The COVID-19 Pandemic is among the most consequential crises in history. The virus has become a public health disaster leading to the separation of millions of families and the deaths of over 4.5 million loved ones globally. COVID has not only illuminated the shortfalls in global health care systems and virus response protocols, but it also surfaced governments’ focus on their country’s economic prosperity – many countries were able to preserve the economic wellbeing of their businesses far more effectively than the health of their citizens. The United States’ ability to exemplify this paradigm – avoid economic catastrophe – is attributable to its economic model; a mixed economy.
A mixed economy is one that exhibits characteristics of both capitalism and socialism. The US is home to one such economy: the country houses private industries that are subject to government intervention. Some examples of government intervention are the separation of companies displaying monopolistic behaviors and the support of select industries through subsidies. Intervention gives the government control over the economy and allows them to ensure a fair and forward-moving economy. During COVID-19 this government intervention helped immensely. Government stimulus checks curbed the impacts of unemployment, rent moratoriums protected struggling tenets and loans supported businesses.
Government mobility, complementary of the mixed economy model, enabled elected officials to support struggling businesses during COVID. Due to mandatory quarantine, one-third of US small businesses were forced to close. These closures caused American businesses to lose significant numbers in cumulative revenue meaning that many could not afford rent, property tax or laborer costs. To ameliorate these issues, the government provided aid. They provided hundreds of billions of dollars of aid to millions of American businesses and approved rent moratoriums – legislation that prevents eviction – for millions more.
The mixed economy model also allowed for the US to support unemployed American citizens. Due to business closures, during COVID-19 the US witnessed unemployment rates soar as high as 14%. This jump of 11% from pre-pandemic levels left more than 42 million Americans jobless and without means to support themselves. The government provided up to $1,400 to individuals with an annual income of less than $75,000. Like businesses, the government also supported unemployed individuals by enacting rent moratoriums. Through stimulus checks and rent moratoriums, government intervention gave struggling families the ability to support themselves.
While the Mixed Economic system allowed the government to help the struggling economy, the aid was not delivered equitably. Communities of Black and Brown individuals received substantially less support and struggled to access stimulus checks. According to a CNBC survey, “though more than three-quarters (76%) of [eligible] whites say they’ve received at least one Covid-19 aid payment from the government, only 67% of [eligible] Hispanics and 65% of [eligible] Blacks say they received the funds.” Lower-income individuals also reported struggling to gain access to stimulus checks – stimulus distribution is dependent upon reliable access to technology and bank accounts, two things that many underserved communities lack.
This illuminates the world’s increasing reliance on technology and the ravaging effects of the digital divide. Moreover, federal and state aid was only delivered to US citizens meaning that that the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US were excluded from aid although they experienced the same unemployment as American citizens.
Government’s abilities to protect their countries from economic harm, while simultaneously failing to address public health raises questions surrounding the efficacy of governments. A government’s goal is to protect their citizens both economically and medically, showing that many countries globally have failed in their job. Moreover, the government cannot provide aid forever and a healthy economy is contingent upon healthy citizens. So, why have governments prioritized economic well being, rather than overall health? Further, how would citizens respond if they knew that the economy was of more importance to their government than their overall health?
