One of our greatest disadvantages as Covid-19 hit in March 2020 was that as a result of the so-called lost nine years, we were in very weak fiscal shape to react to the economic damage that would unfold in its wake. A decade of low growth, rising debt and falling confidence levels — amid tales of rampant state capture-led corruption dominating our national news headlines — had weakened our fiscal position and triggered a slew of downgrades of our credit ratings into junk status. ..