans that we're all in this together.
He's acting like he's not capable of handling this crisis, but that's all on him. He could be acting like a real president.
4
It seems like the universe of things Donald Trump doesn't know or understand must expand at greater-than-light-speed. That would also explain how it is that he is entirely unaware that there is anything he doesn't know or understand. And maybe the strangest part of this whole paradox is how he will express his own surprise at learning something new (like the fact that tens of thousands of Americans die of flu each year--who knew?!), then seamlessly slip back into assuming there's nothing he doesn't already know.
5
Obama inherited the Great Recession from Bush, managed our recovery and had eight years of solid economic growth. Trump, even though he tried to undo everything Obama accomplished, coasted on Obama's success until a situation arose that required leadership and knowledge. We see what happens when bluster and vituperation are substituted for judgement and expertise.
7
Trump should have the IRS waive all TAX monies owed since the current payroll deduction format is seriously flawed.
But "mandating paid sick leave and covering the cost, for example through a one-time tax credit" leaves out the 45% of taxpayers that pay no federal income tax to begin with. Even granting that many of these people are older and retired and don't need paid sick leave, this would penalize the poorest workers.
The only fair way to pay for mandatory paid sick leave is by adjusting the income tax to force the upper 5-10% to contribute more overall. I say this as a relatively high income taxpayer.
2
What America and the world needs is a credible messenger to keep us informed and aware that the Corona virus is not the second coming of the Bubonic plague. If you are under 60 and have no underlying health issues, the marginal increased risk to your health from before is too low to measure.
Yes, we need to protect the vulnerable in our population, but it's a fool's errand to think that any measure is going to limit the spread of the virus through the population. Our efforts need to focus on isolating those at RISK if exposed, not those who might be already exposed.
If Trump had any credibility, maybe he could convey this message and restore our faith that the only thing (the vast majority of us) have to fear is fear itself. Unfortunately, he doesn't.
2
Herr Trump has never been a true leader and his response to this epidemic proves that he never will be. Plans had been created for a national response to this type of situation after Swine Flu, Sars and Ebola scares. He dismantled these efforts, under the mantra of "too much government". Now his only hope is that it all goes away, as some epidemics do. A true leader does not make this kind of bet on the lives and well being of the people he is obliged to serve and protect.
6
What we have to do is end the Republican myth of Supply Side economics. The cycle has gone on since Reagan: a few years of boom times caused by huge corporate tax cuts that are funded by a ballooning national debt, followed by panic and a looming recession. Clinton saved us from Reagan’s economy, Obama from Bush’s—and now, if we’re lucky, another Democratic President will arrive just in time to clean up yet another Republican mess.
5
A payroll tax cut as an economic panacea is grossly unfair to seniors, who bear the brunt of economic downturns like this one, should we go into recession. Their nest eggs get wiped out, they have no opportunity to make up the losses, they can't put their money anywhere "safe" because yields are so low, taxes on Social Security benefits continue to gouge them because they are not indexed to inflation, they get no benefit from a payroll tax cut, and to add insult to injury, nobody seems to care or even talk about them.
On top of all that, they are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus itself. It's lose, lose, lose for seniors.
1
@hark Yes, and using this as an excuse to temporarily starve Social Security is just the response you'd expect from a heartless, mindless elitist.
If the federal government is to pick up the tab for uninsured people, at the least, they should require states to expand Medicaid in order to be funded. Why should tax payers who have been underwriting the expansion in blue states subsidize red states who have not contributed to the coast?
2
A better response would be to increase the funding for fighting the virus plus many other viruses. Trump likes to compare the deaths from COVID-19 to the flu and common cold (some of which are caused by other coronaviruses). It kills around 12,000 persons in the U.S. every year (CDC estimate)
But, what about the AIDS epidemic? It kills around 13,000 persons in the U.S. every year (and about 700,000 world wide). The WHO have estimated that as many as 32 million persons have died of AIDS worldwide by the end of 2018. I don't see anyone getting upset over that, yet it is a major pandemic that is the second worst in the last 100 years (after the 1918-19 'flu').
The reality is that we have a lot viruses that kill a lot of people every year, in the U.S. and elsewhere. The best response is to put more money (a lot more money than the $8+ billion that Congress just passed) into public health and biotech R&D.
1
What the economy needs from Trump is a credible and effective response to the public health crisis. That's where you start.
3
All things good do not from globalism come. I only wish this Editorial Board would draw up a ledger of the pros and cons of a globalized economy. If I'm not mistaken the pros are sent out in reams of NY Times ink, while the cons are swept behind the desk. The coronavirus could certainly be counted as a bad thing, brought about by - you guessed it, globalism. Must have missed it in the article. In WNC we're missing Hemlocks and stately American Chestnuts - and their destruction came from overseas. And we're always talking about global climate warming - I'd say that's got something to do with globalism. You would at least expect environmentalists to decry this. Or at a minimum, to advocate for smaller is better - at least when it comes to the vast numbers of humans on a "globalized" planet.
There are reasons why keeping it simple works. Looks like the Law of Unforeseen Consequences is catching up.
1
"Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times. A coronavirus recession would be doubly painful, as lower-income households are likely to pay a heavier toll in both health and wealth."
That, in a nutshell, is the real disaster, and the long ignored elephant in the room.
Structural change is needed....
2
What the current crisis needs is FREE access to testing for the Coronavirus. Everything else is noise. A significant number of Americans have no health insurance, and no doctor. We cannot even understand the scope of the problem until we can insurance that everyone can gain access to these tests.
Once we understand the real scope of the problem, we can have a rational discussion about supporting the economy. The Time's position is just a wish list of goodies without any regard to its real benefits to our economy.
1
We fell behind in health care for anyone who needs it, fell behind in sick leave and progressive work/family policies, fell behind in income inequality.
Not a good prescription for the spread of a serious illness.
1
What the economy needs is a new President, this one is clueless and incompetent.
He should be removed by an Article 25 proceeding involving the Cabinet certifying to Congress that the President is no longer capable of performing the duties of his office. If the President disagrees, then Congress must vote in a very short time to either sustain the Cabinet's recommendation or to disapprove of it. Once approved, the Vice President is then named President. We could in theory have a new President in about a week if everyone would move quickly. Then you would see a market rebound.
1
The GOP has been looking for some sort of event to justify reducing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
This is the GOP's Black Swan and once they take advantage of it - the senior and financially weak will NEVER recover from it.
6
What I will find unacceptable is if/ when we bail out Carnival cruise line ( incorporated in Bermuda) and the airlines ( who bought back stock shares instead of saving for a rainy day).
4
Yes, Trump's lame response to the COVID-19 crisis is stunning in its ignorance, though as the years of his presidency roll on, it's less stunning than it might have been when he promised to be "so presidential."
What's becoming even more troubling, however, is the sycophantic support he's getting from Congressional Republicans, who blithely go along as if their Dear Leader can do no wrong. Their behavior amounts to an abdication of their sworn responsibilities, and is so lacking in leadership than it boggles the mind.
Their culpability in allowing Trump to continue risking the lives and economic well being of Americans is something voters may well consider in the November elections, when they will have a chance to send a message that enough is enough.
Not to trivialize this health crisis, but all of this is reminiscent of the incompetent response of Chicago's then Mayor Michael Bilandic, who following a debilitating blizzard in 1979, failed to deliver the much needed city services required to remove thirty-five inches of snow from the city's streets. Bilandic went down to defeat in the next election.The same could, and should, happen to Trump in November.
As Trump would say, "we'll have to see."
Yes, we will.
5
The Trump response to the crisis would be comical if it was not so serious. But there is a far bigger threat. Does anyone think this will be the last crisis that the US ever faces? Surely there will be another. And if Trump is at the helm, what then? Do you think that he will show more leadership the next go round?
This is one reason why the man is so dangerous. His first instinct was to protect what he thought would be his best road to reelection and self aggrandizement. It is his go-to move. Do you think he will change and become more enlightened after this? What has he ever done that would make anyone think that?
9
The current crisis is an existential threat to Mr Trump's reelection chances. Even with an economy creating record levels of jobs, he was still only ever neck-in-neck with his potential Democrat rivals. If the economy deteriorates, as the financial markets fear, over the course of the next 8 months not only could we be seeing a defeat for Mr Trump, but a rout of Republicans tainted by association.
135
@Melbourne Town
You are mistaken. When the dust settles and hysteria dies down, Americans will see that Trump acted swiftly to address the virus and minimize its impact on the economy.
Many made the mistake you are making with Russian collusion and impeachment. "The beginning of the end" they predicted. They were wrong. In fact, he came out of it with higher approval ratings.
7
@AACNY
42% strongly disagreed with his response in a recent poll, up significantly from the previous poll
26
Swiftly? South Korea knew about the virus the same time as we did, and yet has been able to test ten times as many people. Trump’s picks for leadership are as disastrous as his own leadership, or lack thereof.
56
I actually laughed out loud when reading that Trump's solution to all of this is tax cuts.
After siphoning trillions of dollars upwards and dismantling the systems that would allow us to respond to both the virus and the economic crash, he's going to save the downtrodden by sorta cutting payroll taxes on hourly workers.
Mission accomplished!
193
@Dan
Reducing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is just another give-away to business, not a solution to a problem that trump manufactured through ignorance!
COVID-19 is now being politicized by trump and soon, by the GOP as cover to reduce programs they don't like.
16
@LivingWithInterest AND, payroll tax cuts will reduce Social Security to people whose retirement savings just got hammered in the stock market.
16
@Dan
Cutting payroll taxes is also a gift to big business.
5
So, NYT, tell us again why some version of Medicare for All just can't work and Bernie would be a disaster?
Everything your article wants would be delivered if Bernie was elected and could establish some form of medicare for all, like the universal health coverage every single other industrialized nation has had for years.
103
@RLiss ...If Bernie were be elected exactly nothing would happen.You have to have the support of the House and the Senate to get anything done, and Sanders has done nothing to help down ballot races. Maybe you should ask yourself why all Sanders' Senate colleagues are supporting Biden. I wonder if it might be that in his 30 years in Congress Sanders has accomplished next to nothing?
24
@RLiss
You are spot on.
The NYT Editorial Board is NOW also spot on with these thoughts BUT where was the Board's thinking when it decided to endorse Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Dems nominee three/four weeks ago? Why was Mr. Sanders not the selected candidate if all that the Board states in this article now are the real thoughts and ideas of the NYT editorial board?
10
@RLiss Bernie would be a disaster and M4A a train wreck in this situation. The private sector creates vaccines and tests not M4A or the federal government. It takes time once a "new" virus is identified to create a vaccine or a test and Americans absoulely want it done quickly which requires scientific expertise, laboratories and manufacturing. Non of which exist in the federal government on a scale to supply 350M Americans.
2
This is not an economic crisis.
This is a health crisis, and the economic distress is a symptom.
We don't need tax cuts. We need healthcare, and we need support for gig economy and hourly wage workers.
And We Need to Pay for It
4
The evergreen plaint of "It costs too much" is a phrase that has cost the citizens far more than the putative savings have ever promised.
Cutbacks in health, education, family services, science based research, white collar law enforcement, and the move to privatization of services has meant less benefit to citizens while the wealthy line their pockets.
We are paying the price of a too-lax approach to the things that need our attention. Climate change disasters that are an unfolding tragedy of which disease outbreaks are a part of, demonization of the poor as freeloaders and denigration of scholarship as it conflicts with the profit motive are all part of our penny "wise", pound foolish incompetence when it comes to the real economic costs of our policies.
116
Trump needs to resign and ask Hillary to take charge.
3
"Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times."
A succinctly damning observation. Of course, there is much good too, but there are some ugly fundamental truths that should be remembered so that one day, perhaps they will no longer be true.
1
One of the best ways to reduce the virus’ spread is to prevent community transmission, by which I mean the transmission to the community of the president’s lies and incoherent misinformation he spews at each public appearance.
4
It’s during a crisis that brings the “cream” to the top of leadership. During the early days of the Trump phenomenon, almost daily, he would do or say something that most normal I.Q. citizens would say “Now that for sure will end his candidacy!”
Then, the next day, the cloud would suddenly disappear and he would still be standing.
Will the Coronavirus and the Stock Market be the “magic bullet” that finally takes him down?
Probably not, but, superhero Joe Biden and a running mate like Amy could, and for the sake of this planet, has to!
3
Typical NYT: world ends, women and minorities hardest hit. You ALWAYS you advocate for socialism; It’s a closed loop: everything, always, points out the need for bigger government, higher taxes, deeper debt, more mandates, less freedom, and “universal” everything.
Perhaps because leftists always assume away reality and, by definition, don’t understand economics, their proposals inevitable sow the seeds for catastrophe. You’d think you would have learned when leftist “affordable housing” policies tanked the entire world economy.
There is NEVER a need for “huge spending”, certainly not now, and certainly not federal. States, unlike the feds, labor under an obligation to actually pay for public services. It seems you regard that as a flaw in the system. If states face higher public health costs, perhaps they will have to cut spending somewhere else. Or raise taxes. THAT is how responsibility works, as nothing is ever “free”.
Interestingly, you’re right about cutting the FICA tax; it’s neither good policy nor a good “stimulus”. But you’re 217% wrong about governmental spending, which, again, you support in good times and bad. Private investment produces a much better rate of return on investment than governmental “infrastructure” spending. We MUST maintain our governmental assets, but it is (almost) NEVER an economic benefit to do so.
Free economies fix themselves. Government can create the conditions for prosperity, but cannot guarantee it. All efforts to do so end badly.
1
If only the low-information trump would read the NYT's there might be hope!
2
Trump squandered his inheritance from Fred.
And also from Barack.
See?
At least he is an equal opportunity squanderer.
Keep ‘Merica Great — fleece it dry!
2
“His characteristic combination of ignorance, arrogance and indifference seems likely to push the economy over the edge.”
-Trump’s ignorance: “Good for the consumer, gasoline prices coming down!”
-Trump’s arrogance: “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus.”
-Trump’s lie: “The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant.”
1
Trump fiddles like Nero while the country and much of the rest of the world is burning.
Should the corona virus not be in check by October 2020, he might as well declare martial law akin to a certain Austrian paper hanger after the Reichstagsfire in Berlin.
1
@Sarah - According to Suetonius in his Lives Of The Twelve Caesars ..... Nero played the lyre with some skill....not the fiddle.
"What the Economy Needs From President Trump" NYTimes headline.
Answer: A resignation ASAP.
2
What the economy needs from President Trump ......
A replacement President..... 'nuff said.
3
But Hunter Biden.
2
Trump needs to talk to Bernie.
2
Trump WAS elected by Americans. Learn to live with your choices.
1
@Georges - But not the popular vote.....the actual choice of the American voters.
1
The coronavirus is a global problem...Blaming Trump is your usual go to blame game ...Admit you won’t approve of anything he does..
I am far from a Trump supporter ..let’s look at things realistically ..world needs to get money changing hands...
Can’t really get that done under quarantine...so this might take a while...then with consumers in all areas of supply chain exchanging money and having confidence, world can come forward.
Russia/ Saudi oil war isn’t helping,..they have bigger worries...as EVs get closer to having batteries that need go 350-400 per charge the oil demand is owing to ebb...forever
1
You don’t think Russia is loving this? Funny how we hear no Covid cases coming out of Moscow
2
@Mark There is a glaring absence of ANY reporting from russia, as putin controls the state media. Do you really think they have no Covid-19 cases?
1
Another editorial that assumes Trump and his administration, which consists of sycophants and unqualified individuals, is capable of addressing the coronavirus in an educated, honest, and coordinated way. More broadly, these folks are incapable of handling any issue of substance. Putting to words entreaties of what Trump should be doing is like whistling in the wind. Why bother, its an exercise in futility. Trump exists in a narcissistic cloud, surrounded by individuals who fear speaking truth to power. We are staring at the medical crisis, with huge societal and economic impacts, which requires honest information in order to make smart decisions on how to proceed. That is the only way to talk about disease. Make all the suggestions you want for Trump, he isn't listening (or reading).
2
As a 70 year old the combination of a pandemic, a crashing stock market and the very real possibility of a global recession is extremely depressing. Then watching the Washington "elites" response to the virus and its impact on both the economy and our health care adds to the sense of doom. Trump and congress must get their act together.
2
"Once the danger has passed, the best way to get things moving again would be for Mr. Trump to follow through on his longstanding promise to deliver a significant increase in federal spending on the nation’s decrepit infrastructure: lead water pipes, an overwhelmed electric grid, unreliable public transportation systems." Trump is never going to deliver on those promises, but Bernie will - call him "crazy" if you want but his long-standing, consistent record of promoting programs and policies that benefit the citizens on Main Street stand in stark contrast to Trump's "...characteristic combination of ignorance, arrogance and indifference..."
2
Imagine if a Dem were president. Is there any doubt that Trump & McConnell would weaponize the pandemic and the economy to create pain for Americans to promote Republican political interests? Republicans, led by McConnell, are the reason Americans lost homes and jobs. They hamstrung the economic recovery to sabotage Obama's presidency so Obama & the Dems would look bad. They harmed America and their fellow citizens to further their political interests. Small wonder an impeachment on Trump abusing his power and trust to do the same failed.
Now the party of "businessmen" who created trillion dollar annual deficits despite a booming economy while doing nothing to fix infrastructure or health care follow a charlatan conman who believes debt is actually income and repaying debt is for suckers. We should be just fine.
Money should be pumped to hourly workers so they can stay home. A month or more of sick leave made available. The gov't should assure its citizens it will cover medical testing and not use a crisis to give additional tax breaks to Don Jr. or build a wall or make the crisis the fault of the other party.
Remarkable that Republicans cannot manage this as well as the most impoverished 3rd world country. I hope the country spanks them in November.
2
"We’re in this mess because our policymakers failed to plan for the future. "
No. We're in this mess because a significant portion of American voters couldn't be bothered to either vote or to vote for a charlatan who has staffed the government with more charlatans.That's why.
3
An employer who doesn't offer paid sick days is inhumane.
I don't know how they look their employees in the face.
But since they apparently don't care, the U.S. should require mandatory sick pay for all employees - whether full time, part time, or contractors.
2
Will it take a complete and total disaster to convince anti-government Americans at last that we need a new New Deal?
I always suspected that I would, but I didn't WANT there to have to be a total disaster.
Maybe it has finally arrived! Maybe Trump is an ill-mannered version of Herbert Hoover, and the time has come for (someone) to be a new FDR.
But what will the next few months bring first? Can other countries slow the spread of the virus the way China has? And the way Korea is starting to?
I guess we will know fairly soon whether we're looking at total disaster, or a short term dip.
I want Trump out as much as a lot of people who comment on here, but will there really have to be a major recession/ depression for that to happen?
2
The Trump plan for anything will be for Wall Street, not Main Street. The incompetence will be overwhelming as one sees the groups of stooges always surrounding Trump and they know no more than he does.
2
"Once the danger has passed, the best way to get things moving again would be for Mr. Trump to follow through on his longstanding promise to deliver a significant increase in federal spending on the nation’s decrepit infrastructure: lead water pipes, an overwhelmed electric grid, unreliable public transportation systems." Trump is never going to deliver on those promises, but Bernie will - call him "crazy" if you want but his long-standing, consistent record of promoting programs and policies that benefit the citizens on Main Street stand in stark contrast to Trump's "...characteristic combination of ignorance, arrogance and indifference..."
2
Now Trump wants to cut payroll taxes- well that's what goes toward Social Security folks. DO NOT cut payroll taxes. Get rid of this government and all of the misery they have created with their incompetency and arrogance.
2
If you heat your home with fuel oil watch for a short term bottom and fill your tanks. Even we peons can get in on a bear market.
1
There should be a National pandemic plan : to be funded as part of Federal defence budget. Something like below (high level)
- Pandemic ports (air, ship, land etc.) of entry - these should be specially constructed ports to handle in pandemic situations.
- all incoming passengers to be funnelled to these designated entry ports (which are not regularly / normally used ports)
- Ports are in remote areas away from large population.
- Ports to have quarantine facilities for large number of passengers.
- cleared ones can proceed after quarantine period.
- Federal plan to retain ability to mass produce and store medications, testing kits and other facilities required.
- Federal pandemic response personnel and infrastructure for free diagnostic testing, treatment and management.
- Other personnel with good training for pandemic scenarios.
- Single portal (web portal, and paper publication, automated phone instruction number) to allow federal govt. to provide regular, substantive official updates and reliable advisory information.
- Make it part of federal defense strategy to mandate diversification of supply chain (spread across multiple continents) for Businesses and also mandate a certain percentage to be manufactured within shores to retain talent and infrastructure.
- No cruise ships during a pandemic scenario and no unnecessary mass gatherings.
Measures to be proactive and well defined.
1
The economy and the people it shelters need compassion and wisdom that give us solid people centered policies most of all, things in very short supply in Trump himself and his ramshackle administration. The rich need nothing as their golden parachutes are already prepared. But workers and everyone else need guaranteed coverage of their health care bills and need personal sick days or adequate employee compensation to cover lost pay.
Blaming others for this crisis as is Trump's custom just will not do. It is only a substitute for real action and a steady hand. Can Trump rise to this crisis and help us in our fears? For the past four years he has done nothing but feed our hatreds and fears as he fed us nothing but lies. We are on our own as Trump has done nothing for this country up to now but tare us apart with his own fear stoked anger and egotism.
1
Ignorance and arrogance--fatal character flaws in Trump---will lead to very little being done to handle the health crisis , other than false assurances of little to fear and empty promises that will have small benefit. Trump's approach to solving the sickening of society by this sometimes deadly virus is to give workers a money benefit---payroll tax cut--in other words, keep working. Especially for the poor who live from paycheck to paycheck, giving up a week's work means going hungry. You have an apt metaphor in your article--the rich can afford to self-quarantine, while relying on the poor, who despite their not feeling well , will struggle --as long as they can---to deliver the Amazon packages of food and sustenance to the quarantined wealthy. What the wealthy do not understand is that their Amazon deliverer may be delivering the virus along with his package.
A sickened worker should be allowed to recover before he sickens others, not be forced into mingling with others to earn a paycheck. Where is the wisdom in simply giving the worker a little more money (payroll tax cut) and not make allowances for a sick person to take off and recover?
1
Food for thought. The current vulgar bully in the Oval Office, a narcissistic 'brutus ignoramus' by choice, requires always immediate satisfaction, and applause, no matter how stupid his proposals. And always short-term, as if there wasn't tomorrow. And lying about reality when inconvenient, or finding scapegoats (democrats) for his incompetence in planning to contain a crisis, shall not save him from judgement...and, hopefully, dismissal. Can't we see that, as long as Trump is up there, destroying this democracy and any chance to allow the evidence dictate his actions, we will continue to pay too high a price, even our lives, for lack of long-term plans, and for his disregard of the voices of reason and expertise?
1
“Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me!” Well, for maybe once in his life he's uttered the truth. He and his economic gurus, Kudlow and Mnuchin, will pander to the needs of the fat cats and dismiss the very problematic economic ramifications for most Americans, e.g. lost work time, event and school closures, overburdened hospitals and healthcare facilities, cost to the airline and cruise ship industries, etc. Trump with a fiddle - fitting, as he plays a bad tunes, fumes and careens out of control waiting for the next opportunity to dismiss the advice of experts while telling the American people he has a hunch about how things will go and how much he knows (i.e., just ask those folks at the CDC). This will pass and he'll play more golf, rant about the fake news, castigate the Democrats... and do what Trump does best, nothing much.
1
It's too late. Our fate was sealed in November 2016. It just needs to play out.
And the GOP will do nothing, absolutely nothing to stem the tide.
It's like watching an alcoholic bottom out and hoping everything survives the inevitable damage.
We just need to make it till January 2021 . Trump will ignore the election results if he loses.
1
The only thing a payroll tax cut does is undermine Social Security’s and Medicare’s finances.... as in helps bankrupt those programs.
It’s as good an idea as assisted suicide is.
How about a clawback of the 2017 0.1% Welfare Queen Tax Cut Act to pay for free testing and coronavirus healthcare?
Trump and the GOP are not only awful in governing; they know nothing whatsoever about economics except for personal greed.
D to go forward; R for reverse.... over the cliff.
1
The Trump says that if you are sick, just continue working, especially if you have no paid sick live, can't afford to see the doctor, or don't have health insurance.
Everything will be fine, and your sacrifice will boost not only the economy, but the Trump's re-election chances!
1
@Jim Remington - Cremation rhymes with nation.....just saying.
"What the Economy Needs From President Trump." His resignation would be a good start.
1
While the only president to serve four terms over 12 incredibly tumultuous years told the American people, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,' the current and incumbent IMPOTUS
is the only thing we have to fear today, tomorrow and for as long as he holds his illegitimately elected office.
1
Two days ago, in the CBS morning show, the financial advisor advised that people should keep 6 or 7 months of money on hand, and the show hosts didn't bat an eyelid. This is how the privileged liberals are leading their lives, oblivious to the situation that something like 80% of the population are within a few hundred dollars of ruin, let alone having half a year's supply of cash. Thank you to President Trump and House and Senate leaders of both parties to have a better sense.
1
@Robby
Privileged liberals? The conservative GOP is simply dripping with money, thanks to all of the self-serving tax cut welfare for the rich. And Trump and the Senate have no sense except nonsense for the 99%.
"Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times." That's false. It's the Supreme Court that has been doing that to us, as per the Times' own Adam Cohen's Supreme Inequality demonstrates.
Trump is fighting for Republican ideas about national healthcare which they feel are more fatal to them than a little flu virus. If they allow the nation to feel the need for a national and universal healthcare program, like other countries have, then irreversible damage will be done to the American Dream. Americans can't have class mobility if everybody's equal. This coronavirus is a nightmare for the anti-egalitarian Republicans because it breeds a far worse disease: democracy.
2
Sound advice, but with a president and his party in deep denial of a health crisis and a potential economic crisis, count on the delusional and incompetent Trump administration doing exactly the wrong things.
1
As of today, only a little over 3000 people in this country of almost 330 million have been tested. Without testing all of those people who present themselves for testing when displaying symptoms immediately all across the country, we are in for a very rocky road. At this point, we have two streams of thought, those that know enough, have humility, and common sense, and are practicing social distancing, not only for themselves but for their fellow persons in this country. The other thought, is that of the NBA, and NCAA players who say they won't play without the fans, and 3 older white males, that want to have rallies. I am sorry to inform them, but that attitude is first of all, is very ignorant, selfish, and is what too many people are thinking in everyday situations, they just aren't thinking, period. This coronavirus COVID-19, is supposed to last through the entire year, so we will see how quickly it takes, for the virus to spread, simply because we have too many of our leaders, who are just as ignorant as many in the population. The best economic help that the Congress, and leaders can give, is to give all of the truth, and put only doctors, scientists, and experts in charge of what needs to be done, otherwise, any other economic stimulus won't matter, if we are mostly sick, and dying.
2
I'd say what the economy needs from Trump is the same thing we've all needed from Trump for a long time now: his belt, his absurdly long tie, his shoelaces, & his valuables.
1
Sure hope that 'free money' won't be an incentive to lower corporate taxes even more, with no public benefit whatsoever, leaving ordinary people holding the bag (as usual). Borriwing money at zero interests (practically) is a huge incentive in renovating our infra-structure (among other things)...but not before the current lying destructor in-chief is ousted. It's time!
1
I don't understand why you continue to give advice to someone who is not capable of understanding what you are saying or, if a light bulb goes off over the head, would not heed it anyway.
The republican cult and its leaders are intentionally destroying our democracy so it can be replace with their vision of a monarchy.
You would be much better advised to pound on the ignorance and utter unfitness of this political party rather than shouting into a wind storm.
1
What crisis could he be good in? Global warming, cancer on the rise? I would like to find out which friend of his is making money off those test kits.
1
Now we are hearing Trump talking about a payroll "tax cut" as though the magic words "tax cut" will miraculously right our economic ship. All it will do is give the average American taxpayer a new bill to pay come April 15, 2011. What bill you ask? The taxes owed to the United States Treasury. If payroll taxes are cut that means that you will have less money already paid when next years taxes are due. An extra $20.00/week in you paycheck due to a payroll tax cut means $1,040.00 less paid into the United States Treasury when you file your taxes next year. SURPRISE
1
How about Fox "News" anchors who consistently spread lies being fined by the FCC that gives them rights to the airways? Illness is not an opinion or a political stunt. They are a danger to the public.
1
Important and illuminating analysis!!
Payroll tax cuts will simply spread an increment of stimulus to a large pool of people. What is needed -- for two reasons -- is targeted relief for individuals hit by the virus who will miss work days. 1. They need to make up for whole weeks of lost paychecks, not just a few bucks each week over the next year. 2. They need an incentive and support to actually stay home from the onset of their symptoms so as to staunch the spread of the virus to us all.
The solution should be some kind of immediate relief in the form of paid sick days supported by the federal government for all -- including restaurant workers and others who need it the most and are most likely to infect others. One mechanism for this could be a modification of the unemployment insurance system to include coverage for paid sick days.
1
"What the Economy Needs From President Trump"
His resignation.
1
Hey Donnie and Mitch where is that health care plan that was going to be big beautiful and cheap? We could sure use that about now.
1
Our economy needs him to resign.
1
Trump is sick. That violin tweet is insane? If someone in my family behaved like this we would have taken them in to get serious “help” long ago. Right?
This person, who sits in our Whitehouse shows unbalanced behavior like this multiple times everyday. He says crazy incoherent things, lies constantly, uncontrollable lashing out at others, blurts out inappropriate things, flys into rages, unable to stop praising himself, adolescent name calling, I could go on and on. Right?
So how did we as America end up like this? The more important question I want to know is how much more of this can we take? All Americans, Democrats and Republicans must ask themselves this crucial question!
1
u are too optimistic, politicians will never invest in infrastacture and education as the payback will be after their terms are over and benefit their opponents, so we continue kicking the can.
1
The problem is who the President is. A Chief that would tell companies to pay workers sick time or else, and one that would tell banks to give an emergency break to mortgage and credit card distressed clients, or else their corp free money privilege at the FED loan window will be suspended, would make instant impact.
What Dems need to stop is any tax cut that effectively allows corps, and their owners, to turn such $$$ around to shore up their stocks. And a cut that leaves more to tap out of SS and Medicare collection accounts smells of that type cut. With the added "plus" that such a cut in SS and Medicare revenues can become permanent, leading to the "need" to cut benes because of coming "shortfalls". Trump would love that.
& maybe Dems, since GOPs desperately need their House votes, can suggest a rider. DACA passed into law. Just a suggestion, can drop it...but it will highlight how much GOPs are willing to let country hurt in order to deport.
1
Trump is a coward and nothing he does is for the benefit of the country, only himself.
1
As much as I'm enjoying the Trump Slump, I need things to re turn to normal soon.
1
The media promotes panic and fear, and the public responds accordingly by overreacting. You don't need toilet paper and water during a pandemic. I think Trump will be correct about the virus in the US.
1
@M - The media generally reports events as they see them happening. The media is "truth" as it seems to them at that moment. At times it will be somewhat inaccurate, but it is the best that independent journalism can do at any given time. If the "truth" "promotes panic and fear" then panic an fear may well be justified since there is no way to accurately predict the future.
1
Our "ally" Saudí Arabia caused Monday's global selloff, by announcing the insanity of increasing oil supply while the world's demand for oil has collapsed.
What is the US government doing about it? Nothing!!!
For the Saudis, slaughering journalists, dumping commodities and crsshing the global economy are perfectly accepted behavior.
2
"We’re in this mess because our policymakers failed to plan for the future. "
No Obama put in place a Pandemic team designed to deal with just this kind of emergency. Trump threw it away. So trump and his enablers own this. Republicans own this. Don't tar Democrats with that brush.
2
Rest assured. If this set of recommendations was put forth by Fox News, it would be accepted in a flash. Coming from The Times, it will be pitched out immediately. Nonetheless, we should not be surprised if we are told to perform violin solos and then share on the web as a great way to avoid crowds and placate the masses.
1
There was the episode in _The West Wing_ where White House aide Sam Seaborn is playing chess against President Bartlet. The President is flitting in and out of the room while performing diplomatic brinkmanship concerning a South China Sea crisis. The expert chessmaster is playing two games at once: a metaphorical game and a real one.
While playing, the two are discussing the international crisis.
"See the WHOLE BOARD, Sam," Bartlet urges his aide.
See the whole board: China is trying to get its factories back up and running. Xi visited Wuhan, and was photographed wearing a white lab coat, a basic face mask, and no gloves. The message: "It's safe enough for me to visit, therefore it's safe enough for you to come back to work."
See the whole board: China will need, eventually, to reestablish its international export trade. Cheap oil will make huge container ships less expensive to operate.
See the whole board: The US & China should declare a _truce_ in the trade war. Yes, we have legitimate grievances concerning IP theft. But the two countries have a greater interest in restoring an orderly system of international trade and commerce. Trump & Xi should agree to drop tariffs completely.
See the whole board: Any US infrastructure spending, whether it's to replenish (and then to expand) our stockpiles of essential medical supplies, or to rebuild and repair bridges and roads, will require import goods from China.
See the whole board! "You're going to run for president."
1
A superabundance of lemons teaches us to make lemonade. Taking advantage of historically low yields on T-bills to rehabilitate our infrastructure is lemonade for all.
Pucker up, America!
1
The economy needs a resignation or two (better) to restore rational thinking to the WH, the sooner the better.
1
Wait a minute.
Are we all in agreement that this is no longer a hoax?
As in the most intelligent and most handsome man who ever walked on this green earth who has never told a lie in his life just lied to us?
Whew.
That Donald really blindsided us this time.
1
“Historians generally agree the Emperor Nero did not actually fiddle while Rome burned, but Mr. Trump apparently likes the image. On Sunday, he retweeted a meme of himself playing the violin.”
Nero, like Trump, blamed others for catastrophic events: Nero blamed the Christians for the Roman fires; Trump blames the Democrats and the Fake News for the American coronavirus epidemic.
1
What the economy needs from trump? Only one thing, his irreversible Resignation, to take affect immediately, if not sooner!!
1
Don’t expect any type of legislation to provide sick pay until trump’s supporters start coming down with covid-19.
1
The republicans' concerns about the people's welfare are nil, zero, nada. I am 100% sure that the Republicans wants Trump to resign so that they have a chance in the next election. It is not a sick President that is a problem, it is a sick administration and a sick Republican Senate.
All these explanations about bonds, rates, what to do and the likes are some sort of therapy for logical people. The NYT needs to come to grips with the magnitude of the ignorance of the people "in charge".
1
@Ard - The Republican run Senate has the support and backing of people who are better able to isolate themselves physically and economically during the current epidemic. They are, therefore, less motivated to vote for measures to alleviate the general effects of the epidemic since there is less pressure from those that they represent than there would otherwise be. Measures from the House may not go through the Senate with ease.
Trump's tombstone inscription should read: "His preening narcissism, his compulsive lying, his vindictiveness, his terror of germs and his terrifying inability to grasp basic science — all of it eclipsed his primary responsibilities to us as Americans, which was to provide urgent care, namely in the form of leadership".
1
Who knew Nero could play the violin? Everybody’s saying they are surprised I am so good at this. Maybe I have a natural ability?
1
Wonderful editorial, but what the country needs is a new administration and senate. Your words to the President is like
"casting pearls before swine" Mathew 7:6.
1
Here's what the economy really needs: Trump and his crime family quarantined, and I don't mean at Mob-a-Lago, but in prison for a few years. This would be a start to healing a nation infected with Agent Orange. Thank you in advance.
1
I find it interesting that many of the ideas the NYT espouses to address the Coronavirus as well as its economic implications are positions of real change proposed by Bernie Sanders. However, they have beat the drumbeat for Biden who represents status quo, not real, meaningful change for those "who are hurting", as one of your own headlines states.
1
You would not believe the amenities,comps, and upgrades we just got on the cruise we booked to 5 Chinese ports, Hong Kong and Korea.
Some never before offered.
Burial at sea.
1
Wow, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Nothing about the game of chicken between Trump’s two “friends,” Putin and MBS that crashed the price of oil and fired a record loss on Wall Street?
Every voter should take notice that Republicans will apply “socialistic” subsidy to failing companies, but never to struggling people. Corona virus Testing for the uninsured? Nah, pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
2
Thanks to Matt gaetz and Ted Cruz, Trump is already infected with CPAC-19.
And yes it is terminal. At least for dotards.
1
Lower gas prices, cheaper mortgages, Trump voters out of work—sounds good to me
1
Another big help would be for the government to foot the bill for corona virus victims medical and quarantine expenses. Yes, I know, that's socialized medicine. Can't we just help people out and forget about the name calling?
1
Ironically, the only known healthy GOP members are either in federal prison or were kicked off the GOP island while being denigrated. Trump NOT liking you is a healthier state.
I always thought Cruz, Meadows, Collins, and Gaetz were sick puppies but now it’s official and they were all “swapping spit” figuratively and literally at the CPAC meeting. That’s a biblical story if ever there was one and should get those good Christians to reassess their behavior. Do I hear an Amen?
1
@Bobbogram
Amen.
But wait... what about the deficit.... the debt... no it’s the deficit... the debt...
Sarcasm, of course.
1
@Dra
The GOP only cares about deficits when Dems are in power.
Seems like a good time for Andrew Yang's give everyone (under a certain income leve ) a $1000 a month until things get better.
1
Trump has squandered his opportunity for credibility. He has shown himself consistently as one wrapped entirely in self. Truth is mere commodity to him to that end. And that is not going to change. Period!
1
Are "investors" selling stocks? Saying that implies that individuals are driving the steep decline. Something like 70% of trades are driven by programmed trades, not by Joe Sixpack analyzing his portfolio and saying sell,panic,sell.
1
Hopefully we can suspend our partisan differences long enough to begin working with people that think differently than us. Throwing red meat to the base to motivate them in some truly awful ways of thinking, (big surprise that the earth is now gripped with fear, when the most powerful man on earth uses fear and fear alone to rule), is not working. Both the progressives and Trump just appeal to the base to increase turnout, with neither trying to unite with the other side. But this working with others that you think differently from, is the basis of democracy.
1
This is the best Op-Ed I've seen from The New York Times in years. I'm a New York registered Republican. It is refreshing to see a piece where you give sound advice to the President. There has never been a better time to invest in infrastructure than now with low interest rates. Many people across party lines have been agreeing on this for a while. I wish you keep highlighting this opportunity that could potentially create jobs and improve our infrastructure so more decision makers get on board. Thank you for writing this excellent piece.
1
Again, I say study the Trump University economic model and you will come to an understanding how trump runs his/our finances. The model looks great for a while until the straw is exposed and by then its too late for all of us except for trump.
3
Another way to describe a "payroll tax cut" is as a raid on the Social Security Trust Fund, to a provide short term boost to the economy to aid the President's re-election campaign. Talk about a win-win for right wing Republicans!
We've seen billions and billions of tax cuts for the super wealthy, but not a penny toward the solvency of our retirement system.
6
Even though the economy doesn’t show significant signs of retrenchment owing to the very limited incidence of the Cornona Virus the Times Editorial Board advocates major new spending. Because of a potential crisis ahead even though the current incidence death/infection rates of Coronavirus are way far below annual common Flu rates of 12,000 deaths annually. With a good chance the Coronavirus will behave as the Flu and largely dissipate with warmer spring weather upon us. Underlying the Board’s recommendations is using the CoronaVirus as an impetus to greatly expand health protection. That’s long been a Democratic Party agenda item.
We’d be far better off to wait a few weeks before spending huge Federal sums and exacerbating our Federal deficit. Reportedly most epidemiologists see good chances of the CoronaVirus replicating the usual behavior is of the common Flu with vaccines expected shortly.
Left unsaid is why the western world has so strongly to the incidence of a few thousand fatalities when roughly half a million perish each year owing to the common Flu that we’ve come to expect. Are we collectively pushing ahead with the traditional Socialist agency demanding ever more services and protection from our government ?
1
Using the coronavirus as an excuse for cutting payroll taxes (A. K. A. starving social security and medicare) is the absolute most cynical thing this administration has done. And rather than helping industries, how about a package that helps the minimum wage workers who have no sick leave, the restaurant and other people who depend on tip income, the people who work in the gig economy. These are the people that will be hurt the most.
I know, for example, that in my own little world, two lunch meetings have been cancelled this week alone.
5
All this talk about how Social Security will become insolvent in the near future and now Trump wants to reduce the federal payroll tax? Really?
5
That’s not going to help workers stuck at home anyway, what good is a payroll tax cut when you don’t get a paycheck?
With travel being down, and oil prices collapsing, isn’t it a good time to consider moving away from fossil fuels and into other means of energy that are more sustainable? Climate change is still a big deal, and the current crisis is a great opportunity to take some giant steps away from economic patterns that are harmful.
5
What is truly scary is that this coronavirus is not a truly terrifying disease, as these things go. And yet it is pushing the world's developed economies into a recession quite quickly.
Although Wall Street with its programmed selling is all too susceptible to panic, coronavirus is illustrating just how fragile the world's economy has become and how little has improved since the last crash in 2008.
What happens when the inevitable effects of climate change really kick in, perhaps due to or exacerbated by climate change? Drug resistant malaria throughout the world, anyone?
6
I make this suggestion at the risk of abetting Trump's reelection. If the Chinese can build a hospital at Wuhan in two weeks (and the V.A. built one in Palo Alto in two weeks for returning Vietnam soldiers), it can be done. Given the numbers for this virus, we will have a LOT of very sick people, even if 80% get through it easily without a hospital. The catch is that our hospitals are NOW running at or over capacity. The public sector is not nimble enough to do this. But between Melinda Gates and Mssrs Bloomberg and Buffett (they could do a conference call of their Roundtable), it could be done, it being 80-100 new hospitals spotted around the country. I know staffing and machinery will be a problem, especially ventilators. Medical professional who have had the virus and developed immunity would be at a premium as staff. Volunteers could be trained for specific tasks quickly. Yes it is a challenge, but this is what this country is good at.
2
That the number of coronavirus deaths might be less than annual number of flu deaths is not the issue.
Flu does not disrupt the world and national economies the way coronavirus does. That's the issue.
6
In 2008 we at least had leaders - both Bush and Obama Administrations - one could feel were at least seriously trying to address an evolving emergency. The Trump-Pence administration have no such reservoir of competence credibility so this situation seems worse: we're at 35,000 feet without a pilot.
4
This administration has demonstrated the opposite of competence in addressing this public health emergency. When given the opportunity to begin gathering information with the coronavirus test kits developed for the World Health Organization this administration refused the test kits. Instead of beginning immediately to follow the spread of the virus in the US they elected to “close the borders” and tell us they had contained the virus. Of course, without a universal testing protocol they had no facts to support their position; it was just faceless spin. Their failures started back in January and continue today because the focus is on NOT finding “numbers” (the facts) because they want “low numbers” not a healthy society.
5
@Betsy --- We're at 35,000 ft without a plane or a parachute!
Trump and his Republicans must remember that this is a health emergency first and an economic one that has resulted from it. It's time to bail out the lower and middle classes with not only paid sick days, but access to affordable health care. It's time to federalize Medicaid so that those in Republican-controlled states that cruelly and vindictively denied Medicaid-expansion can have access to it in this national health emergency. And, it's time to provide the same access to those whose health insurance plans make it unaffordable by granting government rebates to offset the cost of care.
8
Rebates are only good if you have the money to cover it in the first place. If a test costs $200 but I only have $50, it doesn’t matter that two months from now the government will reimburse me. I still can’t get it because I am limited by the funds I have right now.
4
@Smilodon7 The rebates would go to the health care provider so there'd be no out-of-pocket cost to the patient.
2
Our industrial plant is parked in China, with its minimal health, safety, and environmental standards because the investor class likes it that way.
Investors are allowed to speculate in, and destabilize basic commodities such as oil because Wall Street likes it that way.
These are the root factors behind the Corona virus outbreak and resultant financial panic. They existed long before Trump, bumbling chowder head that he is, ever came into office. These are the issues the Times should be writing about.
14
What the economy needs from President Trump is No President Trump, i.e. a resignation or an invocation of Article 25. Wall Street has already voted no confidence in his leadership. Now it's up to Republican senators to recognize that he is incapable of handling the coronavirus crisis, since they weren't persuaded by his failure to aid hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico.
14
Let’s not fall for the promise of a payroll tax cut to help workers living paycheck to paycheck. The reduction of the tax revenue funding social security and Medicare will then be used by the same goons advocating for the payroll tax cut to reduce benefits arguing that we can no longer afford those programs. Never mind that these same goons had no problem increasing the national debt to fund an unnecessary tax cut that mostly benefited corporations and the wealthy, but they were masterful in selling that canard to those who never saw a penny of those cuts. You’ll see, they will be masterful in convincing the masses that the time to tighten their belts has arrived and that they need to accept a benefits cut to help the country.
12
It seems like we should be declaring a spring break for everybody, students and workers. We should all stay home and keep in touch over the internet wherever possible. Hospitals and utilities are necessary and must be staffed and given every possible precaution such as masks, etc.
We see what happened to other countries, so we should get out in front of this. With our lack of testing we have no way of knowing about community spread, so we should stop going out and about except when necessary. If some people run out of money, food and medicine, that's where the 8 billion should be spent first. And businesses small and large must be shielded by a debt holiday.
Anyway, that's what I think.
2
The working poor are going to run out of money in about a week.
1
Notwithstanding the good policy suggestions in this editorial and those by James Stewart elswhere in the paper, I think that three more suggestions needs discussion.
Trump and his adminstration has to engage in far greater level of international cooperation to deal with the covid-19.
The role of the banking system as financial intermediary has to clearly spelled out otherwise there will no proper flow through as did happen in 2008.
Finally, for many reasons spelled out in Verhagen 2012"The Tierra Solution: Resolving the Climate Crisis through Monetary Transformation", we have to start seriously considering developing a credit-based financial system away from the present debt-based system together with an underlying monetary system with a carbon monetary standard of a specific tonnage of CO2e per person to combat this century’s largest threat of a looming climate catastrophe.
2
What the economy and America needs from trump is for him to go away. A strong economy must have strong consumer confidence first. A month ago I was looking at taking a luxury vacation and a pool, today I plan to just buy what I need to live day to day. Yesterday Mayor DE Blasio came on TV for a live update about the virous as he does each day. When he finished I felt much better about our chance to live on. When I hear trump and pence I just don't believe anything they say.
7
Exactly the way most of us feel. I didn’t pay attention to yesterday’s Coronavirus briefing until the moment Trump left the room. Some good information was delivered by competent public servants who are at their best when POTUS is not around.
3
We don't need tax cuts. We need spending. What good does a tax cut do if your company is shut down? Taxes are based on income and if there are no customers, there is no income to tax.
In todays paper, we learn that there is 1.2 trillion dollars in securitized junk bonds. These loans have been provided by non-bank companies which are not subject to banking regulations. That's one heck of a bubble. Highly leveraged industries that owe on these bonds, like oil drilling, could start a financial chain reaction if they start to default. The oil price wars coupled with the greatly reduced demand for petroleum products could very likely start that default train.
As the virus spreads, tourism, transportation, entertainment and hospitality businesses will be devastated. Taken together, these companies comprise a huge section of GDP. Many other industries supply these vulnerable operations.
Tax cuts wont help any of this. Money has to be pumped into them to keep them afloat.
We have a problem. The tax cut genie wont solve it. It's bailout time and this time the bailouts need to go to individual people instead of gigantic corporations.
11
@Bruce Rozenblit - What is so ironic, a person who has declared bankruptcy Six times 6 times ! Is going to fix our economy, who lies over 7 times a day.....God and I don’t mean trump, help the world!
@Bruce Rozenblit Well said. The Republican party is a one-trick pony. Tax cuts and liquidity aimed at the wealthy are its sole play- nevermind that we are awash with liquidity fiving rise to the looming run on junk bonds.
We lack demand for goods and services and the diminution of demand will be exacerbated by the virus. There is widespread insecurity due to the specter of looming medical bills and little hope the gov't is interested in addressing the actual problem rather than political fallout to the Republican party.
Guaranteeing gov't or insurance coverage for testing for all, financial relief those missing work- expanded sick leave for all- and pumping money to all so the non-wealthy can create demand and weather the storm. Perhaps with a proviso that those with large incomes will have to repay some part of the money when they file 2020 taxes.
Not clear to me that Republicans can administer anything or manage their way out of a paper bag. They are good at fomenting "The Big Lie," which should worry us all facing the cascade of the disease, worldwide diminution of demand and the lack of credibility in our leadersand that they will act on evidence rather than political self-interest.
1
The Leader is proposing to cut payroll taxes not in an effort to maintain demand but as part of his continuing efforts to starve Social Security, Medicare and other such programs.
5
In an ideal world what the economy needs from Trump is for him to resign.
28
Let me add a complementary headline:
"What the public needs from the media."
The media, whose primary responsibility would be to inform and educate the public does everything, but. Sensationalistic, hyperbolic 'reporting' of 'facts' (sometimes) and lies (most of the time), opinion pieces masquarading, as news reports, cynically blended together to influence the impressionable and the gullible is not what independent journalism should be.
1
Payroll tax cuts are more a boon to the wealthy than the middle classes. And they will ultimately hurt seniors, especially low income ones, inordinately by depleting the already struggling funds for Medicare and Social Security.
Loans to the hospitality industries and airlines might help (the "bailout" of the auto industry in during the great recession was repaid to the Treasury with interest).
But what the economy needs that it's not going to get from Trump is a stable, reassuring policy that provides free testing for COVID-19 to anybody who wants it. Germany's drive-through testing program should serve as a model: it avoids overtaxing hospital emergency rooms, and it will show who needs to be concerned and who's in the clear. This would slow the spread of the disease and give confident knowledge to a frightened public rather than ignorant denial.
7
An infrastructure plan takes time to provide a jolt to the economy...well Trump is not going to go that route because he need a jolt before November.
3
What the world needs from Trump is a resignation letter. Then someone with true leadership skills can get in there and deal with all the messes he's created.
11
For those entry level workers who must be isolated, eligibility for federally supported expedited unemployment benefits without a waiting period would stave off the "paycheck to paycheck" demons.
5
While the advice in this editorial is good, sadly Trump now will go in the opposite direction due to the NYT giving the advice. At the rate things are going, we will once again need the Democrats in control of the country to cleanup the mess from the years of the Republicans in control, which has happened several times in the last few decades.
3
How many Americans have been tested for the virus?
How many testing kits are available, and where are they being sent?
Is there another way to determine the extent of the disease besides testing?
Why aren't our elected leaders giving us answers to these basic questions? And on a related note, is the media asking them?
7
The best President Ttump could do to prevent the adverse impact of the Covid-19 on the US economy and society is to keep himself completely quarantined and allow the health experts to do their work uninterruptedly. Again, instead of taking the coronavirus pandemic threat lightly he should treat the crisis for what it is as it goes beyond the petty electoral issues and calculations which might be upset in moments if the virus goes wild and ferocious.
7
The problem being the US heavily engaged in escalating trade war against China and Europe with limited possibility of a coordinated international approach to stop a worldwide depression. So far the American President showing no willingness to fulfill his role of international diplomat and leader by example building bridges. Corunavirus may just change things because we are all going down together if all economic activity (trade) grinds to an almighty halt. No time like the present?
2
The payroll tax rate for social security is 6.2% for employer and 6.2% for employee. The payroll tax for Medicare is 1.45% for each.
Questions on this proposed Payroll Tax Cut:
1. Would the employee's get to keep
a. both employer's and their own contributions, or,
b. only their own?
2. In case of 1b, what about employer's share?
c. it would be paid to government as usual, or,
d. the employer is exempted? This will profit the employers at the cost of employees.
If this tax cut includes both taxes, then a person making $50K per year will get extra $640 each month under option 1a or $319 under 1b.
If the cut is only for social security, the amount would be $517 or $258 per month for $50K salary.
The thing to watch is what happens to employer's contributions. If it's neither paid to employee nor deposited with the government, then it's a big loss to employees.
There should also be a fixed standard price announced for the lab test for Covid-19 for those without insurance.
Also, can people get this test done without going to a doctor first? That's important for two reasons:
1. It's not always easy to get a quick doctor's appointment especially without good insurance.
2. For those without insurance, going to a doctor first could easily multiply the cost of the test.
What kind of resources would be made available to those who test positive but have no medical insurance or have the insurance very high deductibles?
9
In Peter Baker’s otherwise excellent analysis of the Covid-19 crisis and Trump yesterday, he uses the phrase “astonishing ignorance” to describe the president. That’s become a hackneyed term that we need to discard. There is nothing astonishing about Trump’s ignorance, after three years of putting it on display minute by minute.
9
I see a lot of ideas in the comments for what to do to stimulate the economy. And they would do just that. But people, we can’t wait for something that will take months or years to take effect. We are going to have people suddenly forced to stay home with no income whatsoever. That requires a QUICK response. The people with no sick time are also the poorest workers among us. They don’t have six months of savings to fall back on. If we want them to stay home and not work, we need to fix it so they can keep the rent paid & food in the fridge. And this means all of them-hourly workers and gig workers.
3
@Smilodon7 - I am so tired of the "heads we win, tails they lose" economy where those of us in the lower 80% can't fund our retirement accounts, do not have sick leave (I finally do in a field I've been in since 2008), the annual raises are 1-2% which are below inflation, Social Security is undermined because of the cap on rates (why is the maximum wage $132,900 on which Social Security is taxed? There should be no cap), and when the price of oil and gas collapse, not only is the chance to place excise taxes on the low-cost fuel always deemed a non-starter despite our need for infrastructure dollars, the decrease in oil prices never matches the price at the pump, even though the oil producers also own the refineries. Yes, all of that hand sanitizer was bought on Amazon and delivered by the worker bees. Let's watch as a primary owner of Hospitality Businesses (POTUS) gives himself and his family a tax break during this time of perceived softened travel and the rest of us are fighting over N95 masks. Socialism is this country only ever trickles up.
2
We need a cut in the payroll tax and ways to pay sick people to stay home from work. Also, more ventilation in buildings, especially in schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.
2
More ventilation is nice, but not going to happen in the time frame we have.
2
"Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times."
We manage to punish the poor in good times too. Trump's sadism as social policy just cut food stamps , and continues to cut Medicaid services. His war on the poor is as relentless as the gifting of gratuitous tax cuts for the wealthy.
The lack of paid sick days for many reflects the decline of labor unions. The GOP since Reagan has equated labor rights with socialism, while many continue to vote against their interests.
20
I am a physician. We are literally not being allowed to test people for Coronavirus unless 1) they are so sick that they are going to be admitted to the hospital and 2) all other tests are negative, including a viral respiratory panel. A viral respiratory panel costs over $1000. The coronavirus test, which has now been released to "private labs," costs $1500 and still takes several days to get a result back. Efforts to contain this virus have actually been abandoned. The government should have made the tests available extremely cheap and fast (like a flu swab) and universally available, no price gouging. But they chose the low road, because the high road might contain the word "public".
75
@Dan,
Correct.
The WHO actually offered test kits to most countries and only the US refused.
Why?
1—delayed testing means fewer cases
2—manufacturing our own test kits means The Donald gets to profit from them
3—self-manufactured test kits can be tampered with and manipulated, again, to keep the numbers low
Keep ‘Merica Great — fleece it dry!
5
I think a certain individual doesn’t want to know how many have coronavirus because that would make him look bad
5
Great article. One thing I'd add - testing for everyone. Let's aim to do 330 million tests in 1 day. Then we can immediately isolate the infected and move on.
9
It is hard to believe with all this talk of infrastructure spending and the need for it and the benefits of it that it is not happening. Worse, no plans for it to be put into immediate effect. Yet, the Republicans pushed through tax cuts for corporations in a period of unparalleled prosperity for the wealthy. As David Brooks wrote long ago, the present Republicans are incapable of governing. They are certainly capable when they are in the majority of giving out tax cuts to their donor class. Trump is either one of them or he has been had. I think the truth is he doesn't know what he is doing and does what the Republicans tell him to do.
1
Infrastructure is great, and we need it. But it takes years to get that done. As a long term goal it’s fantastic but we really need to get money to the people who will be stuck at home without a paycheck. Now, not three years from now.
2
What we NEED from the Trump is that middle-class tax cut he promised again and again, then again, saying, "...right after the 2018 midterm elections".
But as we taxpayers pay for his grandstanding wall project, a McDonald's worker pays more in taxes per year than Trump or any of his plutocratic 'friends'.
7
"Huge spending on public health is also sensible under the circumstances." I guess we can have that now, temporarily, because the affluent and privileged might catch it too, but not Medicare for All to take care of everyone on an on-going basis. That not "sensible."
10
The only way Trump could make up for his incompetence would be to revoke the republican tax breaks for rich people and corporations and use the money to ensure medical treatment for all US citizens.
42
I no longer care about what candidates promise us. I no longer care about being told to take care of myself, to be thrilled that the economy is doing well, to be happy that all manner of things are better than they were after 2008. Why?
1. Most of the people I know have not done well even as the economy has.
2. We're not able to save money for a rainy day, for college tuition, to buy a home, to meet an emergency, or for retirement.
3. For most people born after 1954 there won't be a comfortable retirement, access to health care when and where it's needed, good jobs with benefits, or, worst of all, any security. Those of us in our 50s and 60s have seen this coming since the 1980s.
4. Even though the rich are a minority they are listened to because they donate most of the money for political campaigns. Their interests and needs do not align with ours at all.
5. Our politicians are, by and large, puppets. They do not work for us.
6. As Bill Clinton said, it's about the economy. To my mind that means the economy of the little people who do pay taxes.
7. If there are any adults left in DC, please speak up and say something that makes sense.
3/9/2020 11:00pm first submit
27
Health and Human Services had previously predicted that up to 1.9 million Americans could be killed by a pandemic. That number was extrapolated from the U.S. mortality rate from the 1918 Spanish flu. It also set the initial financial damage at $300 billion and a much larger economic impact over time.
The actual severity of the COVID-19 pandemic will no doubt depend in part on how effective the national and state governments are at containing it and how long it takes to develop an effective vaccine. Unfortunately the action - or inaction - of the President in that respect leave little room for optimism.
The health agencies responsible for dealing with the pandemic will, of course, do whatever they can to bring it under control. But it is obvious they are fighting the president every step of the way. No matter how competent or dedicated they are, their success will be limited by the lack of support from the White House and the president's insistence on misleading and confusing the public.
Trump, as usual, is seized not by the prospective harm to Americans but the harm to his re-election bid in November. And yet, even in this very twisted, narcissistic context, Trump is almost guaranteeing the economic fallout to be much greater than it need be.
No one could ever describe G.W. Bush's performance post 911 as stellar but even he succeeded in getting re-elected in large measure because he didn't completely bungle it the way Trump is bungling this pandemic.
3
We need the Republican party to repudiate its credo that government's role in the welfare of the people is limited to spending on the military and giving capitalists run amok free rein.
The institutions and norms of good government prevent disruptions from becoming unmitigated disasters. We need to protect them.
We should repudiate the party and president. But I fear Republicans will use the current chaos to further their destructive agenda - and Trump standing amidst the wreckage will claim victory.
We need to put and end to this in November.
5
Federal government already exempted several Chinese imported items such as masks, protective gears and clothes, and medical suppliers from tariffs.
Economy can improve if Trump can expand further and maybe delay the tariffs on all the imported goods from China. Xi Jinping can do the same to return the favor. This will instantly boost the trades and build confidence in the stock markets.
China has already emerged from the shadow of Covid-19. It is just a matter of time that Chinese productions will come back in full force. And lower oil price will further enhance their economy. And we are still in the initial phase of confronting the virus. If we can delay the tariffs and increase the trades, we will have less worry to deal with economy.
1
1/4 of the American work force has no paid sick leave. If they all lose their paychecks, no amount of tariff lifting and trade dealing is going to restore consumer confidence.
4
It’s going to take more than that. Your ideas do nothing for the 1/4 of the workers in this country that get no paid time off when they or their family get sick. How are they supposed to stay home when doing so will create a financial disaster for them?
My husband and I are looking to buy our retirement home in Delaware. We have enough liquidity in our current home to not have a mortgage, but I’m thinking that getting a pre approved mortgage would be a good thing so we don’t have a contingency. These ridiculously low interest rates are looking pretty good to me! However, all our investments have tanked. What’s a baby boomer to do?
2
If you have investments in solid businesses, hold on
What we learned today is that the slowdown in the economy is drastically decreasing the demand for oil. And a fundamental price dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia is threatening oil companies around the world with hugely damaging bankruptcies.
The oil crisis is is a matter the Board ignores seemingly because spurring oil sales, while economically necessary, is politically incorrect. In addition, the Board would choose not to deal with Russia and Saudi Arabia for political reasons.
There is no doubt that Trump's performance is woefully inadequate. The Board's recommendations are also inadequate. Both Trump and the Board are playing politics at the expense of the economy. Shame on them.
3
What the economy and the citizenry need is a sober-minded leader who takes this crisis seriously. If the Trump would just acknowledge the seriousness of what is occurring and of what might occur given the situation in other countries, and if he would commit to bringing the full resources of the government to bear on solving this problem then the stock markets will take care of itself. There is a profound lack of confidence in this government that is causing the people to panic.
3
There's actually no impact at all from the "coronavirus" except as an obvious political public relations program. The real danger to the economy is, in reality, a larger social, public safety danger from a political party and its underwriters so desperate to regain power, and so mendacious in that pursuit, that a series of deliberate destabilization programs could reach a level that overwhelms normal institutional capacities, and creates a constitutional crisis, opening the door to an autocratic response. There's one politician on the sidelines, biding his time, keeping quiet for now, and waiting for the fruits of his larger plans. He didn't read Alinsky for nothing, or go to law school to carry his lunch. Crazy, you say?
1
That is just nuts. No one invented this disease just to make Trump look bad. We don’t need a deadly disease to do that he can do that just fine on his own.
Yes.
Tell that to the dead and their families.
As a left wing democrat, I found myself thinking today that if there was a scenario where a highly qualified person whose politics I hate could be traded for Trump today (Mitt Romney..some Republican governor who is thought a very competent administrator ) and would then be allowed to serve for 4 years I’d take that deal in a heartbeat.
10
Leave it to the NYT editorial board to call a payroll tax cut, which is as regressive as any tax, a bad idea. Do the authors understand how a payroll tax works? Workers and businesses pay equal shares of social security and Medicare up to $137k in salary at a rate of about 6.2%. A cut in that rate goes right into the pockets of employees and small businesses.
That the NYT thinks this is a bad idea is exactly why democrats don’t win elections.
3
Please explain what good a payroll tax cut does for people whose paychecks have stopped. That payroll tax cut is not going to replace a paycheck. So what if there’s an extra five bucks in my last paycheck? Do you seriously think that will make one tiny bit of difference when I have no idea how many weeks or even months I will have to wait for the next one?
5
Payroll tax cuts are consistently used by Republicans to justify cuts to the programs those taxes support.
1
Yep, less money for Social Security. Great idea. Then the Republicans will say we have to cut benefits because we don't have the money. Why not eliminate finding for the worthless wall and use the funding for infrastructure creating jobs or to provide healthcare for those without who may end up spreading the virus further.
Now, I’m no Steve Mnuchin. I mean I never even engaged in massive leveraged buyouts, putting thousands of Americans out of work just to get even richer. But maybe, just maybe, when economic times were good over the past two years we should have paid down some of our debt instead of increasing solely to give a windfall to the rich?
The only justice here is in all the stock buybacks that corporations executed with their trump tax cut. Perhaps that wasn’t the best use of all that money, huh? Perhaps investing in our country and its people would’ve provided more returns, Mr. McConnell?
30
Just about anything we had spent it on, paying down debt, infrastructure, education, health care, would have been vastly better than enriching people who already own almost everything.
7
So much for the American "economy"- the market and its "fundamentals" which are always strong. The only fundamentals of this MAGA economy is free money froth - the Fed slashing rates by 50 basis points to do what? - and minimum wage consumers who are not going to be eating (or working) at McDonald's.
They are going to be eating beans at home if they can afford beans...
What the world needs from Trump?: "Exit, stage right..."
12
The April 15th due date for tax filing needs to be extended or amended. Given what may be reality in a month, such may be necessity.
Some "forgiveness" of tax burdens due then or whenever should be considered.
2
@fsa
Last year it was extended a few days because of the confusion over the new tax laws.
1
Agreed that economic recovery await halting the spread of coronavirus because economic stimulation alone cannot restore production and services when the virus is rampant. Trump has failed so far by dismantling the pandemic response team of CDC early in his term, and by lagging in the distribution of test kits. As those kits get distributed we have a much better chance of finding and isolating infected people. Trump's leadership has been abysmal. Holding rallies and fund raisers when schools, conventions, and public events are cancelled is not acceptable. The possible spread of infection at CPAC demonstrates the absurdity of holding that meeting in the present environment. But Trump may do something right by forgiving some employment taxes. FICA tax forgiveness here benefits the working and middle classes, because FICA taxes phase out for salaries around $130K. (Medicare tax has no such limit.) The problem is that FICA funds Social Security, so that future SS payments are impacted. Trump should introduce higher taxes on the wealthy earmarked to replace the lost FICA taxes. It was eye-opening to see a bipartisan Congress act quickly to fund virus response. Trump and his GOP supporters owe the country for the damage caused so far because of their failures to earlier act for the public. Let's see if they can come up with an effective and fair program to restore the economy when the coronavirus threat is gone.
3
All this talk of taxes does not fix the immediate problem-large numbers of people who were getting paychecks that will suddenly be without them, for who knows how long. No tax cut is going to fix that.
3
Trump has already signed the $8.3B spending bill and now plans relief for hourly workers. He's clearly doing everything possible to help potentially struggling Americans.
3
Has he gone before the American people to reassure them? To explain what is being done and what will be done? Any other president would have been done this by now.
1
@AACNY
Oh you mean after decimating the CDCand dismantling emergency response agency?
Firing scientists,? Who needs them!
Where are the millions of test kits Pence promised?
Mainly he is doing things to get re-elected. That is the only thing he cares about.
"Washington’s preferred cure for all economic ailments -"broad-based tax cut, The dictum that money can not buy everything is ringing true than ever. Except, as the editorial recommends, it can indeed buy public health. The second dictum that also rings true is health is wealth. Both the individual and the national health will slowly but surely restore the wealth in the US, Lastly loose lips sink ships, especially if the lips belong to the skipper. If there ever was a time to remember all the old adages, this is it.
1
It's revealing that the image on this editorial shows a trading floor, and not a MacDonalds counter.
Surely the NYT understands that the American economy does not run on stock prices and bond rates. It runs on consumer spending, and no amount of tinkering by the Fed or tax cuts by the President will stave off the massive impact of low-wage job sites closing, or people cutting spending in the face of shuttered workplaces and unpaid leaves.
When air travel, conventions and tourism plummet; when churches, restaurants, malls, sports events and other revenue generators wind down; when overseas manufacturing slows and parts deliveries stall - the economic effects will be felt in homes and small businesses across the country. Yes, Medical, child care, and other costs will occur on top of those, but public health initiatives won't replace missing paychecks.
The "economy" doesn't need help: American workers need help. That's the perspective that needs to come urgently into focus. The Editorial Board does us a disservice by focusing on people rushing to refinance mortgages, rather than the prospect of wholesale defaults facing the majority of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.
551
@Neander I for one hope 'air' travel plummets permanently. I would like to see us have a future Americans cutting down on being consumers would certainly be a big leap forward in that direction.
27
@Neander
After reading the editorial, I do not think the "focus" was on people refinancing mortgages, nor was it all about Wall Street just because the one photo was of a trader at the NYSE. The one sentence about mortgages was to illuminate the fact that the government is in a position to borrow very cheaply right now ("free money").
The bigger takeaway I found was the call for universal PTO. This would be financial protection for for private citizens and protection for the health of public at large.
17
@Neander re: trading floor,
surprised the trader does not sport a Q anon pin.
the patients appear to have taken over asylum
2
How about the healthcare system that was supposed to be cheaper, better, and more expansive than the ACA that the president and Republicans promised in January 2017?
Promises made, promises broken.
443
Undermining the ACA is, in context with COVID 19, an assault on our National Security. Delaying testing and misleading the public about the seriousness of the disease is endangering the health and lives of Americans, and is the policy of the Trump organization.
To address the public health threat government must provide immediate coverage for all persons in America, and paid sick time is crucial as is medical care paid for by our government. As much as that may cost it is far cheaper than spreading the disease and prolonging the crisis.
To address the economic impact our government must finally recognize that giving tax breaks and incentives to the wealthy is always a failure. Our consumer society compels dollars to flow to the poorest who will spend it, who will accelerate economic activity. Subsidizing the Airlines and Hotels is the job of banks. With low interest rates why are tax dollars a first thought?
To address the vacuum of leadership, Trump must be advised to shut up. No one has been effective in silencing Trump’s lies, misdirection and empty bragging. Why? Because no one has held him responsible for his personal transgressions of the Constitution, Law, and civil discourse. It is the duty of the press to hold this dangerous man accountable and end the false equivalence that the press has hid behind. Is Trump honest, truthful, caring, lawful? Are Trump’s policies pro-American, democratic, inclusive, or safe?
27
@Chrisinauburn . When, early on, Trump was asked about healthcare plans.
His response was, "something terrific".
This was just one of thousands of lies.
Now, during this health emergency, will the republicans keep trying to destroy Obamacare?
I'm afraid of the answer...
26
@Chrisinauburn Consider: If shelter is a human right, then why am I paying for my rent or mortgage at all? Shouldn’t I just be able to move in, unpack and enjoy the fruits of my — OK, maybe not my, but someone’s — labor? This same conundrum applies when you extend the “human right” label to things like nutrition and, of course, health care. We all have a human “need” for food, but do we have the human “right” to walk in the grocery store and take what we need without paying for it? If so, who is going to pay the wages for the grocery store workers, and who is going to plant the fields and tend the animals when farmers are obligated to give away their bounty because of someone else’s human “right”?
By the same token, of course, free health care — under whatever rubric you care to use — means that doctors, nurses and other health professionals are enlisted in a kind of indentured servitude. Because of my “right” to affordable health care, the health workers are forced to provide for my needs without regard for their own security, their own income and their own families’ needs. The end result would be to force the brilliant people who practice medicine into other fields where they would be rewarded for their work, and to create a cadre of low-paid health care workers who just needed a job.
“An effective public health response necessarily requires limits on economic activity; an effective fiscal policy response can offset the damage.”
Oh for God’s sake. If the Editorial Board seriously believes Trump and his administration of incompetent apparatchiks and fawning lickspittles is seriously capable of dealing not only with the virus outbreak but also the economy, then it needs to take some time to reflect and deal with reality. Trump’s singular concern is himself, and how he’s portrayed in the media. Nothing else matters. He is woefully out of his league, get’s all of his “news” from “Fox & Friends,” and anyone barely competent has long since left, or been fired from, his farcical administration.
Nothing will change until he is finally, deservedly thrown out of office.
54
Needs? Simple and obvious, in ONE word :
RESIGNATION.
27
@Phyliss Dalmatian
You're too kind. I'd go with prison.
"Congress can change that by mandating paid sick leave and covering the cost, for example through a one-time tax credit."....Too bad Trump already gave the money away in the form of a corporate tax cut. We are already running a $ trillion dollar annual deficit. The piggy bank is empty.
12
"President Trump on Monday continued his campaign to convince the American people that ... worries are overblown.
Investors, unconvinced, kept right on dumping stocks and stashing money in government bonds ..."
The problem is that Trump supporters know that he is a compulsive liar skewed towards making rich people -- investors -- richer. So they also know that he is lying this time and they'll dump stocks regardless of the lies. They'll support him if he can make them rich, but they don't believe him or trust him.
Most particularly what the LONG TERM economy needs is accurate numbers as to the number of tests performed and the number of cases. I've heard that the CDC, now a pawn of Trump/Pence took that number down from their website.
Trump wants testing to be held up so that low numbers of confirmed cases makes him look good. "Look, America has fewer numbers of confirmed cases than any other major country."
Long term, however -- that is several months -- inadequate testing is a catastrophe. If you think no one is sick, quarantines are unnecessary. Meanwhile coronavirus permeates every single nook and cranny of the country. If we let that happen, after several incubation cycles -- several months -- the number of cases will explode to a level that can not be contained. With no predictive numbers, there is no basis for preparation either.
We need a huge volume of tests and honest numbers, not likely to come from the Trump administration.
4
What the economy (and the nation) needs is Trump's exit.
Rick Wilson put it perfectly: Everything Trump Touches Dies.
14
How would a tax credit help? That’s a little like Mr. Wimpy‘s offer of gladly paying next Tuesday for a burger today.
2
A payroll tax is meaningless when you have no paycheck.
How much confidence the world have in Trump? Zero!
3
I think people should back off Trump and let him get on with his job, people seem to forget that Trump has gone bankrupt 6 times, so if anyone knows about this sort of thing its going to be him
1
@Bob Tonnor Umm, yes, however it appears that Trump believes that a vice often repeated, soon becomes a virtue worth bragging about.
1
- enforce strict quarantines for those who are affected and those who came in close contact with them and some type of punishment for those who selfishly ignore the order.
If you are sick, stay home.
If I had paid sick leave, I would. But if I don’t go to work, I do not eat. It’s that simple.
6
Brian. You have a great idea but tried getting tested to figure out who is sick
@Smilodon7
I understand that and hope that any package out of Washington gives people like you and the companies they work for some relief during these trying times.
COVID-19, exacerbated by RABID-45.
Seriously.
10
What the economy needs from Trump? It’s too much to ask, and by now it’s too late to do any good: he could stop acting like a pre-pubescent boy with serious behavioral problems and start acting like an adult.
Fat chance of that.
4
Kill off old people to reduce expenditures on medicare and social security.
Then taxes can be cut further for the one percent.
The hot stock tip is to invest in the funeral industry involved in cremations. After the stock market crash Grandma is going to be reduced to ashes, rather than the mahogany box she wanted.
5
@Lawrence Fiction A Modest Proposal for our time.
What the economy needs from "President" Trump is his resignation. And he might as well take that fool Pence along with him.
5
Let’s go back to the day after his inauguration.
After the inauguration, Mr Spicer told reporters that Donald Trump drew “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.”
And with those first lies...donnies credibility could never been established.
2
“Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me!” ... If this tweet hasn't got Mitch McConnell questioning Trump's suitability for office then all hope is lost.
3
Thank you NY Times (NYT) Edi board for constructive suggestions to Pres. Trump for a federal response to the dire consequences of the panic pandemic due to the Corona virus (CoV) originating from China and spreading across all continents. I would also like to thank the army of NYT reporters who work hard to bring us accurate news from every nook and corner of the world. I think Trump should not place the investigative reporters and news reporters in the same baskets as the opinion columnists who do not represent the views of the NYT but their very own often poorly researched biased opinions that attempt to play to an audience of partisan readers.
A tax cut in whatever form should occur right away for all tax payers with family incomes below 100,000. To encourage saving for college, home buying and for retirement, IRA limits should be doubled for all age groups. This will give an opportunity to stock buyers to buy stocks at reduced prices. A one time CoV deduction of $500 to $1,000, should be given to every tax payer for the government directed empowerment of people for buying protective material like antibacterial soaps, lysol sprays, hand santizers, gloves, clorox, lysol, masks, drinking water, toilet paper, absorbent paper etc. during the period in 2020 since the touch down of the CoV in the west coast and on wards to the rest of the country.
Where will the money come from? Cuts in the DoD budget especially DTRA which failed to protect us from a nano sized bio threat.
1
A deduction on our taxes won’t help people who have nothing in their account because the paychecks stopped. Getting the money back later won’t help. We need it NOW.
3
@Smilodon7 from Missouri. You should convey this to your congressperson and senators.
1
The economy got what it wanted in Donald Trump. Tax cuts for the wealthy, bullying the wimps at the fed to lower rates when it was unnecessary, deregulation of financial and environmental laws. The economy and the people that love the economy got the perfect president.
Donald Trump is a common American. He is self centered, incurious, ignorant, greedy and mean. He better than anyone represents the true America.
16
The editorial boards first concern is Wallstreet????? People aren’t spending money because their health is at risk! No stimulus or tax cut changes that. How tone deaf. This is not a financial problem!
1
People aren’t spending money because their business is tanking because coronavirus is causing people to cancel. If they all cancel for the next 2 months I will lose 3/4 of my income. And I live paycheck to paycheck.
2
@Smilodon7 The worst affects will last 6 months and then it will drag on for two years. If everyone in the US contracts it there will be anywhere from 3 million to 12 million deaths in the US and 35 million to 120 million deaths world wide. A lot of people are going to have problems, but thank goodness we don't tax people to have safety nets. I'll bet the market comes up with a market based solution very soon.
1
@Chris Those "market solutions" should be practical, for example, a cremation oven that could also bake bread would be very useful, practical and could help boost employment.
It would further help to make them solar-powered since creating more pollution would be a problem.
1
"What wrath shall see?"
"Tis nothing what Nero be"
1
And where exactly is Trump?
1
@Mixilplix Look toward any of Trump’s palaces. Or some gathering where many are clamoring for the chance to heap praise on him in hopes of gaining royal approval.
Trump needs someone to attack as a foil a virus doesn't work and MSB who caused the oil price war is in bed with his son in law no doubt feeding him intel using his forced security clearance from his daddy in law in return for $ favors buying Trump condos.
1
what good does it do for cut in the federal payroll tax if you have no income if you don't show up for work, no insurance if you can not afford one, no kid care when you need to stay home, no job protection if you miss work...
and so you have to go to work with your corona virus and pray that you don't get sick and spread to other similar poor souls like you?
Probably that is the best because you may actually infect some Congressmen that they get sick and realize that helping the working class to prevent the spread of the virus is the best for the country!
And just maybe, some of them are Republicans who will stop listening to Donald ("the golfing president") once.
1
That’s how rich people think. Tax cuts fix everything. This is why it’s important that our leaders aren’t out of touch billionaires.
1
Ideally Trump would also restore the Directorate for Global Health security and Biodefense which President Obama created after the 2014 Ebola crisis. With globalization and global warming as a likely ancillary contributor, the probabilities of future pandemics have increased. Therefore we need a dedicated unit to develop comprehensive plans to deal with future disease outbreaks. Trump stupidly shut down this unit in 2018. Of course, it will have to be renamed given Trump's juvenile obsession with reversing his predecessors actions and his rampant narcissism that never allows admitting an error.
1
Fiddling and stupid egocentric comments have no place in administration. It is good to be optimistic but the sense of concern, and monitoring financial times is essential. Unfortunately this man is a wheeler dealer and approaches based on sound economic theory and authority mean nothing to this crude thinker. He believes that if you can squeeze a deal and make money, that is all the preparation you need to counsel the nation in complex waters where many without sums of money to invest in holy mother stocks are drowning. It is, all about him, his unappealing unrealistic family, and his constituency wanting to go to tanning salons, dye their hair blonde and feel the gold coins cupped in their hands.
1
Where have you gone, Barack Obama ?
A Nation turns its fearful eyes to you
Sad. I’m very sad.
12
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Sorry, if Obama were in office, we'd have to wait for thousands of deaths before he acted. Trump still acted more quickly, even though he had to wait for the sequencing data from China.
1
All Trump cares about is 1) Himself and 2) Himself and 3) Pardoning Roger Stone
1
When someone in power, with the ability to know things that I don't, tells me not to worry, based on assertions that are observably false, I tend to worry. A lot.
3
So now the GOP wants to engage in .......socialism?
3
@Tim Lynch - It's only socialism if a Democrat does it. If a "conservative" does it, it's "Patriotism."
1
trump to Americans: I really don’t care.
5
Hey! When Spanks said, 'It will soon be zero', we thought he meant CV-19, not the S&P!!
(LEH!!!)
8
A swift resignation!
1
what the economy needs is to address the public health concerns/fears of the American public. Calm the panic. Instilll hope.
Not going to happen with this one til hell freezes over.
and not even then
3
"What the Economy Needs From President Trump"
“This was something that we were thrown into and we’re going to handle it and we have been handling it very well,”
“The main thing is that we’re taking care of the American public and we will be taking care of the American public."
-President Trump today
Good luck with this President, he's incoherent at best. Sorry Editorial Board, but you wasted your time with some practical and beneficial approaches to our hourly workers (paid sick leave) and infrastructure.
1
Let's look at some facts: Donald Trump DID plan for the Coronavirus. In 2018, he shrewdly fired the U.S. pandemic response team and his fiscal year 2021 budget proposal included a 16 percent reduction in CDC funding from the 2020 spending levels. America's stock market is in fact responding to the way he "prepared" for this emergency and the "confidence" they have in his leadership. Of course this is all Obama's fault.
10
You are hoping too much when you ask for leadership from Trump during a crisis like this. He likely does not give 2 cents besides the fact that it might be happening at a sensitive time during his reelection campaign. Among other things that he is busy plotting:
1. Shorting the market and trying to make a quick buck from the free fall.
2. Concerned about revenue shortfall from his hotel and resorts and busy trying to find "creative" ways to turn the revenue shortfalls into paper profits.
3. Plotting new ways of spinning the virus pandemic as a way to hurt legal immigration
3
"Congress needs to be careful about the timing."
In some ways the editorial board is as guilty of self-delusion as is Trump. Answer for me what will the price of oil be on June 30, the number of hospitalizations on June 30, the yield on the 10 year and 30 year US treasury bond be on June 30?
There is no way that you nor the Congress can possibly answer those questions. It is delusional to think that an economic stimulus package can be fine tuned in the manner you suggest.
1
We will be experiencing shortages on lots of items, as we are already seeing the bare shelves where the antibacterial hand soap once lived as well as masks. Just today a woman told me her pharmacist suggested stocking up on toilet paper because he feels there will be a shortage on that necessary item. And what does Trump do? Twitters his tweets that this is all a hoax. Remember those poor people who died in Puerto Rico? Well according to Trump’s numbers, only 16. The fact is thousands died. So would I put any trust in this man or his administration in telling the truth about the Coronavirus?
2
Maybe the economy needs a responsible leader in our highest office.
2
"...Mr. Trump’s behavior is exacerbating those fears..."
Because it's never a bad idea to fear a person with too much power and too few brains who has been proven again and again to actually be dangerous.
4
So, a payroll tax for "hourly workers" is the panacea for a virus? Only the GOP could come up with this solution.
The little financial lift won't even cover the $100 bottle of Purell selling on Amazon.
1
And what good is a payroll tax cut when your paycheck vanishes?
Trump and the Trump administration are incapable of providing any relief to Main Street. Their focus is on Wall Street. It's as though the rest of us don't exist.
3
Wait until the U.S.-Mexican Border gets closed by executive order under the pretext of public health. In addition to Immigration Courts, there will be Quarantine Courts along the Border with people being “quarantined” for a week or two before entry.
This notion is too far-fetched. It can’t happen here.
1
@Mark Dobias
Considering the day's developments, this whole crowd should be quarantined. It is indeed poetic justice that Gaetz gets it and that he possibly infected the White House.
Might as well have titled this, What the Economy Won't Get From President Trump.
Who is now, apparently, an accomplished violinist as well as a medical expert, tax wizard, the world's greatest builder, and the richest and most popular guy on earth, who also happens to know everything there is to know about everything from drones to nuclear arms to the law. A dazzling specimen of perfect health and prodigious memory who can golf expertly, seduce the most glamorous women, and read the Bible all at once. And that's in his more rational moments.
Does anyone else think it's time to yank this entire country back out of the rabbit hole?
3
We are the United States of America! We should have enough working test kits and N95 masks and food and medical care for every city in America! We should be, and could be, the gold standard, the last word, the very best on the planet. Instead our CDC cannot properly equip our hospitals. We need to rally, people! We must stop putting up with corruption and insist on integrity. We must stop poisoning ourselves while allowing our industries to poison our land. Wake up and start bailing folks. Put your back into it! The shock and awe stimulus we need is huge but simple: we need to invest heavily in ourselves.
1
The experts tell us that this bat virus is ten times more contagious and ten times more lethal than seasonal influenza. Well, by my arithmetic, ten times ten is a hundred, so that will be the multiplicand of fatalities over influenza if the authorities fail to contain its spread.
1
I guess I am the only Trump supporting democratic socialist who is going to comment. I have been arguing for shrinking the economic down to sustainability for over a decade and Trump seems to want to answer my prayers.
I am not an American and here the boom times seem to exist well into the future and fossil fuels are not on our agenda. I do however wish in these times of incredible bounty you might find someone other than Biden or Trump to ameliorate the hunger.
I remember the Irish Starvation where one million starved to death and one million starving peasants were expelled so Ireland's landlords good make a few more shekels selling Irish produce..
2
@Montreal Moe:
"Shekels" — really?
That's a gratuitous libelous use of an anti-Semitic trope. It's historically wrong as well. (Those landlords were English, and took payment in Pound Sterling.)
An apology is appropriate.
As for claiming "fossil fuels are not on our agenda," perhaps you should visit Alberta. The denizens of Calgary and Fort McMurray are very much invested in and committed to exploiting their tar sands deposits. The last time I checked, both Quebec and Alberta were still provinces of a single nation whose capital is located in the province of Ontario.
1
@A. Reader
I always use shekels as birth right even as cents and pennies are the currency of the countries I have lived in. Canada has no more one cent coins. I have used shekels for over 70 years and will continue to do so.
Alberta is in deep doo doo and Alberta has been very very good to me. Quebec is pledged to eliminate carbon based fuel within the decade.
Irish landlords took payment in pounds sterling and Us dollars French Francs and German marks.
My father called all money smoolyares.
Greta is our hero here in Quebec not so much in Alberta these days but we will see.
1
"Paying sick workers to stay home is good for public health and the economy"
Paying for the treatment of sick workers is good for public health and the economy as in a universal health care plan for all.
Too bad it takes the threat of a pandemic to make the American people realize a healthier populace with a stronger immune system beneficial to all of us.
2
Its time for the President and Congress to pass an infrastructure bill and rebuild America
1
Here's the federal response--from a bankrupt casino owner and a Kentuckian wheeler/dealer. Cut taxes on the 1%, which will trickle down to quarantined workers, health care providers, and virus researchers....Trump and his Republican enablers are incapable, both ideologically and biologically, giving, in their words, "free money," to those most in need of pandemic relief. Just a footnote---would Trump, now be honest, pay contractors or his employees to stay home...you know the answer...and that is where the government stands at this point...
1
Shock Doctrine 101 - Never let a disaster pass without fleecing the public or damaging social programs. This so-called Payroll Tax Holiday is code for starving the social security trust fund of its only revenue stream; and all at a time when everyone’s market-based 401k accounts are tanking. Open your eyes, people. Republicans are the Scorpion, we are the Frog, and destroying entitlement programs is their nature.
28
What we all need from President Trump is one thing: His resignation.
3
I'm confused. Today's cliff dive triggered a "circuit breaker" halt to trading. I thought the Wall Street suits, if nothing else, preach to "let the market work" without interference. Apparently the interference they abhor refers to silly regulations like those protecting the public's drinking water or saving endangered species. Clearly they do not mean to allow a major sell-off that exposes the market's schizophrenia.
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@Paul Wertz
Pretending to be "confused" is a false way to argue. You know perfectly well that we have never had "free" markets, that we are a nation of socialists needing government like a baby needs milk.
5
@David Henry The corporations and rich are the socialists.
9
@Bill
No, Bill, the corporations and rich are the LIBERTARIANS who claim they want unfettered markets.
And don't be fooled when you hear a Libertarian say that they want to shrink down government to something they can drown in the bathtub. No, no, no, they want rules like everyone else, but only rules that favor them. Because, without rules, it'll be survival of the fittest. And without rules they'll be in the same cock-fighting ring with other ideologies in a fight to the death. With rules, someone will stop the fight when there's too much bleeding. Without rules...you fill in the blank.
4
CNBC said that a private response is not as demonstrative as a unified public response. The Manhattan project was the example used. We all remember when our government (under FDR?) created the atom bomb. This undertaking would pool private responsibility and resources to enable companies to work together on a vaccine. I’m sure the republicans are against government but everyone remembers the atom bomb as an American project. We could work with the Chinese to improve bilateral relations. But the point is salient. A big response sends a calm message to markets.
1
Trump’s biggest problem is credibility. Even his supporters know he lies like a rug and that rather than inform himself about issues, he just makes up stuff that sounds good.
Incredibly, this has served him well in his presidency. Until now.
People are spooked and frightened. They need to be reassured with facts. And even his die-hard supporters are not going to believe what he says now. He’s lied far too often for anyone trust him.
167
@WDP
No, his supporters don't waste time fact checking his jokes and parsing his tweets. We watch his actions.
What we need now is action not poll-tested narratives and platitudes. Fortunately, Trump acts and quickly.
2
@AACNY
You mean like those virus test kits that are still not available throughout the country? If he had acted quickly his administrations would have initiated measures two weeks ago, not tomorrow.
24
@AACNY Yeah, he acted quickly all right, to drain the CDC's emergency funds to build his wall. I wonder if that's related to the reason that there aren't anywhere close to enough tests to test everyone who needs it (despite his claims that anyone can get a test) and why healthcare workers are lacking essential supplies?
24
Trump's solution to everything appears to be tax cuts. This time, he's trying to buy back public support by calling for tax cuts for the lower classes -- at least, if they already have jobs and hence are not in immediate danger of starving. Then -- I'm very much afraid -- he and the Republicans will try to off-set these tax cuts by cutting back on Medicare and Social Security...
2
As a labour economist
What the US economy needs now is to keep workers on the pay roll even when they are sick at home.
The concept is not new. Germany used it after the 2008 crisis when workers could not work (back then not because of illness but because of the 2008 recession)
Known as Kurzarbeit. The government sent money to companies to keep the workers on the pay roll
How did it work ?
When plotting the GDP per capita, German recovered faster and more completely than the US (that used a stimulus that wound up mostly in the hands of the credit worthy)
Based on it's proven effectiveness, it is the most efficient economic measure the US could take
12
Test kits, test kits, test kits. Stop the panic and start testing. Mitigate contain isolate. We do that and we shut this down inside 60 days
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@deano agreed. this is the key and why south korea is showing some success now. i don't know why this is not being done by the "outbreak states" since it is now in their power and they have the federal funding to do it. perhaps testing will ramp up this week with the extra kits and private labs. i hope.
5
There are nowhere near enough test kits available Because our sociopathic narcissistic president does not want the numbers to reflect What is really happening.
12
@deano We will have a more severe outcome than even China. Profits over health.
9
What we need most from Trump is for him to shut up and stop tweeting. He’s not reliable or credible. He is the president but he needs to be silenced. He may be a cheerleader to the forgotten man but it’s time for him to step aside and let those that know what they are doing lead.
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@Lake trash
It's too late for Trump to be credible and he's too narcissistic and suffering from a messianic complex ("I alone can fix it") to step aside.
1
The thing is that Trump is right that Coronavirus is less of a public health issue than influenza.
2
@QED unlike seasonal flu, we have no ability to vaccinate the populace against the novel corona virus and no medication to combat its symptoms. The only reason deaths from the new disease do not approach the fatalities from influenza is that it has only been in existence for fewer than 100 days. Its fatality rate seems to be about 20x higher than flu.
12
@QED
In the 2017-2018 flu season there were over 60,000 deaths. It was the worst season in 40 years and was twice as bad as predicted.
This is the equivalent of a bad cold, which is always dangerous to fragile people.
People don't want to hear that they shouldn't panic. They don't want to hear that this is survivable. They want to vent their anger.
1
So why can’t Trump verbalize this in a nationwide Oval Office address?
You didn’t mention that supply disruptions will mute the intended effect of a broad based tax cut. The biggest piece of US supply chains, China, has been out of business since late January and will be for some time. On top
of that, the epidemic will soon slow down production, distribution and sales facilities in the U.S.
1
As a 34 year old, I feel this correction is long overdue. Markets have been overvalued for years. Now, assets are going on sale, a great buying opportunity for me and my young family.
The boomers nearing retirement are in a more precious situation, but after they crashed the economy and jacked up the price of college tuition, I am not sympathetic. You have had 4 decades to save and be ready for this moment.
Time for the millennials to profit.
3
Mark, we have saved for 40 or more years and now we are watching our savings go down the toilet. Our children’s (your) inheritance is going down that same toilet, so enjoy your great buying opportunity.
2
@Mark
I get the feeling that you don't really understand what is going on.
1
As much as I loathe Trump's incessant lies, and his reasons for spewing them, I too think the fear of COVID-19 is inflated. But the markets were looking for a reason to correct, and the inflated fear did it.
The rate at which infections are detected is declining in the most affected countries, AND that is seen at a time when testing is increasing.
These data are relevant, as are emotions to markets.
4
@Paul It's not particularly relevant whether fear of Covid-19 is 'inflated', since a certain amount of fear is necessary to keep people from engaging in risky behaviors that accelerate the spread of the disease. Getting people to reduce contact, improve hygiene and increase handwashing is known to slow infection. True, that may also have a chilling effect on markets. But the fear would rapidly become justifiable if the public were not actively engaged in preventing the pandemic. And while fear in the abstract may seem inflated, perceptions often change when immediate family is exposed.
1
Congress will do nothing as usual. The Fed can only print and monetize the debt away, together with your savings and retirement. And they'll also start buying corporate bonds and stocks. They will nationalize everything like they did in Japan. But the USD is not ready to plunge just yet.
2
Yes – what is needed now to decelerate the coronavirus epidemic is (a) government payment for tests and treatments, (b) government guarantees for paid sick leave, (c) investment in manufacturing test kits and buying ventilators and artificial lungs, and (d) a government that is transparent and honest, which the public can trust as difficult measures loom. Having people who are too poor to get tested, or have no paid sick leave, go to work if they feel sick is going make them logs on a viral bonfire.
We need these measures, not tax cuts or bailouts of corporations. If there is no catastrophic epidemic, the market and the real economy will rapidly recover. If there is a massive epidemic, tax breaks and bailouts will do no one but the rich any good ... and precious little at that.
16
Government aid for sick workers is important but what about seniors and retired who have taken unbearable financial hits due to market crashes caused by Trump’s failure to deal with the virus and subsequent incessant lies? The rich knew to move money out of stocks quickly, adding to the damage. Middle class seniors who depend on their IRAs and investments are paying the price for GOP bungling.
2
What ' economy' are you talking about?
America isn't a business.
America is a nation state.
The President of the United States isn't a businessman.
The President of the United States is the head of government and state.
Economics isn't a science.
Economists aren't scientists.
There are too many variables and unknowns to craft the double-blind/ randomized controlled experimental tests that provide predictable and repeatable results that are the essence of science.
Donald Trump's first and last best business deal and economic decision was his choice of a New York City real estate baron daddy to inherit 295 streams of income from in order to protect him from the consequences of being the single worst losing businessman in America over a ten year period.
By refusing to declare, disclose and divest his personal assets into a blind-trust you can't tell where Trump Organization Mar-a-Lago ends and Trump Administration White House begins.
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@Blackmamba
IN a nation of 300 million, 1 million test kits wont do it. They needed to be stockpiled with foresight,which does not exist among Republicans.
"The federal government should pick up the tab for state and local spending on the crisis response"
This is not a solution. It's not even entirely cost-shifting. It's a shell game.
The same people paying for state and local services are the ones also paying taxes to Washington. The only differences are that the feds can borrow endlessly (most states have balanced-budget requirements) and "print money" (what the Fed is effectively doing when it is "injecting liquidity" or engaging in "quantitative easing").
The former simply kicks the can down the road to our children, who will see an ever-growing percentage of the federal budget being consumed by interest on the debt rather than on valid government services. The former diminishes the purchasing power of the dollar, causing inflation that hits the poor hardest and destroys retirees' nest eggs.
6
@Charles
So, you would rather have a deep recession that triggers personal and business bankruptcies, along with damage to pension funds and retirement accounts.
This type of nonsense is economic quackery. Federal deficit spending is precisely what is needed in a crisis. The Trump tax cuts were ill-advised when they were passed. This intervention is the kind needed now.
2
Sorry but we don’t need more spending on a credit card right now. No more tax cuts and no more stimulus without the plan to pay for it and pay down the deficit. This is absurd.
9
Infrastructure projects are no longer labor intensive. The spending will not boost consumer confidence.
2
@Mark
For concrete work there are a bunch of people who have to work together. A lot of back breaking work, forms, steel, jacks,placing, finishing, tear, down, stripping forms pumps, blowing out the rabbit, placing conduit and pipes, cleanup.
Not to mention the trailer people.
A bunch of stinking boots and worn out mules at the end each day.
1
The notion of paid sick leave sounds reasonable, but in this instance, the damage done by those who fall ill has already been done.
The only way to stop it from spreading is to isolate everyone, meaning that the government is going to have to pay hourly workers to not work. It's actually something this administration has done well; twice paying federal employees to not show up. To get the money approved, they just have to call it a shutdown.
To make it fair, we should probably cut taxes.
1
More tax cuts for the Rich and Corporations.
Tax cuts fix everything. Like Snake Oil.
30
The economy should not be the focus. People are the foreground, the economy is the background. Confidence and trust is the middle ground. Human beings, Mr. Trump, should be at the heart of your decisions, if you have a heart that is. Not sure. Have not seen it. Show it to us, for God's sake.
11
On the German model a nation should first have an unpayable debt, hyperinflation, a political upheaval, and then The Leader. America is doing it all back-assward.
1
I'm not so sure reimbursement of paid sick leave using a tax credit is viable. Your asking a lot of potentially cash strapped businesses to pay the cost upfront and then wait 12 months or so to get their money back. It seems more reasonable to fund it thru a special unemployment account that the feds could fund directly to the states. Keep private business' out of it.
26
Given the current state of sclerotic conservative orthodoxy there is zero chance of the steps you proposed being taken. Only tax cuts are a panacea.
6
Nobody is surprised that the Trump administration is incapable of handling a health care crisis or that they plan to buy votes by giving a temporary tax cut instead of making a long-term investment in sick leave. For all those who think that the stock market is a measure of Trump's brilliant financial skills, I hope they also blame the crash on him. Short term, we are all endangered. Long term, we need to vote out this administration.
60
> Our society is constructed to reward the rich in good times and punish the poor in bad times.
Not quite. Our society is constructed to reward the rich, good times or bad, and punish the poor, good times or bad.
If that is now the accepted new normal, I do not see a problem with Trump's presidency. It is an accurate reflection of our new values system.
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@Bob The Builder
Absolutely true--unfortunately!
1
The editors are writing in a genre--thoughtful, sober advice to reasonable people in leadership positions--that has become completely irrelevant to reality. It's not just that there is next to no chance that Trump will give reasonable consideration to the Editors' recommendations, or that any Republican Senator who might in the past have been moved to do so has now been reduced to servile praise for Trump, or, at best, silence.
I think the real problem is that the Editors aren't using their space here to speak reasonably and forthrightly to the rest of us. The Editors need to acknowledge that under Trump their old genre is kaput, but also that there are other forms that will now be more useful. Dear Editors: please share your thoughts on how a nation might respond when its top leadership has proved irredeemably out of touch and incompetent.
89
@TMSquared Since you are suggesting that we cut through the eloquent hyperbole and just speak plainly, I might simply add that in order for that approach to bear any fruit, one must begin with the assumption that there is a dialog. There is no dialog! Donald Trump can't read. He can hardly complete a thought, much less grasp the basic premise of someone else's argument. There really isn't much the editors can do to articulate a concept when their target audience, which we would hope would be the president himself is simply unable to comprehend the crux of their argument. There isn't much that preaching to the choir is going to accomplish I'm afraid. We simply have the wrong skipper at the helm and until that changes, we're in for a rough ride.
16
@TMSquared
The editors are afraid. It is disgusting really.
You are right, we did learn the value of a strong administration in 2008. Paulson and Bernanke saved our country from financial ruin and I wish they were in place today.
16
"Investors are accepting yields of around 1 percent on 30-year Treasury bonds "
Nope, they are taking what they can get as they rush for the exits of the equities markets. They will be paying money to not be in the market if rates go negative as Trump has apparently wished for several times.
20
"What the Economy Needs From President Trump"
What we will get: take two tax cuts for the rich and don't call me in the morning. I don't care.
183
When people take 1% per year over 30 years, you know they don't expect the economy to do much in the long term.
I guess the solution all life problems is the federal government.
2
@David The government needs to have a presence in the economy as the markets are driven by fear and greed. Left unchecked, the trend lines would most likely continue into disastrous territory for far longer than a system with guide rails would.
I would note that the "circuit breakers" that deployed twice today were precisely the sort of intervention necessary to put the brakes on a potential hysterical, algorithm driven, collapse.
It is arguable that the imbalances in the global economy can be laid at the feet of unfettered Capitalism and its kissing cousins, Kleptocracies and Oligarchies.
27
@Mark In PS So YOU are now talking SOCIALISM. Government CAN fix things - but ONLY for the rich.
2
@Tamza Actually that is distorted GOP socialism that has gleefully embraced the concept. In truth the collapse of the stock market, while causing financial pain to the wealthy (who can withstand it) causes devastation to those retirees living on fixed incomes funded by savings in bonds and pension funds that depend on good yields to fund their pension obligations. So yeah, it helps the rich but also helps the retired.
A lot of what helps the wealthy also redounds to those of more modest means.
What would really benefit the nation is an economic policy that prioritizes the welfare of the citizens as a whole as opposed to being defined as an index of GDP and stock prices.
1
Today Trump said that in addition to payroll tax cuts, he would provide assistance to the airline industry, hotels, and the cruise industry ..... pray tell, how much assistance will go to his various hotels and resorts?
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@Stephen Moore More importantly, why is this corporate welfare going to an industry that has been one of the bright spots in the recovery? Surely they have reserves for a rainy day, right? They didn't spend all their cash on CEO compensation and stock buybacks ,right?
96
@Stephen Moore-Well it worked for Trump's farm bailout. More than half of the Trump Admin farm bail-out aid went to the top 10%; the country's corporate agribusiness mega farms. About 1/3 of the bailout dollars went to foreign investors who own 30 million U.S. farmland acres. The USDA paid farmers roughly twice as much as the actual harm that they suffered from the trade war. Moreover, 184 of the 193 farm counties in Southern states—got $100 or more per acre; some receiving bailout money even when they don't grow tariff-harmed crops. Farmers in Alabama got $50 an acre in welfare for growing cotton and sorghum, crops unaffected by Trump’s trade war with China. Chuck Grassley's Iowa farm has received about $1.2 million from the government over the years. Nice chump change.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/12/31/790261705/farmers-got-billions-from-taxpayers-in-2019-and-hardly-anyone-objected
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/27/723501793/american-soil-is-increasingly-foreign-owned
44
@Ann
Bravo for pointing this out. The NYT needs more coverage of the GOP bailout feeders while infrastructure fails, drug prices go up, and the environment wobbles under climate change.
15
Our small greenhouse operation would be devastated by a diagnosis among our four principals, of which I am one, or a seasonal employee. Mandatory quarantines of all employees would simply put us out of business. Now you want to add mandatory paid sick leave so we can shoulder that expense when no revenue is being produced? I know it's an idea that sounds good, but for us, it really would be the final nail in our business's coffin. And I doubt we are alone in this.
23
@PaulaC. :
the point, or one of them, of some form of universal health coverage is that small entrepreneurs can RISK more. They and their employees have health coverage no matter what.
It would be a part of your taxes but would be worth far more than you would pay. You wouldn't have to deal with predatory big pharma or greedy insurance companies or hospital corporations any more, either.
13
@PaulaC. If you read more detailed proposals for paid sick leave, the Federal gov't would initiate it with tax credits for businesses when it's used. That'd help you. But you might still be hurting. Better that than you all get the virus and share it with your family and friends and customers and strangers. Life and limb come ahead of money.
11
@PaulaC.
As a Sanders supporter, I agree with you. You should not be asked to provide this help. It is the government’s job in a crisis to inject the money into the economy to keep ALL of us afloat.
Your workers can be paid a reasonable furlough pay if necessary by the unemployment system, and your business can be kept solvent by partially crediting you for losses.
It is really the only way to stop a different contagion: a break in the chain of payments and solvency that will severely damage the economy and possibly the financial system.
6
Given the more than 16,000 false or misleading statements (according to the Washington Post) since Trump's inauguration, what the economy also needs is something that it is no longer possible for him to deliver: credibility.
340
@Bob Schaffel
I would settle for him stopping lying about this one thing, since he obviously can't stop lying in the general sense.
His lies will get people killed....especially folks who watch Faux and hear almost nothing but lies therefore. There is a part of me that wants to rejoice in this, but Trump supporters are Americans too....and might spread the virus to others....just like they spread the other contagion we have which is the GOP generally.
11
@Bob Schaffel
At the micro level, the economic impact of Covid-19 is felt by individuals.
Yesterday’s NYT reported that the State Department has advised Americans against traveling on cruise ships, warning that they presented a higher risk of coronavirus infection and made U.S. citizens vulnerable to possible international travel restrictions, including quarantines.
My wife and I are in our 70’s so yesterday I called Regent cruise line to cancel our upcoming cruise to the Baltic. I was informed that our $4,000 deposit would not be refunded but instead put in a “Reassurance Account” to be applied to a future cruise that must be booked within a year.
No one knows if the coronavirus will be gone in a year, my wife and I are getting older and less mobile, and based on recent events we have zero confidence in the ability of Regent and other cruise lines to keep their ships from becoming floating Petri dishes.
Indeed, based on my conversation with Regent yesterday I can confirm that cruisers (especially the elderly) are at higher risk of contracting coronavirus and totally likely not to receive refunds.
Exposure to coronavirus is frightening and disruptive whatever one’s age, so think twice—or 3 or 4 times—before booking with Regent or any other cruise line; they do not refund deposits even when their trips are scheduled to stop in countries with confirmed coronavirus cases and the US government recommends not taking cruises.
16
@Mon Ray
"My wife and I are in our 70’s so yesterday I called Regent cruise line to cancel our upcoming cruise to the Baltic."
The Queen Elizabeth was a cruising ship. What you are describing are twenty story towers of floating cells which can be easily converted into jails as required (like during this crisis). Really, did you, or any of the millions of people that infest these germ factories, ever think once let alone twice or three times before getting on them? Quel nightmare, even on smooth seas.
1
Trump claims to have a special relationship with Putin. The American relationship with Saudi Arabia is very close. Time for Trump to step up and broker a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to at least resolve the oil pricing issue that is roiling global oil markets.
17
@Milton Lewis That would presume Trump has courage and is a deal maker. Other than his own statements, we have no evidence of either.
34
@Milton Lewis When housing prices go up no one cares. When oil prices go down it will help the driving public by lowering costs all over the economy. So why are you concerned about the 'declining' oil prices. It is GOOD - for the consumers - for a change.
1
Crikey! If Trump gets involved in that mess, heaven help us all.
2
Trump needs to shut down his tweeter and let the competent experts in infectious diseases direct traffic.
35
Expect this "president" to take none of the sensible steps the Board has outlined. Instead, expect that Trump will use this crisis to further consolidate his iron grip on this country.
We have a literally insane man sitting in the White House. He has not responded in any sensible way to any of the crises during the past three years, most of them his own making.
Actions he may take? He may cancel the November election. The coronavirus, which he has so far denounced as a hoax, will in a few months become so "serious" that he must suspend our citizens' civil rights.
A president's Constitutional power to declare martial law exists, but it is far from well-defined. There is little precedential case law defining its scope. And so far, this Supreme Court has bent over backwards to provide the expansive definitions of "executive powers" Trump seeks. The Roberts court granted him "emergency powers" for his Wall and the Muslim ban, on a claim wholly devoid of any facts. Trump simply said he needed to take those actions, and this Court took him at his word. Expect a replay from this Court.
And Trump voters will continue to deny reality and say the virus doesn't exist. They have a "president" who tells them that as whites they are the only "real" Americans, and for this, they'll sacrifice the health and safety of their own family members.
This pandemic has given Trump the excuse he needs, as his poll numbers decline these next few months, to seize absolute power. And he will.
137
@Nathan Hansard You sure about that......? Seems to me that the President has demonstrated he can pretty much do as he pleases with his commandeering of the Republican party SCOTUS. Let's not underestimate this man any longer. He will -- and his party will-- allow blood in the streets if that's what it takes to remain in power.
8
@Orion Clemens
I believe, and fear, that you are absolutely correct. HE will NOT Leave willingly.
10
@Nathan Hansard A paid army, mercenaries, which is what we now have, will follow the dictates of who signs the checks. All he has to do is make sure that the sons and daughters are not stationed where mom and dad live. Remember Kent State?
2
The Gateway project, the largest in the nation, is ready, and has been ready to go since Chris Christie pulled the plug and Trump with Secretary Chao have stonewalled for 3 years.
But expecting this administration to do anything that makes sense, and doesn’t hype up their base is just a waste of time.
We’ll have to ride out this virus and economic threat till we get some responsible people in the White House.
31