Now that Americans are finally on board with this whole “social distancing” thing, we can start to examine to coming challenges that COVID-19 will bring us.
The virus itself isn’t terribly fatal, at least not in terms of percentages. Mortality rates have varied widely by nation, but seem to be holding steady around 3% worldwide. The issue with this novel strain of coronavirus is not how often it kills but how quickly it spreads.
In order to beat the virus, Americans have shuttered their movie theaters, music venues, restaurants, coffee shops, and anywhere else that people gather. The economic impact of this consumer pause will be enormous, and the Senate hopes that a now-passed relief bill will keep everybody afloat as we wait patiently for the danger to pass.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rebuffed the Republican senators’ concerns over the bill, contending this will help those who involuntarily lost their jobs.
“I don’t think it will create incentives. Most Americans, what they want, they want to keep their jobs,” Mnuchin said.
“We need to get this money into the American economy and American workers, that’s the importance of this,” he added.
The Senate Cares Act would provide most Americans $1,200 per individual, $500 for most children, and establish a several hundred billion dollar lending aid program for businesses, cities and states, as well as aid for small businesses.
Congressional Democrats had come under fire in recent days for blocking two previous economic relief bills at a time in which Americans are suffering. It seems that the third time was a charm.
