Not all businesses shutdown. The issue is that a bunch of businesses took the free money who didn’t need it. We made a choice not to take it because we are booming during crisis. The stimulus checks had criteria to receive them and most people who are doing very well did not get a stimulus check. PPP could easily had a requirement that it had to be paid back if sales/rev increased during 2020 tax year. Instead the more likely scenario is that businesses that were most affected by covid will have to pay back the loan because their revenue fell to 0 and they had to cut employees. This money isn’t free, it is added to our national debt.
There's a strong case to be made that, given our position as the world's reserve currency (without any clear challenger) and our dirt-cheap borrowing costs, the national debt is pretty close to free money. It's not like we're ever going to roll up our sleeves and pay it off, or even down. We'll just inflate it away. I'm not arguing for unrestricted spending, but a couple trillion to avoid economic collapse, borrowed at effectively 0% interest, seems like a deal worth taking.
The issue with this line of thinking is that it doesn't end...until it does. Neither you nor I will likely be alive, but our children may very well be :/
I'm not arguing for unrestricted spending, but a couple trillion to avoid economic collapse, borrowed at effectively 0% interest, seems like a deal worth taking.
Would it be better to let the city burn down today because we're worried about a water shortage in 100 years?
> We made a choice not to take it because we are booming during crisis.
What's strange about that is that there were/are so many unknowns. Sure, you could be booming, but what if the unexpected strikes and you are suddenly not booming due to yet another unforeseeable event? The worst estimates were that millions would die and we'd be heading into an era that would eclipse the great depression.
As prepped as you were, and as well as you were doing — taking every opportunity to add layers of resilience would seem like the smart thing to do, especially when you've got employees with families, customers that depend on you, etc.
