Behind a flurry of activity in Washington, D.C., yesterday was an increasingly urgent problem for a nation grappling with the novel coronavirus pandemic: the growing risk that millions of businesses and households won’t be able to pay their everyday bills — rent, payroll, utilities — as business activity grinds to an unprecedented halt, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Federal Reserve launched a program to provide short-term loans to businesses in commercial paper markets, while White House officials and lawmakers scrambled for ideas to get funds into the private sector, and the Treasury postponed one of the biggest bills coming due for anyone: individual income taxes. “Americans need cash now, and the president wants to give cash now. And I mean now, in the next two weeks,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Privately with lawmakers, however, he said that checks might not be available until the end of April. As restaurants close, airlines stop flying and streets go empty, businesses and households have a similar and pressing problem: The money just isn’t coming in, but bills still have to get paid. The financial system typically serves as a backstop. Businesses tap credit lines to alleviate short-term funding squeezes. A household might draw from savings or tap a home equity line. But those systems are becoming overloaded. The problem is especially pressing for millions of low- and middle-income households. Nearly four in 10 Americans don’t have the savings in hand to cover an unexpected, $400 expense with cash, according to Fed surveys.
