Covid-19 has upended traditional economic thinking in a way that was even harder to anticipate than the virus itself. Economists were not prepared for a simultaneous supply and demand shock, alongside a deep fall in income and employment. The traditional Keynesian remedy does not work as the problem is not one of empty factories looking for demand. Factories cannot open if workers have to socially distance from one another. Consumers cannot congregate in pubs or restaurants either. Shopping is dangerous unless staggered in time and space. Only money issued by governments can sustain demand as well as supply. The old ... (full story)