Panic has set in as President Donald Trump sees his reelection in jeopardy unless adverse economic conditions due to COVID-19 rebound significantly and quickly. His most vital path to four more years has always been touting a healthy economy due to his alleged, although questionable, skillful governance.
Without belaboring just how much skill was actually involved, the reality of pressing to open business while rates of infection are still mounting across the nation will cause needless death without resulting in the significant economic recovery he craves.
The reason is obvious to anyone with a clear view of sensible expectation. A couple of likely inconvenient facts point to a slower recovery that won’t significantly spike Trump’s chances.
First on the list is that consumer demand, more than reopening business, is the fuel that will ignite the economy. With the threat still glaring, customers aren’t going to flock to open doors and surplus workers will remain unemployed. Second, following a period of significant unemployment, disposable income will be limited and decreased spending will result regardless of reopening.
If that’s the most likely result, is a premature opening of business worth the increase in morbidity? I don’t think so.
Raymond A. Hult
Bountiful