Public Calm, Private Profit

Remember when some lawmakers claimed the coronavirus wasn’t going to be such a big deal? Senator Richard M. Burr, a Republican from North Carolina who is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, was one of them — at least publicly. Now it’s emerged that just days after Mr. Burr wrote an opinion piece saying that the United States was “better prepared than ever before” to confront the virus, he sold over a million dollars’ worth of stock, avoiding the market collapse to come. Other elected officials with access to high-level briefings made trades, too.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

What’s Next? (March 22-28)

No Checks in the Mail. Yet

Senate negotiators have drafted a stimulus proposal of more than $1 trillion that would put cash directly into Americans’ pockets by the end of April. The latest version of the legislation would send some taxpayers checks as large as $1,200. Lower earners would get less, and those who did not earn enough to pay income tax would receive just $600. The same bill would include large corporate tax cuts, loans to big and small businesses, and aid for airlines and other industries hit hardest by the impending downturn, which is looking uglier by the day. Economists are predicting that the U.S. economy will shrink anywhere from 12 to 24 percent in the second quarter, but until the virus is contained, who knows?

A Temporary Tax Break

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on Twitter that Tax Day would be moved from April 15 to July 15. The extension gives wiggle room to the many individuals and businesses who might now be struggling to afford their 2019 taxes or to find time to file their returns in the next few weeks. But if you’re hoping to get a tax refund, Mr. Mnuchin said you should file as soon as possible to get your money more quickly. And taxpayers aren’t totally off the hook in April: The new deadline only applies to federal taxes, not state.

Desperate Measures

If there were ever a time to sacrifice privacy for safety, this might be it — which is why health officials in Britain are building an app that would alert anyone who has come in contact with someone known to be infected with the coronavirus. The initiative is based on China’s methods to contain the outbreak, which appear to have been effective. But will it translate to societies that are more wary of government surveillance and protective of patients’ medical information?