The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times
AD
The Epoch Times
Support Us

‘The $16 Trillion Virus’: Economists Estimate Financial Toll of COVID-19 on US

‘The $16 Trillion Virus’: Economists Estimate Financial Toll of COVID-19 on US
A pandemic-themed Uncle Sam poster is seen in San Francisco, Calif., on July 31, 2020. Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
10/13/2020|Updated: 10/13/2020

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and fellow Harvard University economist David Cutler argued in an essay on Oct. 12 that the pandemic will end up costing the United States $16 trillion, around four times the toll exacted by the 2007–2009 Great Recession.

“Approximately half of this amount is the lost income from the COVID-19-induced recession; the remainder is the economic effects of shorter and less healthy life,” the two economists wrote in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in which they called the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus “the greatest threat to prosperity and well-being the U.S. has encountered since the Great Depression.”
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
twitter
Author’s Selected Articles

Fed Drops ‘Reputation Risk’ From Bank Exams Amid Backlash to Debanking

Jun 23, 2025
Fed Drops ‘Reputation Risk’ From Bank Exams Amid Backlash to Debanking

US Manufacturing Output, Hiring Rise to Multi-Month Highs

Jun 23, 2025
US Manufacturing Output, Hiring Rise to Multi-Month Highs

Major Health Insurers Commit to Faster, Simpler Prior Authorization Process

Jun 23, 2025
Major Health Insurers Commit to Faster, Simpler Prior Authorization Process

Trump Says Trade Deals Expected With India and Pakistan

Jun 20, 2025
Trump Says Trade Deals Expected With India and Pakistan
Related Topics
COVID-19
financial impact
Save
The Epoch Times
Copyright © 2000 - 2025 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved.