EP 674 How Did Most People(Who Survived)Come Out of the Pandemic in Better Financial Shape?

In March 2020, economic and social life across America ground to an abrupt halt as the country attempted to slow the spread of COVID-19.  In the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression, twenty-two million people lost their jobs in the first few months of 2020.  And yet somehow the finances of most Americans improved during the pandemic–savings went up, debt went down, and fewer people had trouble paying their bills.  A combination of factors resulted in this unanticipated economic circumstance, including fast and effective government intervention(the Cares Act), more generous unemployment benefits, changes in lifestyle and spending habits and rent and college loan abatement for an extended period.  It dispelled the notion that at least on some fronts, America was incapable of responding to a crisis in a bipartisan and impactful way.  (The health response certainly leaves open this question in that sphere.)  In the new book, “The Pandemic Paradox: How the Covid Crisis Made Americans More Financially Secure”, economist Scott Fulford shares the empirical evidence of this counter-intuitive story and what we find as our economic reality in the wake of the pandemic.

 

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