To the Editor:

I can’t think of a better time for the government to cut back on spending and start paying down debt (“As the Covid-19 Pandemic Wanes, the U.S. Economy Could Soar,” Cover Story, March 12). As the virus is vanquished, it’s time to put the growth engine of the economy back in the hands of private industry, instead of the government. Depending on who you are, things have been anywhere from great to pretty poor this past year. We simply can’t go on with an economy that’s artificially supported.

And, yes, changing that probably will result in the stock market making a pretty big correction. But to think that rising earnings will cause so many highflying stocks to return to valuations of normalcy is a fool’s belief. I don’t think that the government should use the market as a measure of how well it is doing. Rather, it should focus on how well the economy and the people are doing. The two are not always the same. And not reducing our national debt is going to lead to a calamity that will make this pandemic look like a picnic.

Christopher Galik, On Barrons.com

March 19, 2021 8:55 pm ET

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https://www.barrons.com/articles/letters-to-the-editor-of-barrons-51616201751