Paycheck Protection Program in response to COVID-19: The Paycheck Protection Program that was passed in response to the Corona Virus pandemic is a relief measure for small businesses under the CARES Act. It is federal aid to help small businesses during this time. One issue with The Paycheck Protection Program was that the loan application program crashed after being open for only a few days. Another issue with The Paycheck Protection was that banks were afraid to take risks. For example, banks began turning down loans from people requesting them who did not have previous lending history with the bank. Another issue with The Paycheck Protection Program was that the loan was to be spent on payroll expenses if they want their debt to go away. Because of this business owners cannot afford to keep their employees employed. The last issue with the Paycheck Protection Program was that banks are depleting loans without helping all of the business owners. The demand for cash is too high in this case and the money is in short supply.
US Corona Virus Stimulus Package: The US Corona Virus stimulus package is a $2 trillion relief package. The government will make a one time cash payment of up to $1200 to Americans who qualify. The payments are made automatically to Americans with Social Security Numbers. If an American files taxes or gets federal benefits, such as social security, he or she does not have to do anything to get a payment. On the other hand, if an American does not file taxes, get Social Security or federal benefits, the IRS has an online tool, where one can submit information for faster payment. Also, if someone is claimed by someone else as a dependent, that person will not receive a stimulus check.
AGI = Average Gross Income "The maximum payment is $1,200 for single filers with an AGI below $75,000 or single parents (heads of household) with an AGI below $112,500. Married couples who file jointly and have an AGI below $150,000 will get a total of $2,400."
"Payments will begin to phase out at a rate of $5 for each $100 over the AGI threshold before ceasing at an AGI of $99,000 for single filers, $136,500 for heads of household, and $198,000 for married filers. There's also an additional $500 allotted to parents who have an AGI within the phaseout range for each child younger than 17."
Information From Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/coronavirus-stimulus-check-questions-answers-2020-4
Given the policies above, I believe that the policies implemented by the government makes sense since they are working to compensate for the income loss of Americans. The government realizes that America has not gone through a pandemic recently and adjustments are hard to make, especially for working adults. Many jobs are being lost and there is a lot of financial uncertainty for many Americans, so the Stimulus Package is a good solution. Similarly, many small business owners are suffering because they are non-essential businesses and are not earning an income. The Paycheck Protection Program makes sense because small businesses are currently closed.
Can you come up with a different and possibly better approach for handling this pandemic? Countries like Panama have much stricter approaches to handling the Corona Virus. The approach that they apply is better in my opinion. One policy that I believe is better is limiting the amount of people who leave their homes. For example, their strict quarantine measures separate people by gender. Men and women in Panama can leave their houses for two hours at a time every day and on different days. Women leave their houses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Men leave their houses on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. By doing this, Panama increases the success of social distancing because it guarantees that there will be less people congregating. This is a more organized way to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus.