Clearing the market for surgical face masks using prices is detrimental to the public good.
Laws to prevent high prices for essential goods in short supply in a crisis would raise social welfare.
Governments should buy essential medical supplies at what would have been the market price and redistribute according to need rather than ability to pay.
Assuming that additional federal spending were to be structured as in the CARES Act, a substantial further spending program now will ultimately be less costly than a smaller program because it will better help to avoid long-term economic damage and promote a stronger recovery.
Having a fiscal rule that increases social spending on programs like unemployment insurance and SNAP based on the conditions of the economy would be an improvement on the discretionary way in which these programs are currently operated.
