Government Spending? In This Economy?

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?

Background reading:

• Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has urged Congress to spend more 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.”

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Ben Casselman contributed reporting.

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