No bailout, no stimulus — give us reparations for government-mandated shutdowns

Bailouts, in general, are neither good nor popular.

The most recent legislation billed as a “stimulus” package was President Barack Obama’s 2009 raft of special interest giveaways and green energy boondoggles.

It’s understandable, then, that a lot of conservatives are very wary of the proposed economic responses to the coronavirus crisis. And the odds are that, whatever Congress passes, it will end up — either because of the statute or the implementation — being filled with immense waste and cronyism.

In order to steer policymakers away from waste, and in order to help conservatives consider why an economic rescue package might be appropriate, let me suggest a way of thinking of this aside from being a “bailout” or a “stimulus.”