Allow me to replay you a couple of conversations I’ve had in the past few weeks because I’m a bit haunted by them.

Before we get to them, a reminder of the central problem facing the economy right now: hundreds of thousands of businesses are on the brink of collapse, if not halfway down the cliff. If too many healthy businesses are allowed to collapse it’s not clear if there will be any recovery to speak of.

That is why Britain, like most countries around the world, has thrown the fiscal kitchen sink at the problem: furlough schemes for workers who would otherwise be laid off; financing for big companies and, perhaps most importantly, guaranteed loans for small firms. This latter plan, the coronavirus business