More Random Thoughts: Government Paychecks in a Pandemic

Another thing. 

I don't want the government to send me any money. 

Nor do I want it to forgive student debt in its attempt to address the economic tsunami that's on the horizon. 

If the government's going to start issuing checks, I'd much rather it focus on small businesses, helping them weather this storm and come out on the other side or providing cash to hourly employees who have been let go. Or come up with creative ways of mitigating the pain broadly speaking for some of these small business. For instance, in one article I read the other day, the authors suggested the government shouldn't be writing checks to everyone. Rather, it could issue debit cards which could be used after this is over, once we come out on the other side, when we all emerge from our caves and look around to see what's left (assuming we emerge, that is) 

The cards could only be used to boost the economy, focusing only on those businesses that we shut down (by government decree in the interest of slowing down the spread of the contagion). When the restaurants and the theaters and the amusement parks and the bars and the concerts and the caterers all put up their shingles again, consumers could use the cards for only for these venues. In other words, we couldn't use the cards to buy a new couch or something. This would have the effect not only of injecting cash back into economy down the road, but also would serve as a sort of guarantee to lenders (now) that money would be coming back later. 

I really like that idea. I like it when people start to think rather than react.

More Random Thoughts: Coronavirus Pandemic 2020

More random thoughts.

I'm no Trump apologist, so feel free to take this or leave it, but I'm noticing a constant mantra on Facebook (and probably elsewhere) about this Covid 19 pandemic and the flawed response by the government which, many claim, can be traced directly to Trump's defunding of the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health.

I decided to see what the fact checkers were saying on this claim. Apparently, this depiction of the situation is not true, or at least, it's not true in practice (though it may be true that Trump wanted to defund these institutions). 

As is often the case, the facts are more complicated than the charges. 

Linking below a few fact-check sources.  

Besides the complexity of funding issues and the tendency among partisans of both parties to blame the chief executive for failures in crises like this ("this is Trump's Katrina"), another important perspective that no one's talking about has to do with individual states' readiness. I found an article that analyzes states' readiness for pandemics individually. Interestingly enough, my state, the Golden State, was among the least prepared, financially, in terms of readiness.

I wish it were possible to discuss this terrible pandemic without the requisite partisan bickering, but I suppose that's wishful thinking. I'm pretty sure if this were President Biden making all kinds of mistakes and blunders the partisans on the right would be doing the same thing. It's not just a mad mad world, it's a sad and ugly world, as well. 

Politics.

Reading

"Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims" (FactCheck.org)

"Did President Trump Cut the CDC Budget?" (Snopes)

"Which States are Least Ready for a Pandemic?" 

Random Thoughts: Coronavirus Pandemic 2020

Random thought. 

Say we go two more months of social distancing, confinement, shelter-in-place, business and restaurant closures, school closures, cancellation of sporting and cultural events, government distribution of checks to individuals and families, job losses, businesses shuttered. 

And then the curve flattens, we breathe a sigh of relief, start to return to some semblance of normalcy. 

And then, come fall, this virus returns. 

What then? Lather, rinse, repeat? 

You may say I’m a dreamer and you'd be correct. This is a nightmare. 

Are we as a society really prepared to exist like this long-term? There will be another virus, then another. And now that our response to this one has been so fierce, I can’t imagine future responses being anything less. And our lives will never be the same. 

Someone will chide. What choice did we have? 

Does anyone think they know? Does anyone know for sure? 

C.S. Lewis wrote in an essay called, “Is Success Possible? Willing Slaves of the Welfare State,” that a caged animal isn’t hungry. That’s the trade-off, I think. We’re so afraid. Terrified of this stalking monster. Cage me, and I’ll be safe. 

I’ve offended some of you, I know. But someone somewhere among my friends 
on Facebook said we should be writing our thoughts during this terrible time. 

And so I have. And I'll continue. 

Sorry in advance to all who will say, "Yeah but . . . " 

I know the "Yeah, but . . . " 

I already know who you are. And I'm among you saying it. 

But have we really thought this through? 

*** 

A few reads (sorry if they're behind a paywall).

"Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease?" (David L. Katz, New York Times, March 20, 2020). 

Comments: 

The author is the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center. I listened to an interview with him when the article appeared. He admits he writes against his own interest, having family members who are high risk. He also regrets taking a position that differs from his colleagues.

"Such is the collateral damage of this diffuse form of warfare, aimed at 'flattening' the epidemic curve generally rather than preferentially protecting the especially vulnerable. I believe we may be ineffectively fighting the contagion even as we are causing economic collapse."

He asks, "When does the society-wide disruption end?"
He answers: "We just don’t know. We could wait until there’s an effective treatment, a vaccine or transmission rates fall to undetectable levels. But what if those are a year or more away? Then we suffer the full extent of societal disruption the virus might cause for all those months. The costs, not just in money, are staggering to contemplate."

He has suggestions.

Is it too late to implement them?

This from the Wall Street Journal editorial board: 

Smile at Strangers

Just a reminder. Don’t forget to smile at strangers. 

And say good morning.

CoronavirusPandemic2020