According to John Juech, the furloughed assistant city manager for Cincinnati, this fiscal crisis threatens to undermine the local governments that are working on the ground and around the clock to safeguard their populations and keep people alive during the pandemic.
The CARES Act, he continues, contains a particularly gaping hole when it comes to Cincinnati and cities like it. The act only provides direct aid for government operations to cities of more than 500,000 people. But it is the very cities and towns under this threshold that will now be the hardest hit economically without federal support.
His solution? Key omissions have to be addressed in the next round of the federal stimulus — and there must be a next round if our economy and society are to be spared — and should include investing in cities to help them be more prepared for all external threats.
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