The Impasse Over Coronavirus Relief Is Hazardous

Yesterday even the stock market paused to wonder whether the immediate outlook for Covid-19, and hence for the economy, gives cause for concern. Cases are spiking in much of the U.S. and Europe, hospitalizations are rising, and with a lag of several weeks so are deaths. Authorities are reintroducing tighter restrictions and wondering how far these should go. The danger that a new wave of the disease will induce a new slowdown in output and employment — with the serious collateral harm this would cause — is real.

With this scenario unfolding, what are Congress and the administration proposing to do? For the moment, it seems, nothing. Their desultory months-long discussion of a new coronavirus-relief package appears to have fizzled out. Perhaps the lame-duck session of Congress will get around to it after the election, perhaps not. This collective shrug of the shoulders is a disgraceful abdication of responsibility.