Assorted Macro Musings
1. USA Today published my Op-Ed titled " Fighting the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Economic Front . " In it, I make the case that the large relief package from the White House and Congress and the Fed's interventions are best seen as mobilizing for war: The proposed government outlays can be best thought of as part of a mass mobilization for war, just like the country did for World War II. Back then, the war was against foreign powers, and we mobilized factories, machines and troops to fight a physical foe. Today, the war is against a virus or an “invisible enemy,” as President Donald Trump has described. We’re mobilizing our health care industry and the ability for people to stay home in order to fight. This fight against the novel coronavirus, like World War II, is also a two-front war. The first front is the public health battle against the virus. The second front is saving the economy from a debilitating wave of bankruptcies and liquidations as businesses are s...