Who should bear the costs of COVID-19?

There are no easy answers about how precisely to share the burden of the crisis. More detailed policy discussions are needed. A good starting point would be to agree that when we ask, 'Who should bear the costs of COVID-19?' we can collectively answer 'All of us, equitably.'

Contrary to blanket statements that taxes would harm growth and recovery, such measures would pose little threat to the economy: if used to fund transfers to lower-income groups, who are more likely to spend their income. They may actually stimulate demand and economic recovery, writes Wilson Prichard. Photograph courtesy of Pexels

Opinion

BY WILSON PRICHARD

August 17, 2020

TORONTO—This is not a normal economic crisis. The pain has been distributed unevenly—and arbitrarily. Those who have suffered most were not, for the most part, reckless, poorly prepared or irresponsible. Overwhelmingly, it has been a

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