Scioto Analysis Principal Rob Moore appeared on Ohio University Health Policy Professor Dan Skinner’s WCBE podcast Prognosis Ohio this week to talk about the economic fallout of coronavirus in Ohio.
In the episode, Skinner and Moore talk about the immediate economic fallout associated with the virus and social distancing measures, policy options to address the fallout at the state level, and how COVID-19 will impact public problems ranging from the upcoming redistricting cycle to individual well-being.
“More and more people are going to be losing their jobs, but also shift[s] from unemployed to underemployed is something we need to worry about,” said Moore.
One of the themes of the interview was that state governments have the power to close sections of the economy to slow the spread of the virus but don’t have the power to provide economic relief to those sectors to offset the economic impact of these closures.
“Right now the state has the…police power to…close businesses…but the state doesn’t have a lot of economic power because we have a balanced budget requirement and we can’t just inject a bunch of money into the economy without help from the federal government,” said Moore.
Prognosis Ohio is an Ohio health policy and politics report hosted by Dan Skinner addressing all facets of health care, health policy, and health politics in Ohio.