The Clock Is Ticking

COVID-19 is an economic crisis every bit as much as it is a health crisis, and it’s alarming that the country appears to be largely winging the plan to recover.

Currently, there is no long-term plan for helping states, counties and local governments, not to mention school districts, with the fiscal crisis that will follow this historic slowdown of the economy. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone went to Washington, D.C., last week to make the case for more federal aid. It should be an easy case, though many Republican lawmakers are wary of the conversation; U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin is a notable exception, as he’s spoken strongly in support of the realistic idea that the federal government is going to have to help bail out local municipalities crushed by the shortfalls.

Congress and the White House actually responded well to the early part of the crisis, at least when it came to the economics: The $3 trillion package of aid wasn’t perfect, but it was an injection of emergency oxygen for an economy starved of it. It saved many businesses, kept many people in their homes via emergency unemployment aid, and allowed for a brief recovery (until the mismanaged health response allowed the pandemic to flare up again nationally).

It’s unthinkable, but Washington is gridlocked over extending unemployment benefits, cash payments and protecting people from eviction. It’s really too late — the impacts of that inaction will be felt very quickly at a personal level, and in a few weeks as the ripples hit the larger economy.

In a time of crisis, what you do is important, but so is when you do it. Washington is failing badly with the latter. The time to act is now, and the steps must be firm. This is a disastrous time, and it can quickly become even worse.