To the Editor:

Re “Mass Unemployment Was Our Choice” (editorial, March 27):

Our current administration is overly wedded to capitalism and afraid of sounding as though it is embracing socialism by supporting workers. The available models cited by your editorial are from countries regularly demonized as socialistic. That unfortunate administration attitude will take a while to change, or perhaps Covid-19 will by its devastation hurry up the change process.

In the meantime, we in the general public should support America’s vulnerable workers ourselves by actively patronizing those companies, organizations and nonprofits that are paying their workers’ salaries during this crisis, and actively withholding our patronage from those that are not.

Tom Shachtman

Salisbury, Conn.

The writer is the author of “The Day America Crashed” and other economic histories.

To the Editor:

There is a basic problem with the compensation scenario drawn up by Congress. The “typical” family of four will receive $3,400. But there are millions and millions of single-parent households. These families have the same household expenses as the “typical” family of four: rent or mortgage, utilities. They need more support. Each household with children should receive two full adult shares ($2,400) regardless of the number of parents in the household. This is necessary and only fair.