Ep. 5297 – Mike Swanson on America’s ‘Zombie Firms’ – 6/27/2020

Mike Swanson discusses the continuing economic fallout from the coronavirus, focusing in particular on what are sometimes called “zombie companies.” These firms stay afloat largely because of easy money available at low interest rates, even though their business may be fundamentally unsound. Crucially, the government response to the coronavirus has continued to enable this behavior by bailing out firms that would otherwise go bankrupt. Swanson argues that in a healthy environment such firms should be allowed to go bankrupt—a vital feature of any market economy—as would huge sectors of American business that have been kept alive by decades of artificially low interest rates. Scott and Swanson worry about the powder keg created by years of unwise policy by the U.S. government, and about the spark that could be provided in the form of the coronavirus shutdowns.

Check out the interview page here: https://libertarianinstitute.org/scotthortonshow/6-27-20-mike-swanson-on-americas-zombie-firms/

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