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The scope and reach of fiscal policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic contrasted with the fiscal policy implemented in the immediate aftermath of the 2007 global financial crisis. However, the advent of high inflation that followed effectively nipped the prospects of a more radical shift in the fiscal policy paradigm in the bud, with monetary policy taking the lead. This article analyses the causes of the subsequent lack of a step change in the approach to fiscal policymaking through a comparative study of fiscal policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK and the USA. Based on qualitative interdisciplinary analysis, the article shows how the ideological foundations of fiscal policy are formed and their consequences for policy implementation in times of crises and recovery. The article discusses what changes in the approach to fiscal policy are needed to secure a more equitable, long-term economic prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article features three poems by Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, translated by Joanna Trzeciak Huss. The first poem, "Children of War," depicts a speaker addressing a crowd and acknowledging the impact of war on children. The second poem, "Utopia," describes an ideal island where truth and understanding prevail. The final poem, "Greetings to all your black holes," is a contemplation on the vastness of the universe and the limitations of human understanding. Wisława Szymborska was a highly acclaimed poet, receiving numerous awards including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. [Extracted from the article]