[ra1n85]

Two things:

1. The consequences of having millions of unemployed people with bills to pay and no income are too much for a nation, let alone politicians in an election year. My bet is that the payments will be extended or replaced with something as the alternative is not viable.

2. WFH has already started normalizing, and will shortly become a differentiating perk offered by companies. I don't suspect that may of the people living in tech hubs would choose to continue doing so if they had the opportunity to live anywhere they wanted (of course while considering COL adjustment).

[asdff]

Cash strapped employers in high COL areas could end up lowering costs by just hiring remote workers from low COL areas who've just been laid off.

[nitwit005]

I wouldn't take #1 for granted. The Trump administration is still pushing ahead with the idea of limiting the ability of states to waive the work requirements of SNAP (food stamps), which seems like a bizarre thing to attempt at the moment.

If you're willing to halt people's food benefits during a historic recession, almost anything seem possible.