Gov. Gary Herbert has a plan for an economic comeback

AP

A week ago, Gov. Gary Herbert took the bold step to initiate a pause on large gatherings and encouraged social distancing to stop the spread of the virus sweeping the globe.

Together, we have become experts at things like social distancing and effective hygiene. We are looking out for each other, and these are essential steps in mitigating the ill effects of the coronavirus.

The truth is the most important thing we can do for the economy has nothing to do with traditional economics, and that is to mitigate and slow down the spread of the virus. With preventive measures in place to “flatten the curve,” we must work also together to do what I call, “flatten the dip,” or bring an end to economic decline. Once the dip is flattened, we can then begin to bend the economic curve back upward for our state.

To focus on this, Herbert formed the Economic Response Task Force with the objective to develop a recovery plan for Utah. In this effort, we assembled many of the most capable minds from the private and public sectors to develop the “Utah Leads Together” plan that was released this week. The task force’s purpose and plan are to combat and mitigate the negative impacts on the state economy while maintaining a health imperative.

As part of this plan, we have taken the immediate step to consolidate and curate existing resources employers can access today that will help them overcome the challenges they face, at coronavirus.utah.gov. While this contains essential resources for all businesses, we also included a business section to help small businesses feeling overwhelmed. An important part of this is a clearinghouse of immediate resources available to help right now given recent legislation passed and city specific programs. This resource can be found at coronavirus.utah.gov/business.

Beyond these measures, we have recommended concrete ways in which all Utahns can support local businesses through this initial phase — an important first step toward stabilization and recovery. I believe that when we take care of small business we take care of all business, particularly as 90% of our local establishments are small enterprises. And so our recommendations start there.

This marks the beginning of our comprehensive economic response plan that is founded on health, science and business data. This plan includes details and timelines for our state’s economic recovery. The plan outlines three overlapping periods of response: Urgent Phase, Stabilization Phase and Recovery Phase.

In “Utah Leads Together,” the first, or Urgent Phase, focuses on coordinated public health response support with historic economic stimulus. We expect the estimated duration of this phase to be eight weeks with the primary objective of stopping job losses. The second, or Stabilization Phase, is the period in which we expect public health measures and economic interventions will begin to take hold. In the third, or Recovery Phase, we anticipate a return to stability and positive job growth.

The Utah Economic Response Task Force is committed to responsibly keeping Utah open for business, and it is my hope that as we adapt, innovate and overcome current challenges by implementing the practices found at coronavirus.utah.gov and the policies outlined in “Utah Leads Together,” that our progress will compound — that we will return confidence into the system, building upon the qualities that make Utah the standard that it is, and we will ensure that a positive business climate returns and shines brighter than ever before.

Derek Miller is the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber.

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