Political partisanship remains an obstacle to further economic aid during the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s according to Northern Illinois University Professor of Economics Carl Campbell. He said assistance programs started out smoothly, but the climate in Washington has changed.
“I think there’s been a lot of partisan disagreement lately that’s basically made it harder for the government to do anything that will help the situation," he said. "I think there’s too much disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over which sectors are most deserving of funds.”
Campbell said this may smooth out as the 2020 election approaches.
“Both sides have an incentive to be more accommodating to the other side. Republicans might be willing to accept higher spending for fear of going into the 2020 election with the economy in a recession or depression.”
National unemployment figures last month were at 14.7%. Campbell says these numbers are likely to remain high until an effective treatment for COVID-19 is found. That would allow the economy to bounce back.