The government has pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to help individuals, businesses and institutions impacted by COVID-19, which has become a runaway worldwide pandemic. And there is likely to be more on the way as President Joe Biden has proposed a new $1.9 trillion stimulus bill as he took office Wednesday.

Our national debt has gone through the roof, setting up a day of reckoning somewhere down the road. With the novel coronavirus continuing to intensify, the hope is that the rollout of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with more on the way, will turn the tide.

President Joe Biden faces this daunting 1,000-ton gorilla in our midst. In his strategy to get the country righted again, Biden will have to support equal measures of spending and belt-tightening during his four years in office.

First things first: The nation’s economy must not be allowed to tank, and that’s where the government must supply substantial help.

I believe it is time for those with expertise to come forward and do their part by offering their services to the American people free of charge. This could result in an incredibly rich pool of talent to benefit the nation at a critical time.

Around the time of World War I, the United States was in crisis, and Americans rallied around their then-President Woodrow Wilson to help in the war effort.

Inspired by Wilson’s call for a “war to end all wars,” a large number of prominent merchants, bankers, manufacturers, professionals, entrepreneurs, tradesmen and talented and savvy leaders in industry, economics, education and other key fields stepped forward to become support staff in federal departments in which they displayed expertise.

Or, they were called upon on a piecemeal basis to perform tasks that matched their talents for the assignment at hand.

For their effort and service, they accepted only a token salary of $1 a year, thus came to be known as the “Dollar-A-Year men.” The program was resurrected during World War II under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Why a dollar a year? Well, of course, they would have served for free, but the government and the men signed a contract, and the dollar made the contract legal and binding.

The nation is in crisis again; in fact, you might even say we are at war with an invisible virus that has killed 406,000 and infected 24.5 million in our country alone.

So why not repeat this incredibly successful way to involve some of the brightest minds in our nation to help find the road out of this morass? In the process, it will cost us virtually nothing.

This is the quintessential example of sacrifice and public service. This is what the American people are looking for now. They don’t want to see company officials licking their chops at how they can tap into the billions being funneled into a stimulus package.

I believe they would welcome patriots with expertise stepping forward to ask, “What can I do for my country?”

The concept has played out in the private sector, too. In 1978 Chrysler Corp. Chair John Riccardo brought in Lee Iacocca from Ford to run the downtrodden auto giant.

In one of his first acts, Iacocca, who was born and raised in Allentown, reduced his salary to $1 a year until the company got back on its feet. Although Chrysler had to be bailed out by the federal government, the company, under Iacocca’s leadership, eventually thrived again and paid off its federal debt with interest.

As for Iacocca, he was good to his word and took $1 a year for several years until the company turned a profit. Of course, he reaped the benefits once that happened and the economy turned around. Iacocca, who became a legendary, almost mythical figure because of his gutsiness, will always be admired as a CEO who understood the symbolism of his public actions at that critical moment.

Unlike some of the escapades we have been seeing today by business leaders, whose extravagances in salary, perks and net worth have outraged the American people, Iacocca understood how important it was to walk the talk. When his company and the economy rebounded and he prospered significantly, no one begrudged him his due.

Any of us with special or unique talents, who can help solve some of the most pressing issues facing our nation, should consider becoming Dollar-a-Year people. (Of course, women with extraordinary expertise also should be part of this program.)

Let me walk the talk, too: I am volunteering my services for a dollar a year, and if President Biden will have me, I’m willing to start tomorrow.

As for that dollar payment, I will donate it, along with a $100 bill, to an area food-distribution center to help feed hurting area families who have and continue to suffer mightily during this pandemic.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com