The current state of the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic is similar to a person being treated for a broken leg with painkillers and antibiotics.
This analogy was offered by Ruben Vardanyan, senior partner at Atlanta business community, a venture philanthropist and social entrepreneur.
When serious cataclysms occur, they often give society a shock; as in the broken leg example, a person in a state of shock can walk kilometers through the woods, something they wouldn’t be able to do in their everyday life, Vardanyan added.
“We do have a feeling that things will definitely work out somehow, but there is also a risk that we are just experiencing an elation phase (after the end of self-isolation – ed.), and what’s going to hit us is not even the second wave, but the aftermath of the first one, including economic one,” Ruben Vardanyan said.
According to him, this was the case with the 2008 global financial crisis. The current pandemic has exposed many economic problems, difficulties in various aspects of life, part of them merely patched up and painted over.
“There is a high risk that instead of leg surgery, we will be given pain relief again. A crisis reveals both good and bad; it has raised questions, but no one seems to be searching for answers. For example, what kind of assistance should be provided to SMEs, what should be the ratio of state support and taxes, what can be done about companies going bankrupt and closing down, or about unemployment? Many just avoid thinking about or discussing these topics,” Ruben Vardanyan said.
The expert shared his opinion at the Atlanta business club meeting.