Donald Trump wants you to think that the coronavirus is cratering the U.S. economy, and we all just have to go back to work to save it. If a few million Americans fall ill and die, it’s a small price to pay for economic prosperity.

David Pepper, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.

That’s a shameful lie.

Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine responded to this line of thinking, saying, “The truth is that protecting people and protecting the economy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one depends upon the other. We save our economy by first saving lives. And we have to do it and do it in that order.”

That’s true. If our health care system is overwhelmed and millions of Americans die, that will surely lead to long-term economic ruin, far exceeding the pain we experienced during the Great Recession or post-9/11.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis has brought the fundamental weaknesses of our economy to the surface in recent weeks. Unless we address those underlying issues — in addition to fighting the coronavirus epidemic with every public health tool in our arsenal — our economy will continue to struggle.

Over the past year, many months before most of us were familiar with the term “coronavirus,” our economy in Ohio has been sputtering. From January 2019 to January 2020, the state lost 12,500 jobs, including 6,000 in manufacturing. In March 2019, General Motors closed their Lordstown plant, leading to the loss of thousands of jobs at the factory and thousands more in spinoff jobs.

In addition, too many Ohio families have been living on the economic edge, with many unable to afford a major unexpected expense — or a temporary layoff, as we’re learning from this crisis. Many workers don’t have paid leave that they can use when they are sick or must care for a family member who has fallen ill. Small businesses have also been operating with little margin for error, even as giant corporations have received massive tax breaks and used those savings, not to help workers, but to buy back billions in stock.

These economic realities are because of Donald Trump’s failed policies. His tax scam didn’t benefit families or workers; it mainly helped corporations and billionaires like Trump. His chaotic trade war by tweet has hurt Ohio farmers and manufacturers. In addition, Trump’s attacks on health care have led to rising numbers of uninsured Ohioans, right at the moment when they will need health coverage more than ever.

Trump and too many others’ response to the coronavirus was to dismiss it — all while some of them were busy adjusting their stock portfolios. We lost precious weeks to prepare, even though GOP leaders in Washington knew it was going to be bad. This is just one more example of how the wealthy and well-connected game the system to their advantage, and too many Americans are stuck with only bad options — go to work if you’re sick because you don’t have paid leave or stay at home and lose your income.

Starting right now and moving forward, we need paid sick and family leave for all workers. If we’re going to consider the workers who stock our shelves and clean our offices to be essential — and they are — then those workers deserve the right to paid leave. We also need more protections to ensure workplaces are safe. Even now, some workers in Ohio are being forced to endure unsafe conditions, with state leaders telling them it’s on them to inform their local health department. And one plain reality is that making it easier for workers to organize would go a long way toward improving wages, workplace safety and benefits.

Another thing that has been made crystal clear during the coronavirus pandemic is that Donald Trump doesn’t care about working people, only how their sacrifices can boost the stock market and prop up his re-election prospects. Nurses and doctors are going to work with bandanas and homemade masks to protect them from infection, and Trump’s response is to blame governors and local leaders. If we somehow manage to get out of this crisis, we can rebuild our economy — but not if Trump gets four more years in the White House.