As most Americans, American politicians and physicians continue to ignore the scientifically unassailable data that the CCP Virus is about equal to the seasonal influenza in terms of mortality risk, our nation continues its inexorable descent into financial hell.
The cascade of disastrous decisions to shut down our society and shutter privately owned businesses was akin to dropping a boulder into a lake from a great height. The immediate disturbance caused by the boulder striking the water quickly dissipated, but the waves that emanated from the incident continue to wreak havoc everywhere.
The American economy is intrinsically connected in thousands of ways to the economies of nations on every continent. Container ships are out of place and out of sync with loaded containers, crews are sequestered or prevented from sailing, new orders for capital goods and equipment have dried up completely and many existing projects have been put on hold.
Government orders of questionable legality and unconstitutional decrees in the absence of martial law ordering American citizens to remain in their homes, close their businesses, their places of worship, and the like have caused a shock in the global pond of economies and it is unclear what the final toll of destruction will be.
As a Nation, we are not ‘following the science’. That is the undeniable conclusion one reaches from reading the papers published by Dr. John Ioannidis and his colleagues at Stanford University. (See links, below) Dr. Ioannidis is, arguably, the world’s foremost authority in the realm of public health and data science. (over 4 million citations). Is it too much of an ask to request our President, Our Governors and all local officials to at least gather their respective experts together to address the data presented by Dr. Ioannidis and colleagues?
We’re seasoned enough to know that most important things are to be defined in the nuances. Our current dilemma cannot and of right ought not be defined by a liberal versus conservative argument. Our society requires the competing tension between conservative and liberal ideas. We draw a sharp line between liberal and leftist, however. Those who tend toward socialism and its tyrannical ways are either willfully blind to the horrors of the 20th century or were never required to learn anything about history.
What we see the current St. Louis County Executive doing, whether wittingly or not, is becoming a shade more of a tyrant each day.
He spent a great deal of money, without the consent of the Council, on a makeshift morgue in Earth City that will not be used (or, if it is, it will be just to prove it was needed) when other solutions at a fraction of the cost were readily at hand.
Now he wants sole control over the $175 Million in Fed money that’s incoming. What could go wrong?
I said from Day 1 and continue to say it – we need to ensure that our vulnerable – those elderly and those with underlying conditions – are safe in their homes. We need to use public and private money to look after them, ensure prescriptions are delivered, food is brought to them as needed, and medical attention provided where necessary. The rest of us ought to be washing and sanitizing our hands compulsively, keeping our distance as is practical, not shaking hands, but going to work!
Instead, we closed the schools. Where did anyone think those kids were going to go? To Grandma’s house! Or the grandparents went to theirs. Just in our small circle we know 9 families that had to do that. So – by public order, we put those most vulnerable at risk! Where is the politician who will stand up and take responsibility for that dumb decision?
The “flatten the curve” initiative was meant to prevent our hospitals from being overrun. It worked. But look at the cost! For far less cost we could have employed our military to put up field hospitals adjacent to our existing hospitals. Certainly not posh, military field hospitals are nonetheless excellent at delivering care.
With regard to the artificial partition erected between those who will die from COVID and those who will (and do) die from the seasonal influenza, I confess that I am unable to comprehend the logic. Influenza mutates each year; we do our best to vaccinate against it, but it is an annual game of craps.
Every citizen is entitled to equal protection under the law. If we are willing to shut down the economy, put ourselves at risk of the next Great Depression, and render ourselves vulnerable and weak to our enemies all to protect those who might die of COVID, by what logic do we NOT afford the same accommodations to those who might (and do) die of Influenza? Or, for that matter, for those who might die of traffic accidents or violence at the hands of another? Next year, or this fall, COVID will be back. Shall we shut down again?
Those making the decisions to shut down do not risk the loss of their own livelihoods. Faced with the choice between losing everything I have worked 40+ years to build and contracting the virus, I’ll take the virus.
I imagine younger people, faced with watching their children go hungry, would likewise take their chances with the virus. Taking the time to read the two Stanford University papers would compel anyone under the age of 65 to make the same choice.
This is not about allowing some to die so that we can go to the ballgame. We did not just shut down sporting events. We turned off the entire economy! Our small company supports 55 families which amounts to something on the order of 192 people who rely on the paychecks we issue to buy groceries and pay bills. Orders simply stopped coming in. Many are asking – for how long is this sustainable? It is NOT SUSTAINABLE. The carnage of our economy cannot be repaired by simply starting up again. Anyone that thinks that has no experience managing an enterprise and should not be in a position to make such decisions.
Politicians speak of the ‘silent enemy’ when referring to the CCP Virus. They have it wrong. We are our own enemy.
One of the principles of winning an asymmetrical war is to induce the opponent into self-destructive behavior. It looks to me as though we have done a perfect job of that.
Links to the work by Dr. Ioannidis:
https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054361v1