The old saw about being able to walk and chew gum simultaneously is often aimed at institutional Washington. In fairness to the confection industry, the joke is heard frequently when Uncle Sam is jawing on Presidential Election Brand gum. But in equal fairness to Uncle Sam, given the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic, public-health and social consequences, he clearly is being asked to juggle at the same time as he walks and chews.
All things considered, though, there are some absolute essentials on the public docket, and Sam needs to focus — or else we are all in the soup. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell is right: The Administration and Congress must produce economic recovery legislation now, before the election. Millions of people — the hardworking first-round economic casualties of the virus who lost personal-service jobs — cannot pay the rent, buy food and afford medical care, and they need to get back to work safely. Untold millions more could fall behind before any recovery legislation passed after the election could finally have real impact.
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