Article Analysis Essay on How to Avoid Complete Economic Destruction

Introduction

The article How to Avoid Complete Economic Destruction focuses on the economy during the pandemic outbreak of coronavirus, which is vital to the growth of any county (Editorial Board, 2020). The economy dictates the state of any given country in terms of its production as well as consumption of goods or services and the supply of cash. Every federal government in every country and state across the globe is mandated to promote the general welfare of its citizens. The promotion of the general welfare of the citizen can be done by ensuring there is a stable economy. A stable economy can be achieved through the control of the available resources such as the use of labor and capital as well as determining how factors such as inflation, demand, supply, interest rates, and other factors determine how the citizens pay for the goods and services.

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The pandemic of coronavirus has brought many challenges to the economies across the globe, leading to layoffs of workers in various sectors. The article points out that in the past week, various individuals filed for the unemployment benefits than in any previous weeks in the history of the United States (Editorial Board, 2020). The mass layoffs that have been witnessed in the past few weeks have deprived various families of income, leaving many without health insurance, which may be tragic owing to the pandemic.

The author quotes The Staggering Rise in Jobless Claims This Week by Bui and Wolfers (2020), where the authors give graphical evidence of national unemployment claims recorded since the year 2002. In the past week, a record highest number of 629, 899 cases of unemployment have been recorded. The evidence provided by the authors is credible as it has been extracted from the state level reporting by the department of labor, which has consequently been sited and is verifiable. From the numbers, it is evident that the outbreak is bringing the economy of the United States to a shuddering halt, which requires the intervention of the federal government as well as the policymakers of the country (Editorial Board, 2020). The evidence provided by the authors is verifiable from the website of the Department of Labor that is accessible to every individual across the globe.

The authors address the counter-arguments on the looming crisis of the American economy by providing solutions that ought to be taken by the federal government in order to avoid complete economic destruction. The solution proposed in the article is the grand bargain where the government provides the money that these companies, which are laying off workers, are unable to earn. Consequently, these companies make use of the money provided by the government to keep their employees on the payroll.

In the article, the editorial board presents the interest of the common citizen who has been affected by the layoffs, which has led to the highest number of unemployment cases recorded in a single week. Nonetheless, the government can also feel the effect of the ongoing recession on the economy in real-time (Editorial Board, 2020). The economy of the country is affected directly by the actions as well as the inactions of the government. The authors of the article opine that the government ought to assure the citizens losing their jobs that the help is on the way, and they ought not to lose hope.

The authors also represent the interests of the businesses, which have been on the losing end since the start of the pandemic. The businesses have faced a drop in revenue due to the restrictions that have been enforced by the federal governments in their bid to curb the spread of the virus. In a case where the lockdown continues for a period of more than three months, small businesses will be forced out of business, leading to more cases of unemployment.

The government has the option of saving these businesses by pumping money into the private sector to prevent the looming mass layoffs that would lead to more cases of unemployment. The authors of the article make use of descriptive language to develop their arguments. The authors describe the current situation facing the economy of the country in terms of job losses, the increase in the unemployment rates and the closure of businesses due to the existing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The author goes ahead to give a solution to the problem and further describes how the solution will save the business, the citizens, as well as the economy of the country.

The article is articulate in itself. The article portrays an in-depth knowledge of the current economic situation of the United States of America, the businesses within it, as well as its citizens. The authors give a vivid description with evidence on the effects of the lockdown on the individual citizens, the small businesses, as well as the economy of the country.

They also suggest the possible solution of the government pumping money into the private sector, which will not only save the country from the looming economic crisis but will also help reduce the high rates of layoffs that have been reported in the past week. Thus, I have not detected any error in the knowledge, the evidence, as well as the thinking of the editors in presenting their opinions as well as facts in the article.

In the article, the authors appeal to the lawmakers who are the major stakeholders of the operations of the federal government to pass laws in favor of the businesses to help them keep the employees in the payroll during this time of lockdown. The authors give an example of the proposed bailout program by the Congressional Republicans in their bid to save the country from the looming economic crisis. Nonetheless, their proposal lacked a necessary scale.

The proposal proposed funding of approximately $300 billion for businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The businesses were also given the allowance to borrow up to a maximum of $10 million to enable them to keep their employees on the payroll. However, this sum is only sufficient to cover the wages of up to four months. In cases of an extended period of the lockdown exceeding four months, the crisis would continue. These businesses are also required by law to pay for the benefits of these employees as well as other expenses such as rent, which are costly, making the sum to be insufficient during the entire period of lockdown.

Due to these shortcomings presented by the Congressional Republicans proposal, the authors of the article are of the opinion that the US Senate should embrace the proposal by Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin. The proposal by Senator Tammy Baldwin proposes that the businesses ought to be forgiven by a value of up to $10 of their borrowing regardless of how the money was used on a condition that the companies do not cut back on the wages of their staff as well as lay them off (Cochrane, E., & Tankersley, 2020). The authors also propose that the United States government ought to emulate the government of the United Kingdom, which intends to provide the UK companies with money to fund the wages of their employees in order to meet their payrolls as well as preserve the jobs of the citizens.

The article How to Avoid Complete Economic Destruction is compelling as it focuses on the current issue that has affected the world economy. The article also proposes a solution to the current challenge with notable examples with evidence.

References

Bui, Q., & Wolfers, J. (2020) The Staggering Rise in Jobless Claims This Week. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/19/upshot/coronavirus-jobless-claims-states.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Cochrane, E., & Tankersley, J. (2020). Senators Edge Closer to Bipartisan Agreement on Economic Rescue Plan. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/politics/congress-coronavirus-economic-rescue-plan.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Editorial Board (2020). How to Avoid Complete Economic Destruction. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/coronavirus-economy.html