Obviously, the public health implications of this pandemic are the priority. We know that the Trump administration has already dropped the ball on that and we have little confidence that it’s going to get any better. Instead of listening to the experts, Trump is now tweeting random Christian doctors to his millions of followers:
The economic fallout from this pandemic is also a serious problem and it’s not unreasonable for the government to be concerned with it. But if you thought they would be any better at dealing with than they are at dealing with the public health crisis, think again:
Trump administration officials are holding preliminary conversations about economic responses to the coronavirus, as the stock market fell sharply again on Friday amid international fears about the outbreak, according to five people with knowledge of the planning.
Among the options being considered are pursuing a targeted tax cut package, these people said. They have also discussed whether the White House should lean even harder on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, though the central bank on Friday afternoon said it would step in if necessary.
No decisions at the White House have been reached on these options, and officials stressed conversations remained preliminary and extremely fluid.
Vice President Pence’s office is involved in the discussion of possible responses, two people said.
Literally, the only economic idea these people have is tax cuts.
So that’s going well too.