DAILY DIALOGUE: DO WE REALLY HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN OUR SAFETY AND THE ECONOMY?

WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN OUR SAFETY AND THE ECONOMY. IS THAT TRUE? OR IS IT A FALSE CHOICE?

Allen:

What are you thinking about going back to work, Chris?

Chris:

I am thinking mostly about safety.

Allen:

Me too. They say we should be willing to accept more deaths in order to save the economy. “Rule 1: “Save the economy or save lives” is a false choice.”

Chris:

With no healthy population, there's no healthy economy! “With much of the U.S. in shutdown mode to limit the spread of the Covid-19 disease, a debate has sprung up about when the country might “reopen” commerce, to limit economic fallout from the pandemic. But as a new study co-authored by an MIT economist shows, taking care of public health first is precisely what generates a stronger economic rebound later."

Allen Schwartz & Chris Maddox