Fiscal Fears

One of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 has been to the worldwide economy. Over the last 4 months, some of the UK's smaller and bigger shops have had to shut down due to lack of funding coming in for them to keep their businesses open, but the big question being asked by workers everywhere is how are we going to come back from this crisis, and what steps are being taken in different countries to ensure the security of people's livelihoods?

What is happening in the UK then?

In the UK, £190bn has been pledged for the purposes of protecting the public and their jobs, as well as a reduction of VAT to 5% and temporary removal of stamp duty for the first £500 000 of a property sale. These things were meant to stimulate the economy and different sectors to kickstart the UK's financial return from the disaster that coronavirus has caused. One thing that will affect me as well is the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme - this is a plan to give a 50% discount to people who eat out in August, with a maximum of £10 discount per person.

Everyone will have different ideas and opinions on this and other schemes, but I believe that these initiatives will be what turns the economy back to the well-oiled machine that it used to be. You may believe that going outside won't be safe by then - and it won't, it will never be the same as before. But if we don't begin to try to return to normality slowly, we will forever be stuck inside, afraid of stepping outside for fear of illness. That doesn't mean we should start holding big events and meeting up with hundreds of people, but if we do not start to try to overcome this, I think we might never manage it. But overall, the economy is looking up, with lockdown being eased slowly and life slowly but surely returning to normal and shops across the 4 countries opening.

What about the US?

In other parts of the world, for example, the US, millions of people have lost their jobs and livelihoods due to the mistakes made by the people in charge. The number of people who DO have jobs is at a 70-year low. Trump has recently said in a report that the US economy is 'roaring back' and suggested numerous times in other forms of media that they are doing fine. COVID begs to differ. Instead of giving extra unemployment benefits, protecting the jobs of the citizens, and helping smaller businesses to stay afloat, President Trump has decided to cut health insurance for 23 million Americans, at a time when public health is of utmost importance.

As well as this, the American Senate is also saying that the increased unemployment benefits are what is keeping people from going to work, thereby fueling the fire of destitution. Instead of finding ways to bring people back to work, maybe they should focus on finding ways to keep their population healthy and happy - especially at a time like this. States like Florida and Texas have recently reopened their cinemas and restaurants. And then closed them again. With actions like these, with no clear plan, no certainty, how are workers and the middle class meant to keep their livelihoods together? How are they meant to have faith in the system when the system is showing no enthusiasm to put effort into getting the economy back to a reasonable state? A survey showed that 20% of people may be evicted by September, linking to the record high delinquency rates that have doubled since lockdown began. If people cannot even keep their houses, how can they have faith that they will keep their jobs? With almost 65 000 cases today alone and almost 1000 deaths today, the economic situation is dreadful.

What is the outlook in Europe as a whole?

The situation in Europe is vastly different for different countries - in places like Italy, which has seen the brunt of what COVID can do to it, society is reopening, shops and businesses are going back to normal. In Germany, the economy, according to officials, is at its weakest point since 2013 and is incredibly unstable right now. Imports and exports have seen a rapid decline across the European Union, and the EC (European Commission) is predicting that the EU's economy will shrink by 8.7%, before coming back by 6.1% in 2021. The worst-hit countries according to their report will be France, Italy and Spain. Most of the countries have decided to pause or delay their easing of lockdown due to this new evidence. Each country's economy is predicted to fall by over 10%.

All of the countries in the EU will be faced with a monumental challenge in trying to get their economies back to normal, since, in some of them, COVID-19 has not even begun to show signs of stopping. Businesses are still struggling to keep open across the continent and as I have mentioned multiple times, unemployment rates are sky-high.

In conclusion, the economy of the world is in a bad place right now. Job security is almost nonexistent, with millions of people losing their jobs in the near future or already across the globe. In some countries, there are millions or billions of pounds (or their currency) being pledged to rebooting the economy and this is what everyone needs to do. The best way we can reset the economy and give everyone the satisfaction that their jobs and their livelihoods are secure is by making sure that the government ensures that businesses, big and small, are safe from shutting down and firing more yet employees. The new scheme in the UK that gives employers £1000 pounds for every furloughed worker they keep on for 3 months is a perfect example of this. These are the type of things that need to be done to ensure that every worker is safe, and the economy can recover quickly and safely after all of this is over.

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