The Mother Of All Fiscal Cliffs

By Ajax the Great

(Originally published on my True Spirit of America Party blog)

With extended and expanded unemployment benefits set to end abruptly on Labor Day, the federal eviction moratorium already ended just days ago, and the coming showdown between the two right wings of the corporate duopoly in Congress over the debt ceiling this month, we have the trifecta of a massive "fiscal cliff".  Though unemployment rates are down from their peak, the economy is still reeling and fairly weak from the pandemic and particularly the lockdowns and shutdowns that did some serious damage all while failing to stop the virus in any meaningful sense.  And a sudden drop in federal dollars can easily do further damage to the economy as well, just when it needs money to heal.

At the same time, inflation is still heating up, and there are persistent shortages of many things including labor.  Thus, we have a recipe for stagflation if current trends continue, even if the longer-term trend is towards deflation.  

So what is the solution?  Voila:

1. End the enhanced unemployment benefits with all of their perverse incentives, but phase them out a bit more gradually instead.  But yes, 18 months really is more than enough.  Restore unemployment benefit rules to the pre-pandemic status quo ante, in other words.
2. Instead of an eviction moratorium, which is unfair to landlords when done for this long, use federal dollars to make direct payments to landlords to make them whole in that regard, in return for refraining from evicting tenants.  Do that for as long as reasonably necessary.  Any future moratoriums shall exist only as long as it takes for the funds to be disbursed.
3. Do another round of one-off stimulus payments to all Americans, period.  And don't discriminate this time!  Anyone with an SSN or ITIN should be able to get a cool $2000 yesterday, period. 
4. Implement Universal Basic Income (UBI) to one degree or another, with no strings attached.  Better yet, give everyone an account at the Federal Reserve to make such payments easier.
5. Now is the time for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to at least 1.0% yesterday, then incrementally higher as necessary until inflation drops below 3%, then cut rates once more.  That is the best way to quash inflation without causing yet another recession.
6. If we truly must raise taxes, then aim for the top 1% and especially the top 0.1% and 0.01%, with NO LOOPHOLES this time.  And implement a financial transactions tax on Wall Street as well.
7. End the utterly pointless and destructive song-and-dance and games of "chicken" over the debt ceiling, that no other country in the world does but the USA, by simply abolishing that limit entirely or deeming that limit to be automatically raised every time a budget is passed.  Like every other country on Earth does.
8. Above all, DO NOT SHUT DOWN AGAIN!  Seriously.  And end all mandates in regards to masks and vaccines as well.  Those are counterproductive, illiberal, and also not good for the economy either.  Ditto for any sort of travel restrictions and vaccine "passports" too.

Problem solved.  But that would make too much sense, of course.