Let's have a separate thread about this. Wingnut twitter and likeminded Libertarians are calling for America to "reopen" because the "cure can't be worse than disease!" Think of all the suicides and substance abuse and other fallout if the economy continues to be shutdown!
So the economy reopens. Then what? The industries that are being hardest hit are hospitality jobs that rely on frequent close human-to-human interaction in crowded spaces (bars, restaurants, clubs, theaters, etc). Do these idiots think that once Lord Trump declares American open for business, that people are going to pack those establishments like before? No way in .
There's also the argument that we can't destroy the economy to save "old people." To be fair, the people who say this aren't necessarily saying that we sacrifice old people at the altar of capitalism, but that older people should continue to self quarantine while the "young" can get back to work. This is also re ed logic. Old people still drive a fair amount of consumerism. And young people are in no way, shape, or form immune to this virus's more severe symptoms. 40 percent hospitalizations are younger than 55 (
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/ne...es/2922646001/).
So it's not like younger people will be able to just jump back into work and shake off a coronavirus infection like it's a mild cold. At the very least, they'll need to self-quarantine for 14 days. This will translate into a natural labor pool shortage that will have to force a business to close down anyway (ex. I'm some dumb Libertarian who is itching to reopen his bar and grill. Lord Trump decrees that I can. I reopen at full capacity and two weeks later, my entire staff has to self-quarantine).
There's zero path right now to reopening the economy. If you do so, you'll get the same economic damage we're going through right now but more deaths and people sick, which will contribute even more economic damage down the road.
I'm no economist, but why can't we put a moratorium on debt for a year? The reason many small businesses will probably fold over this crisis because they won't be able to pay the banks and other creditors. Why do the banks need the money right now? Where will it go? To a group of rich assholes who don't need the money anyway? And why would banks need to be flush with extra capital right now when no one in their right mind would "borrow" to, you know, start something like business because it isn't the best in time to start a business at the moment.
Banks basically just circulate money from payers to borrowers, and if borrower demand is low, what's the point of foreclosing on a debtor right now other than pure greed? (Guess I answered my own question. I'm sure a bunch of heels are licking their chops at all the devalued assets they'll be able to pick up during the crisis and sit on for a decade).