BOHANON & CUROTT: The young like their virus odds; old should steer clear of them
One overwhelming statistical fact is that deaths attributable to the COVID-19 virus are age-related.
One overwhelming statistical fact is that deaths attributable to the COVID-19 virus are age-related.
We propose $1 trillion of new debt be specifically issued as Corona Bonds. The bonds should be long term and be backed by a small surtax on current federal income taxes earmarked for their repayment.
The cold, hard fact is that putting a value on human life is unavoidable.
The economy is not a machine that can be turned on or off. It is not as if President Trump, nor even Dr. Anthony Fauci, can declare, “OK, on May 17, it’s all over—everyone go back to work.” Rather, an economy is networks of relationships.
It is a safe bet that the pandemic will produce a decline in gross domestic product and unemployment rates at a level not seen since the Great Depression.
The day of reckoning comes when the U.S. Treasury has to choose between paying the interest on its bonds or paying its obligations to its pensioners.
What we call globalization is nothing new. Long-distance trade is as old as humankind.
Markets responded negatively to both Fed actions in March because the cuts themselves confirmed investors’ worst fears about the coronavirus’s impact on future profitability of American companies.
On March 3, the Federal Reserve cut its interest rate target by half a percentage point in a preemptive move to combat the economic risks caused by the coronavirus. Nevertheless, on March 9, the S&P 500 fell a stunning 7.6%.