I wish people would stop calling the CARES Act a ‘stimulus package’. It was a relief package. Stimulus refers to creating a secular demand in an economy that i

I wish people would stop calling the CARES Act a ‘stimulus package’. It was a relief package. Stimulus refers to creating a secular demand in an economy that is not operating at full employment to prime the virtuous cycle of employment and demand. Relief on the other hand means to replace lost income due to the natural disaster of the pandemic and the necessary public policy response. I think conflating the two could end us down a bad path.