Restarting the Economy Is About Lives Versus Livelihoods

March 24, 2020
Business

• What does it all mean? The NYT’s Neil Irwin breaks down the strategy, while Ben Casselman answers common questions about how it works.

Markets said “meh.” Although the Fed has effectively cut interest rates to zero and promised to run its money printing presses at full speed, the stock market fell yesterday. All eyes are now on Congress, as lawmakers wrangle over a stimulus bill aimed at the workers and companies that the Fed’s programs don’t address, at least not directly.

• It’s an acknowledgment that the Fed is pushing up against the limits of what it can do. Over the past week or so, it has launched so many targeted lending programs that it’s hard to keep track of all the acronyms. A non-exhaustive list: C.P.F.F., M.M.L.F., M.S.B.L.P., P.D.C.F., P.M.C.C.F., S.M.C.C.F. and T.A.L.F.

Futures markets are up today on signs of a compromise in Congress over a $2 trillion economic package. Steven Rattner, who led the 2009 auto bailout under President Barack Obama, writes in an NYT opinion piece: “Distasteful as they may be, we need rescue plans urgently, for both small and large business, and we need to apply them prudently and wisely.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/business/dealbook/coronavirus-trump-economy.html