The case against $2,000 checks

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( [Trump’s $2,000 Stimulus Checks Are a Big Mistake]( — Larry Summers I am not opposing stimulus or favoring austerity. For years I have been making the [secular stagnation case]( for more expansionary fiscal policy, and I have often [remarked]( over the last couple of months that “not passing fiscal stimulus is like not wearing a mask at a large indoor gathering — an insane risk.” And both in the immediate term, and on a permanent basis, I am all for strengthening the social safety net. The issue is whether spending about $600 billion on a one-time tax credit that would be worth $8,000 to a family of four and reach more than [85 percent]( of taxpayers makes good economic sense. There is the possibility of some overheating, particularly if the economy’s potential supply remains constrained by Covid protection measures. I am all for a far more expansive approach to fiscal policy. But that does not mean indiscriminate support for universal giveaways. Read [the whole thing](. [A $280 Billion Unicorn Just Had its Legs Broken]( — Tim Culpan [Cryptocurrency Is Not Necessarily the Future]( — Tyler Cowen [Going Skiing Is a Terrible Idea Right Now]( — Ferdinando Giugliano [My Unusually Normal Life in Taiwan Amid the Global Pandemic]( — Tim Culpan [For Corrosive Inequality, Look to the Upper Middle Class]( — Noah Smith [Homebuyers Brace for Pain in a Post-Pandemic Market]( — Conor Sen [The House That Jack Ma Built Is China’s Own Creation]( — Tim Culpan [Now We Know How Boris Johnson’s Movie Ends]( — Therese Raphael [Stanford Scientists Create a Billionaire Factory]( — Chris Bryant This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week based on web readership. New subscribers to the newsletter can [sign up here](.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022