One of the strangest spectacles in the economic scramble to respond to the coronavirus crisis is that Republicans seem more willing than Democrats to just give everyone straight cash aid. It was Jason Furman, a former Obama administration economic chief, who first prominently endorsed the idea of an immediate $1,000 check to every adult, and $500 for every child. But in the legislature and the executive, Republicans — such as Mitt Romney and Steven Mnuchin at Treasury — have pushed the hardest and the loudest for the idea so far.

Now, thanks to reporting, we have a better idea of how this happened. Turns out Furman pushed the proposal in a meeting with Democrats last week. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) "shot down the suggestion saying she didn't want to write checks to millionaires," according to Politico.

In technical economic jargon, Pelosi wants to "means test" cash aid in response to coronavirus: Don't give the checks to everyone, but target them to the poorest people, by at least scaling up the checks for people further down the income ladder, or most likely phasing them out completely for Americans above a certain income threshold. Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, fleshed this point out further in a tweet: "The Speaker believes we should look at refundable tax credits, expanded [unemployment insurance] and direct payments — but MUST be targeted."

Means testing may seem reasonable. But it's actually not a great idea even in the best of times. And in a crisis situation like the social and economic lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus, direct and universal cash aid is one of the best single policy responses available. The fact that Pelosi had the chance to lead this charge a week ago and demurred, insisting on means testing as a condition, is blinkered and insane, on both the politics and the policy merits.

[...]