Last week, Joe Biden introduced a $1.9 trillion stimulus as an ambitious plan to take on the current economic crisis. Most economists note, however, that regardless of the amount of aid the government gives to individuals and small businesses, the economy is not going to thrive again until the root of this issue is defeated – the COVID-19 pandemic.
At best, the most this stimulus package can do is help the economy tread water. Moreover, the indications from public health experts is that the pandemic is going to worsen before things improve. With new cases and increased hospitalizations, the expectation is for renewed lockdowns and business remaining closed in certain parts of the country. These tactics have already been seen across other countries around the world as a more transmittable version of the virus continues to spread.
With all this uncertainty, businesses across the country are doing their best to construct plans for how to make it through the next few months. Biden’s plan proposes giving aid to most US households and to expand unemployment benefits, so it will likely help families stay afloat for now, but it will not necessarily repair the damage that has already been done to much of the economy.
Biden was adamant that this is only step one of a stimulus package that he will be requesting from Congress. Continued government relief programs will be crucial to helping families and businesses push through for months at a time, but really, we will not begin to see organic economic growth until the pandemic is quelled and life returns to some sort of normalcy.
Businesses and their customers will have to depend on continued support from the government and, likely, we will all have to tough out more time at home before we can breath life back into the US economy.
