Essay
Open Democracy
We now learn that the mismanagement of containment is not a bug, but a feature of policy. This presents us with a stark choice.
The fragility of western systems seems to have shocked even the elites in charge. But at least it motivated them to rapid action in defense of their own interests, along with measures that range from effective support to mere gestures for the broader population. In the US, the first response was massive loans to the corporate sector and semi-hidden tax breaks for the very wealthy, along with an expansion of unemployment insurance, cash payments to ordinary taxpayers, and some loans to small businesses, as well as theoretical moratoria on evictions, foreclosures and utility stoppages for the duration of the crisis.