Well the government has the power to bail out the people, and not just the corporations. And to a very minimal extent they've made an effort to do that.if I am correct about what is going on, then this virus is way worse than a flu, and I am worried for a few people I know,
but still not worth bankrupting and forcing everyone into poverty for.
poverty is also deadly, and likely more deadly than the virus.
So the conflation of "economic shutdown" with "personal poverty" is a false equivalency - one of policy, not necessity.
But there are lots of workable solutions. For example, a national program to equip everyone in this country with the N95 respirators that they need to be safe. And increasing testing so people can know their status. And a universal basic income so the millions of people out of work don't have to face economic devastation.I think people are forgetting that there is no good solution here.
The biggest problem we're facing isn't the virus itself - it's the total corruption of our government, which is comprised of totally corrupt officials who are more interested in bailing out their billionaire friends, than they are in offering the protection and financial support that the populace needs in order to get through this safely while maintaining a functioning economy.
If our worthless POS government would get us all the PPE and disinfectants and testing kits that we need, we could get back to work without flooding mass graves from shore to shore. But that would require political representatives willing to actually do something for the working class. And we've let these bastards trick us into voting for "the lesser of two evils" for so long that the entire system is more than less evil now.