Good to see that someone gets it

 Megan McArdle, writing in the March 8 Washington Post, is the first established scrivener to get out there and state that the $2000-minus-$600-equals-$1400 checks do not address the extraordinary nature of the current economic crisis. (See Opinion | Stimulus checks are the most indefensible part of the covid relief bill - The Washington Post.) Much as I have suggested (see November 13 post, “This is not your father’s business recession”), McArdle understands that this “stimulus” is “borrowed from an earlier recession by people who don’t seem to understand the fix we are in at the moment.” 

As Ms. McArdle and I agree on, what we do need at the moment is a plan for re-starting the millions of face-to-face businesses that were shut down by governments as a public health policy.  Getting a business back on its feet takes a lot more than just sprinkling money into customers bank accounts. 

In fact, that may not even be most important thing.  There will be huge questions like,

·             Can I get a loan to restart if my credit rating is shot due to almost a year of bupkus for revenue?

·             Will my bank be able to give me a loan without endangering their position with the bank regulators?

·              Have any of my suppliers survived and will they be in a position to give me credit?

·             What’s my experience rating at the unemployment insurance agency going to do to my unemployment insurance tax when I re-hire people?

·            What will I do for staff if my old team has found other work or moved back to Toledo to live with their parents?

·             If all else fails, will the courts be ready, willing, and able to handle a surge in Chapter 11 reorganizations?