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Economist David McWilliams is asking governments to consider giving away “free money” to boost economies affected by the pandemic.
A similar Donald Trump move follows, with more than 80 million Americans receiving payments of up to $ 1,200.
The former central bank economist in Ireland believes so-called “helicopter payments” would help boost consumer spending.
David McWilliams says that the cash must be printed and deposited in the accounts of the public and companies.
“We have a cheap vaccine, it’s called money. We know the central bank prints it,” says McWilliams.
“We know that the Central Bank not only has to print it, it only has to put a zero after the people’s accounts,” he says.
Meanwhile, there is a call for the government to ensure that those who receive the pandemic unemployment payment do not become long-term unemployed.
Ireland’s unemployment rate rose to 28.2% in April and CSO figures include those who receive the benefit.
Chambers Ireland Chief Executive Ian Talbot says they need to be retrained before they can return to work.
He says: “It is an extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves where areas like hospitality and tourism are going to take a long time to reengineer and return to the market.
“While we are experiencing shortages in areas such as health care and food distribution.
“So if we could train people and redistribute them in those key industries immediately and keep people out of unemployment for the long term.”
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