Mitch McConnell says Republicans and Democrats should and will come together in the face of a national crisis. Fine sentiments, to be sure, but it would appear that they only apply when a Republican is in the White House and an election looms. In 2009-2010, he took the position that the job of an opposition party was to oppose and regain power, not to help the American people, and the rest is history.
That aside, federal bailouts are inevitable, as they were in 2009, so what should they look like? Here are some general principles:
- Aid to workers who have lost their jobs as the result of what amounts to a government-mandated recession for public health reasons should be generous and unconditional.
- Aid to small businesses should focus on keeping them intact, and on keeping workers on the payroll. The assistance should come in the form of very low interest, long term loans tied to continued employment.
- Aid to larger businesses which amount to public utilities (the airlines and banks, for example) should be in the form of loans and come with lots of strings attached.
- Large businesses to which there is no compelling public interest attached (e.g., theme parks; cruise lines) should be pretty much on their own. They can use Chapter 11 as necessary.