Can Government Spending Save the Economy?

<p>As the American economy plunges toward a recession, economists and policymakers are triaging proposals to stanch the bleeding. All of their ideas will cost money the government doesn’t have. That leaves Democrats and Republicans with two major questions: How much should be borrowed for bailouts — and what spending is needed to avoid permanent economic damage? Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casselman" target="_blank">Ben Casselman</a>, an economics reporter at The New York Times.</p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/business/economy/fed-chair-powell-economy-virus-support.html" target="_blank"> urged Congress to spend more</a> on economic relief — even if doing so means increasing the federal deficit. He warned that the United States was experiencing an economic hit “without modern precedent.”</li></ul>