While neither proposal would deliver much direct stimulus — fiscal policy can’t change the reality that much of the economy remains shut down — Mr. Romney’s temporary universal basic income measure would deliver more to those who needed help paying for essentials. That would help bolster households so they would be able to more rapidly resume their old spending patterns when businesses reopened.

Adapt the social safety net in a pandemic.

But even Mr. Romney’s proposed checks would not be enough for those who will be hardest hit.

Paid leave provides workers with valuable insurance against potential income loss. But it’s important to get the details right. Paid leave funded by employers simply transfers the pain from workers to their bosses. In ordinary times, when just a small fraction of a company’s work force is out sick, that’s not much of a burden. But when a pandemic forces the whole staff out, this obligation could easily push a business into mass layoffs or even closure.

That’s why, in a pandemic, the federal government ought to be responsible, either by providing direct funding for paid leave or by offering tax credits to employers who do so.

The government can also help mitigate income loss by expanding eligibility for unemployment insurance, which currently covers fewer than half of all workers. Independent contractors are completely shut out of the system, along with recent graduates looking for their first jobs and other workers with scant work histories. While unemployment insurance is provided by the states, the federal government can offer states extra funding if they cover more workers.

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, has also written a bill that would encourage work sharing rather than layoffs.

His bill would provide opportunities for workers to receive unemployment insurance for the income they lost if their hours were cut. It would effectively encourage employers to share the burden of cutbacks, perhaps reducing payroll by cutting the hours of all workers a bit, rather than consigning an unlucky few to unemployment. Maintaining this continuity between workers and their jobs would help ease the transition to normality when the pandemic passes.

Businesses need loans, not handouts.

Businesses also need help, but it’s important that government aid doesn’t just line the pockets of shareholders. A more appropriate goal — ensuring that businesses can survive longer than the coronavirus saps cash flow — can be achieved by providing loans.