Why can't we pause the economy?

[jackfaire]

Covid 19 is very real and not something humans made up. It doesn't care about our rules and will kick our asses.

Our Economy on the other hand is an imaginary system we created to help run the infrastructure of our society. There is to my mind no reason we can't say "no one owes any money right now" Tenants don't have to pay rent? Good. Why not also no one has to pay mortgages. We freeze those parts of the economy entirely that serve literally no purpose right now while we move through this health crisis.

I saw the other day people saying "total lockdown was a bad idea because of the economy we need to decide how many deaths are acceptable and then work in that area"

Why? We're already on our way to developing vaccines for this thing and it's deadly. Even in areas where it doesn't kill the damage to a person's body is there.

I can see no reason we can't take our play money and just put it on a shelf for a bit until this is behind us and we're ready to pull it out and keep playing.

[Dreamstalker]

I would tend to agree; it's what should have happened 5 months ago. So many of us aren't working anyway. Pause rents (and it cannot be 'held' and accrued to be paid back later, rents can be started again when/if people's situations are stable enough to allow), require landlords to let tenants help with the property in trade if they are able/willing (I wouldn't try my paw at plumbing, but I am decently handy with gardening and painting). Rents are too damn high anyway. Forgive student loans if the balance of a given loan is equal or higher than a borrower's annual income.

The model we're currently using needs to change. If we can literally print money and its only value is what we decide on, then why can't we just print enough to allot, say, $2k a month per adult until this is over with (this has been proposed by quite a few candidates)?

[Gravekeeper]

Because capitalism and freedom. Unless everyone agrees not to use money no one will agree not to use money. No one will work for free even they are benefiting from everything being free.

Plus, in my experience, few things piss off half of America more than the idea of someone, somewhere, getting something they don't "deserve". Even if it has no affect on them personally. =p

[Pixelated]

Because capitalism and freedom. Unless everyone agrees not to use money no one will agree not to use money. No one will work for free even they are benefiting from everything being free.

Plus, in my experience, few things piss off half of America more than the idea of someone, somewhere, getting something they don't "deserve". Even if it has no affect on them personally. =p

That attitude is not limited to the U.S. (if by "America" you mean specifically the U.S. ) There are plenty up here in Canada who hold the same idea ... "You can't give people a Universal Basic Income; they'll sit around and do nothing!!"

I have not yet pointed out to these people that those who want to sit around and do nothing are almost certainly already "gaming the system" so as to be able to do so. Who knows what hopeful entrepreneurs might do if they didn't have to scrape for every penny, and knew that their basic needs would be covered?

As for the "pause everything," that's certainly a radical idea ... and I don't mean "radical" in a bad way. But it really would have to be right across the board. Tenants don't have to pay rent, but at the same time landlords don't have to pay for the costs involved in the housing their tenants live in ... utilities, heat,etc. It would certainly take a lot of pressure off everybody.

[jackfaire]

As for the "pause everything," that's certainly a radical idea ... and I don't mean "radical" in a bad way. But it really would have to be right across the board. Tenants don't have to pay rent, but at the same time landlords don't have to pay for the costs involved in the housing their tenants live in ... utilities, heat,etc. It would certainly take a lot of pressure off everybody.

And I mean across the board. Farmers were DESTROYING CROPS because no one could come buy them off of them. Like what the serious fuck!??! Destroying food cuz "oh noes we didn't sell it" that struck me as severely messed up. It's not like they get money from destroying the crops. They could have just been "hey we can't sell this stuff anyone wants to come get it feel free"

We're going to lose a lot of businesses because it's literally unsafe for them to operate right now but they still owe money while they can't make any money. It's ridiculous.

[jackfaire]

"You can't give people a Universal Basic Income; they'll sit around and do nothing!!"

Robert Heinlein suggested a UBI way back in the 30s. The people "sitting around and doing nothing" will have time to create art and literature that they wouldn't otherwise have time for. I know you were quoting what people say I'm just saying what my response to those people usually is.