Insight - US stimulus checks are a big mistake

All ears: A file picture showing supporters listening to Trump at a rally. Covid and a traumatic presidential election left the US reeling in 2020, but even with Trump gone and Joe Biden promising to heal the nation there’ll be no quick return to normal in 2021. — AFP

THE attack I made on Bloomberg Television on the idea of universal US$2,000 checks as a Covid-19 response has lit up the Twittersphere, so I think it worthwhile to be clear about what I am arguing.

Certainly, I am not opposing stimulus or favoring austerity. For years I have been making the secular stagnation case for more expansionary fiscal policy, and I have often remarked over the last couple of months that “not passing fiscal stimulus is like not wearing a mask at a large indoor gathering – an insane risk.”