John Maynard Keynes, the foremost economic father of modern liberalism, argued that governments should spend against the wind, building economic surpluses in times of growth so they could splurge during crises. While conservatives have griped at Keynesianism in practice, the coronavirus has proven itself a specifically pristine example of where this principle ought to be applied.

Unlike during the Great Recession, which was arguably created by regulatory overreach allowing for the mass proliferation of subprime mortgages, the coronavirus can only be solved by government intervention. From border closures to the mass deployment of federal funds, every step of our approach requires executive action. But most importantly, the government must incentivize a behavior the market specifically punishes.