Even as the Senate is hammering out details of what the government’s financial stimulus package will look like, I offer my 2 cents…
No doubt, the shutdown will impact most of us. For some – individuals and small businesses -- it will be a disaster from which they may never fully recover. People now living on the edge will be pushed over the edge. Some small businesses we frequent – restaurants, mom & pop retailers, personal service providers like our barbers and nail salons – may not be able to reopen, and they will be missed. Some smaller entertainment and recreation providers like indie movie theaters and bowling alleys will fall by the wayside.
If the shutdown lasts more than a few weeks, our world may look different than it did last week or the week before.
I think the government should take steps to secure our economy and help individuals who need it most. But I think it is wrong to give $50 billion to the airline industry and billions to the cruise industry. Airlines are essential to our way of life, but the big airlines can weather this storm. Perhaps they merit a smaller level of assistance – not outright handouts, but low or no-interest credit to keep them going. No money for stock buy-backs and no money for big bonuses for top executives. Any money they get should come with specific and strict stipulations to avoid unfair and greedy abuse.
Smaller businesses should be given funds to help get them through, again with some stipulation that a major portion of the funds go to furloughed employees. Owners should be allowed a portion to cover key expenses like rent to help them stay solvent so they can open again once we get past this.
A $1,200 or $2,400 payment to individuals will be welcomed by many, but if a shutdown extends for more than a few weeks, many hourly workers will be under water and may never fully get whole. A more equitable assistance formula should be worked out.
And now is the time to begin planning for once we get past this immediate crisis. Now is the time for our government to start developing programs to repair our crumbling infrastructure and get serious about ending our dependence on fossil fuels. Government money can incentivize businesses to begin production or shift existing production facilities to create and install solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal heating and cooling systems. Special attention should be paid to areas that have been hard hit by loss of factory jobs in the Midwest, in Appalachia and upstate New York and parts of New England. Factory retrofits and job training can create tens of thousands of jobs and revive some dying towns where even the local Walmart has shut down (after destroying local retailers that had long served those places).
I’m not an economist, but to me these things are simply common sense and decency. Put our tax dollars where they will help the most people long-term. The stock market will eventually rebound, so the Dow Jones index should not be the yardstick now. Keeping people afloat with the dignity of earning a paycheck is what should be our national economic priority.