How the government can get the biggest bang for its trillions of bucks
Some countries in Scandanavia and elsewhere have partially mitigated the economic impact of the coronavirus by paying companies to keep their employees on their payrolls. In the United States, the government would pay companies either by allocating funds to the States to give to companies or by paying the companies directly. The companies would then pay their employees 80% of their salaries. When the virus ends, companies need not rehire workers who would still be on their payrolls. Companies would need to apply for the funds, listing on a form the names of the employees and the salary of each one. The government would allocate the funds based on this data. Since this information is already stored in each company’s database for tax purposes, accessing and providing this information is not as difficult as it may seem. Large and small businesses would qualify. To ensure that unscrupulous business owners don’t misappropriate the funds, the government would require them to file quarterly reports as to how the money was allocated. The IRS or some other government agency could check to verify compliance.
This method would obviate the necessity of sending one-time useless stimulus checks that don’t reach many of their intended recipients on time and other methods. If the government is spending trillions of dollars, they should be allocated where they will be most effective.