Trillion Dollar Triage

In Trillion Dollar Triage, Nick Timiraos takes readers deep into the heart of the United States' economic response to the unprecedented crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. By February 2020, the U.S. economy was basking in the glow of its longest expansion on record; unemployment rates were at a 50-year low and the stock market had reached all-time highs. However, mere weeks later, a deadly virus forced the economy into a state akin to a medically induced coma. Offices, shops, malls, and factories shuttered, leading to the ruin of many major employers and countless small businesses, along with the loss of over 22 million American jobs. The stock market experienced some of its largest daily drops in history, driven by extreme uncertainty.

As the crisis unfolded, Nick Timiraos, the Wall Street Journal's chief economics correspondent, offers an in-depth account based on extensive interviews, detailing the intense meetings, late-night phone calls, and critical video conferences that constituted the largest and swiftest U.S. economic policy response since World War II. At the centre of this response was the Federal Reserve, an institution both vital and often misunderstood. Through vivid narration, Timiraos brings readers inside the Fed, documenting how its straightforward chairman, Jay Powell, spearheaded an unparalleled barrage of monetary policy measures to keep the economy afloat.

With the initial bleeding stemmed, the Federal Reserve faced another daunting challenge: fostering a recovery without triggering inflation or creating unsustainable economic bubbles. Timiraos navigates the complexities of this delicate balance, highlighting the innovative strategies and intense pressures facing policymakers during this period.

Trillion Dollar Triage is an authoritative and gripping chronicle of the historic and unorthodox efforts taken to safeguard the American economy from the dual threats of a public health catastrophe and an economic meltdown. This book not only captures the drama of the crisis but also provides valuable insights into how economic theory and policy will be forever altered by the events of 2020. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of the profound actions taken to triage a nation in distress and the lasting impact of these decisions on the future of economic policy.