Because of the pandemic a major restructuring of the economy is going to take place. Much of the change was on track to happen anyway but it has been accelerated. Chipotle and Red Robin and Pier One have already announced that they are going out of business. Many other restaurant chains will follow. So will the movie theater chains. So will many department store chains. So will many other businesses. And they are not coming back. And that’s OK, but there are going to be a lot of unemployed people.
One possible solution is universal basic income. If everyone got $2,000 a month, a person could throw in with one or two other people and get by just fine, and if you want more then develop a good or service that people will pay for.
Another possible solution is a massive public works infrastructure rebuilding project. Put a few million people to work building roads, bridges, airports, public buildings, internet networks, and anything else that would improve life for everybody.
We could do both. Both would require the government to create huge amounts of money out of thin air. Would this be a problem? I have a degree in economics, and I have no idea, but it seems to me that the only potential problem would be runaway inflation, and I don’t see that happening. Stuff is getting done, people are getting paid. It’s not a case of more and more money chasing fewer and fewer goods and services, thereby causing inflation.
So what’s the problem? The only problem I see is that our political class is so corrupt that they will never be able to implement anything that would actually work and help people.