Assume the Covid-19 crisis has led to an unemployment rate of 20% in the economy and a decline in GDP of 12% from the prior year. Further assume that once the restrictions placed on the domestic economy are lifted and the society is permitted to reengage, it is found that the level of spending in the economy remains dormant. Consumers are being restrained from spending as their disposable income was severely decimated by the pandemic and their confidence in their earnings potential shattered, and businesses are hesitant to invest in new production based on this lack of purchasing taking place.
Should those conditions described above prove to be true, what would you suggest as the required response from the federal government to restart the economy? What tools does the federal government have to address the noted conditions? How should these tools be implemented to have a favorable effect on GDP and unemployment that currently exists?