Should we be scared of the coronavirus debt mountain? | Adam Tooze

The pandemic has necessitated huge borrowing - but post-crisis austerity would be the very worst way to deal with it

We do not know how this pandemic will end. We do know that we will be poorer when it's over: GDP is plunging around the world.

We also know that there will be a towering pile of IOUs left from the bills run up during the crisis. When it is over we will have to figure out how to repay them - or whether to repay them at all. That question will decide the complexion of our politics, and the quality of our public infrastructure and services for years to come. Unless we tackle this issue, coronavirus debts will be the battering ram for a new campaign of austerity.

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