This seems overly pessimistic. I'm sure a high rate environment isn't ideal for a lot of businesses, but we've had much higher rates in the past and most businesses survived it just fine.
I fear the cliff scenario because a lot of business models now were built on a foundation of crazy-cheap debt. The tide is about to go out. Eventually the business environment will re-adjust to the new cost of money, but the transition will be tough.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/fedfunds
Last time fed funds rates were as high as they are now was Jun 2019. And then a few more times before that.
I combined them into a single chart here: https://ibb.co/h7c7DJS
(Is ImgBB a good site? I stopped using imgur after too many dark patterns)
Although the Fed can backstop commercial paper in emergencies (and they did so at the beginning of the pandemic), it's extremely unlikely that they start taking on enough to move rates in the medium term (like they did with mortgage backed securities). So this is not a rate that the government controls except very indirectly.
The fact that people don't save the money they don't spend has more to do with how cash works and how it makes it pointless to save.