Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, center, speaks to members of the media as he leaves the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- A crisis can stretch for weeks, months, even years, but its arc can be shaped by a few crucial moments in which political leaders choose a course of action. For a U.S. economy still reeling from the devastation of the novel coronavirus, one such moment is approaching.