An overdue virus response plan
President Trump is waking up to the towering costs of curbing the coronavirus pandemic at last. The bill may rise beyond a trillion dollars in federal aid, tax changes and possibly checks in the mail to many Americans.
The turn from ignorance and inaction to a huge outlay of $850 billion is a welcome reversal from Trump’s negligent conduct as the virus bore down on the United States. The death toll, which has passed 100 nationwide, along with the crushing blow to the economy, may be changing his mind. “We’re going big,” he said at a White House news conference Tuesday.
He and Congress will need to do just that. Trump’s team is now pushing a package larger than the stimulus measure enacted in response to the financial crisis a decade ago. This time, the flood of money will flow across the economy, including small businesses, hotels and airlines devastated by stayathome orders.
The plan reflected a quick change of priorities, with instant payments to most people winning out over Trump’s earlier proposal to suspend payroll taxes, which would take longer to show results. A whipsawing stock market and radical measures such as the Bay Area’s shelterinplace dictates may have caught the previously oblivious president’s attention.
Other needed stimulus and stopgap plans are taking shape. The Federal Reserve is promising to pump more funds into business lending. The House passed and the Senate is considering a $100 billion bill to provide free testing, paid sick leave and jobless payments. California legislators acted on a $1 billion package of social services and eviction limits. Income tax payment deadlines will be extended by 90 days, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The catchiest fixit is a check in the mail. Republicans and Democrats are warming to the notion of quickhit payments to tide people over and generate a bump in spending. With Trump at his side, Mnuchin blessed the concept and hoped it would happen within two weeks of congressional approval. Often debated as poverty relief, direct payments to the public are now being proposed to revive the economy across the board.
A White House suddenly in hurryup mode put forward further measures Tuesday. Restrictions on telemedicine will be eased, allowing more phone and video sessions between doctors and patients to enable health care without a visit to the doctor’s office. More testing kits to spot infections were promised to repair a major failing in tracking the outbreak.
Trump and his advisers ventured into smaller matters, too. Hungry people were encouraged to hit fastfood drivethroughs to avoid personal contact. Young people were scolded for partying in large groups. There were more warnings about social distancing and handwashing. The main question left unanswered was what took the Trump team so long to swing into action.
Political postures were likewise changing in headsnapping directions. Fresh off a Twitter bashing of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the combative president sang his praises. He also spoke warmly of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another devoted foe. Ever proud of the nation’s business strength, Trump is now acknowledging he needs allies, not enemies, to revive the economy.
The pandemic remains as perilous as ever. On opposite coasts of the country, California and New York are reporting rising tolls and infections. The virus isn’t fading as the president once suggested. It’s sickening more people and leaving more jobless by the day. Even as the president made his latest announcement, the European Union was imposing a 30day ban on most air travel into nations within the bloc.
Medical experts, including those at the president’s side, say it may take weeks to find out whether distancing measures flatten infection rates. That is sure to worry an anxious nation looking for assurance that such sweeping, lifealtering steps will pay off. The financial response is crucial to grappling with the consequences of a crisis the White House neglected for too long.