By Day one of self-quarantine and I’m feeling spicy.
Italy just decided to suspend mortgages and debt payments over the coronavirus outbreak. It is time America followed suit by suspending Mortgage, Rent, and Student Loan payments.
Mortgage payments are completely suspended in Italy in an attempt to try and soften the economic blow of coronavirus on households and individuals.
We are the wealthiest country on the planet, and we are about to be hopelessly pummeled by the fall out from Covid-19. I’m not even talking about the health risks, I’m talking about small businesses, service industry workers, creatives— a whole societal group of many people already on the tightest margin now pushed to the brink with no real contingency.
As businesses, venues, events, all shut down with foggy guestimations as to when normalcy will return, there is a real possibility that many working and service class people will be out on their asses if this lasts longer than 3 weeks.
The layoffs have already started, and it won’t be easy for anyone over the next three weeks in America regardless of party, beliefs, or voting records— These next few weeks are going to be hell, and as the richest country on planet earth, we need to act now.
This tactic of suspending debt payments isn’t even unheard of for Italy— During the financial downturn in 08-09, the Italian government gave workers time off before having to repay their debt.
As Americans, we have the money and infrastructure to pull this off. It’s not unprecedented in the international community and it coincides with a massive shut down of a large sector of the economy as it stands today. We can not wait to act before it is too late, we need to ease debt in our economic system until we as working people can weather the storm.
If we fail to act as a nation, there is no telling how many people we sentencing to bankruptcy and economic hardship.
