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These demonstrations were sparked by specific instances of police violence, but they also take place in a context of widespread health and economic devastation that's been disproportionately borne by people of color, especially those who are poor. "Sociologists have studied collective behavior, urban unrest for decades, and I think it's safe to say that the consensus view is that it's never just about a precipitating incident that resulted in the unrest," Darnell Hunt, dean of social sciences at U.C.L.A., told me. "It's always a collection of factors that make the situation ripe for collective behavior, unrest and mobilization."

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researchers at the U of C's Becker Institute for Economics have painted a dour picture of the labor market reallocating those lost positions. Calling the crisis a "major reallocation shock" across all major economic sectors, the authors found that for every 10 coronavirus-induced job losses, only 3 were created.

Some employers -- primarily Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) -- have hired en masse to deal with temporary demand spikes, yet the Chicago study suggests positions created during the COVID-19 crisis are unlikely to offset the labor market's extreme bloodletting.

The lockdowns have cratered activity in an economy that consists of 70% consumer spending, while undoing all of the jobs created since the great recession ended.

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Although the pandemic is perceived as a "one-off" event -- albeit a big one -- economists are warning the impending changes to the economy will result in long-term behavioral shifts, and likely to see mass bankruptcies.

Something in the cost-benefit analysis no longer makes sense. And not only because many people can work remotely. But also because the city itself no longer maintains its own side of the bargain.

Crime is going up. Public transport is deteriorating. Housing costs are skyrocketing due to lack of new supply, especially around existing public transport stations. The streets are less pleasant and less safe to walk in -- notwithstanding a few cool experiments that are pedestrian-friendly. And that's before Covid-19.

I am using NYC as an example but the same is true for many other cities in developed countries.

What I am trying ot say is: Cities can still be great and attractive, especially for smart and creative people who can live anywhere they like. But they have to step up their game. Saying that they're too old, or too big, or need more money is a poor excuse. If Tokyo can be clean, be safe, walkable, have reasonably-priced housing, and have incredible public transport -- so can New York. More on this, soon.

If that's the case, they are now wondering whether it's worth continuing to spend as much money on Manhattan's exorbitant commercial rents. They are also mindful that public health considerations might make the packed workplaces of the recent past less viable.

Is Trump pushing businesses to reopen despite ongoing perils attached to the coronavirus because it's best for the country? Or is it because Covid-19 has battered his family's fortunes? Or is it simply because he has the upcoming presidential election in mind? Who knows. But we are more than three years into this presidency and the same questions that have hung over Trump from the moment he launched his bid for the White House still linger: What are the contours of his personal finances and how do they inform his actions and policies?

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will help shape our understanding of some of this when it hears arguments involving efforts by Congress and a New York prosecutor to get access to Trump's tax returns, bank documents and bookkeeping records.

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Trump sued me for libel in 2006 for a biography I wrote, "TrumpNation," claiming the book unfairly and intentionally misrepresented his track record as a businessman and lowballed the size of his fortune. The suit was dismissed in 2011.

During the course of the litigation, Trump resisted releasing his tax returns and other financial records. My lawyers got the returns, and while I can't disclose specifics, I imagine that Trump is hesitant to release them now because they would reveal how robust his businesses actually are and shine a light on some of his foreign sources of income.

Deutsche Bank AG, one of the firms Trump's lawyers are trying to stifle in their arguments before the Supreme Court, also turned over documents in my case -- including its own assessment of Trump's wealth that pegged his fortune at $788 million in 2004, well below the $3 billion he told them he had at the time. Deutsche is the only major global bank to have continued doing business with Trump since the early 1990s and is conversant with his financial comings and goings since then.

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"Virtually every small business borrower believes that this will be forgiven," said Paul Merski, a lobbyist for the Independent Community Bankers of America. "They took it out assuming that it would be a grant but it's not -- you have to abide by very complex rules and regulations on how this is spent."

One of the biggest stumbling blocks is a requirement that businesses allocate 75 percent of the loan money to cover payroll costs, with only 25 percent allowed for rent, utilities and other overhead. That has become more difficult as the economic crisis from the virus drags on and as some businesses face a prolonged period of depressed sales, even once they reopen.

Some businesses are facing smaller payroll expenses because workers have opted to accept more generous unemployment insurance benefits, while only a handful of states have so far allowed businesses to reopen.