The engine that is the economy has gone "KA-THUNK" and started to spew black smoke...

Adding more fuel may get us home, but we all know this engine is not long for the world.
The car is our lives, so we have to keep it running or get a new one.

So,... in Weimar Germany the pensioners kept getting their pensions, but it amounted to nothing towards the end. This will go along the same lines.