Trump calls for $850bn coronavirus stimulus package
US citizens could be give $1,000 as part of ‘most dramatic stimulus effort since the Great Recession’
Donald Trump has called for an emergency $850bn (£702bn) economic stimulus package to deal with the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the president said: “It’s going to be big, it’s going to be bold, and the level of enthusiasm to get something done, I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it.”
With talks between the White House and Congress expected to be fast-tracked, the package would constitute the “most dramatic stimulus effort seen since the Great Recession of 2009”, The Independent reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Washington Post explains that the plan “would be mostly devoted to flooding the economy with cash”, either through a payroll tax cut or some other mechanism.
Some $50bn (£41bn) will also be directed specifically to helping the airline industry, the paper adds.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important business stories and tips for the week’s best shares - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The $850bn package may come in addition to another $100bn-plus (£82.5bn) package that aims to provide paid sick leave, unemployment insurance and other benefits for workers impacted by the virus’ spread.
In what The Daily Telegraph labels a “sudden embrace of what has been a signature policy of left-wing politicians”, Trump also wants to hand Americans more than $1,000 (£825) in direct payments, as part of a further economic relief programme.
However, whether the massive cash injections will stave off economic catastrophe is not yet know. Reuters reports that “the coronavirus shockwaves rippling through US stocks are forcing investors to contemplate outcomes more dire than a recession”.
The news agency adds that these outcomes include several quarters of declining economic activity, a credit crisis or a depression.
“This market looks like it has already priced in most of a garden variety recession,” said Frances Donald, global chief economist at Manulife Investment Management. “It is now on top of that having to price in some probability of a credit crisis.”
Forecasters at Goldman Sachs and other banks are now projecting a steep economic contraction in at least the second quarter, as governments in the United States and Europe start shutting restaurants, closing schools and calling on citizens to stay home.
“But there is hope among some economists that economy will start expanding again later this year - depending in part on efforts to contain the virus” says Reuters.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What message is Trump sending with his Cabinet picks?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION By nominating high-profile loyalists like Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr., is Trump serious about creating a functioning Cabinet, or does he have a different plan in mind?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The clown car cabinet
Opinion Even 'Little Marco' towers above his fellow nominees
By Mark Gimein Published
-
What Mike Huckabee means for US-Israel relations
In the Spotlight Some observers are worried that the conservative evangelical minister could be a destabilizing influence on an already volatile region
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published