- GOP senator Josh Hawley wants the government to cover up to 80% of peoples' paychecks in a Denmark-style recovery plan during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The senator said he wants Congress to "protect every single job" in the US since the federal government shut down the economy.
- Several European countries like Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK have stepped in to pay worker's wages for the next several months of the pandemic.
- The price tag for a similar program in the US would likely be in the trillions of dollars.
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Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri unveiled a proposal calling for the federal government to step in and pay up to 80% of workers' wages during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Washington Post op-ed published late Wednesday, Hawley said it was imperative for Congress to "think differently and be bold" in the next coronavirus relief package.
The senator wants Congress to "protect every single job" in the US, given the federal government shut down the economy.
Hawley is pushing for the government to cover most of employees' salaries at any American business relative to the national median wage until the pandemic is over. He also wants to offer companies incentives to rehire laid-off workers.
"Further, it should offer businesses a bonus for rehiring workers laid off over the past month," Hawley said in the op-ed. "The goal must be to get unemployment down - now - to secure American workers and their families, and to help businesses get ready to restart as soon as possible."
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The remarkable plan comes as massive layoffs continue to rock the economy, forcing over 17 million Americans to seek unemployment benefits in the last four weeks. It underscores the severity of the crisis and the search for radical solutions among lawmakers to meet the unprecedented scale of the disaster.
Hawley said in a tweet: "The job losses are staggering. Congress must act now to save every job in the country, and rehire those laid off."
The price tag for such an endeavor would almost certainly be huge - and it greatly depends on which worker's wages are covered and the duration of a program. If the US government attempted to cover the paychecks of the entire workforce, it could cost up to $5 trillion for the next six months, The New York Times reported.
The GOP proposal mirrors what several nations in Europe have done to alleviate the deep economic pain from the pandemic. Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are among the countries effectively covering the paychecks of workers for the next few months.
The Danish government are set to cover up to 90% of employee salaries provided companies refrain from layoffs. Similar plans are in motion in the Netherlands and the UK.
Within those nations, the calculus appears to be it's better for the government to pay up and keep people on payrolls instead of risking economic chaos from mass layoffs.
In comparison, efforts in the US has been focused on ensuring people can access enhanced unemployment benefits after they've lost their jobs. But many people have reported difficulties accessing that insurance as state offices are overwhelmed by the surge of applications.
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