Updated: 3/19/2020 5:40 pm

A “rainy day” fund is a reserved amount of money to be used in times when regular sources of income (or cash flow) are disrupted in order for typical operations to continue.

• Giant employers of lower-wage workers like McDonald’s and Starbucks spent and borrowed money for stock buybacks and dividends.
• Now companies are trying to tap credit to manage cash, avoid layoffs.
• Labor unions and experts say all that shareholder money could have gone to worker raises and to shore up the balance sheet during the bull market to better prepare for a financial downturn.
• The tax cuts of 2017 are also now being scrutinized.

Kitchen-table finance begins with one simple rule:

Have several months’ worth of expenses on hand, in cash, in case something unexpectedly goes wrong.

Some of America’s biggest employers are beginning to discover the truth of this maxim as the coronavirus crisis catches them short of cash just as business crashes. Together, the restaurant, leisure and hospitality, and airline industries account for about 17 million U.S. jobs.

To read more: Coronavirus crash shows major corporations broke No. 1 rule of personal finance