There's no underlying reason for the jobs to not come back right away. In 2008 we didn't need more granite countertop installers to service house flippers. Those jobs were gone for good and the toxic bundled mortgages represented real losses for many people. No such problems this time.
Mnuchin just told they Republican senators that if the government doesn't throw out a trillion dollars in stimulus, the unemployment rate could get up to 20%. I didn't see where he said what the rate would be WITH the stimulus.
When people fear becoming unemployed they stop spending money. When people stop spending money, all the people that would have sold them goods and services can no longer do so.
Besides cutting back on entertainment spending, people will postpone buying new furniture and cars and everything else.
The thing about the economy is that every time a dollar is spent, it is earned by someone else. If people stop spending, somebody else's income drops, and they in turn hold onto their money a bit tighter. This could spiral down into Great Depression levels of a slowed economy, and it took a long time to crawl our way out of that one.
There’s no underlying reason for the jobs to not come back right away. In 2008 we didn’t need more granite countertop installers to service house flippers. Those jobs were gone for good and the toxic bundled mortgages represented real losses for many people. No such problems this time.
Who buys a house when they can’t go to McDonalds? Who builds a house when nobody is buying houses? Who buys a truck when they are not working?
You vastly underestimate the effect on consumer confidence the Wu Flu Panic is causing. There will be economic aftershocks hitting us for years from both the panic and the trillions in financial bills it caused.