Post 12 - March 23, 2020
Day 12…
So now what?
We’ve self-isolated. We’ve shut everything down. What do we do now?
This. This is what we do. All we need to do is keep doing this.
During the first week, this was exciting and new. Anxiety provoking, sure. But the week went by very quickly as everybody tried to figure out and address the new limitations to our social interactions and workplace environments. It was like being in a TV series. A TV series that we all were expecting to be 10 episodes long because that’s what we were used to.
Now we are launching into the second week.
It’s boring.
The president is bored. He’s looking at the economic numbers and he’s panicking. He’s now indicating that he’s leaning towards relaxing social distancing at the end of the week. You want to make this get worse and last longer? Do just that. All of the medical experts working with him, agree that these strictures cannot be relaxed yet. We are still at the beginning of this. All of these social distancing guidelines are meant to suppress the eventual curve of infections.
THE WAVE OF INFECTIONS HASN’T HAPPENED YET. It is still coming.
We can’t stop it, but we can do some things to manage its effects once it gets here. That is what social distancing is designed to do. We cannot stop this behavior too early. Hong Kong learned that lesson. They relaxed restrictions and in return got a whole new wave of infections.
Every step that we are taking to minimize the coming spike in cases is bad for the economy. That is what we are looking at now in the news.
I don’t want to downplay the seriousness of our economy being impacted at all.
There was a projection this morning that the unemployment rate could hit 30%.
Small businesses are in danger of closing. Permanently.
This virus is gutting our economic strength.
The only thing that the White House is interested in, however, is the economy. You need to trace every decision made by the administration during this crisis back to that - how does that help the economy? Social Distancing this past week seemed the smartest path forward in terms of minimizing the spread of the virus just so that people can get back to work as soon as possible. The decision was made because it helped the economy, not because it helped people. It did help people, but that wasn’t the reason the decision was made. Now, seeing the unemployment numbers escalate and the other negative effects, the president wants to stop the social distancing early. This flies in the face of what every health professional, including his own advisers, thinks.
This morning Cuomo announced that at the end of the week, he would be looking at what relaxing social distancing here in NY would mean. It’s not going to happen. He’s being a politician. We need the federal government’s help. He’s trying not to piss off the president.
The Defense Production Act needs to be invoked. Manufacturers need to build the ventilators and hospital supplies that we need now and are really going to need SOON. The Republicans are resisting this move because it removes those manufacturers ability to make a profit. Meanwhile, states are competing against each other for supplies we ALL need. Companies are letting the states bid against each other and drive prices for health supplies up. Really? The government NEEDS to step in now and stop this. We are in a crisis.
Senator Rand Paul tested positive for the virus yesterday. This was after he had spent the morning in the Senate GYM. Again, really? I think that this is emblematic of what is happening in D.C.. I don’t think that the government believes that this is actually happening. They are ONLY looking at this in light of economics. Certainly, close down the gyms for the people, keep the virus from spreading among them so that they can get back to work. Don’t close ours down, though. We need them. Most of those idiots are in the MOST vulnerable parts of the population and they don’t seem to realize it. Who’s most at risk? Old white guys!
The Republican economic stimulus bill that the Democrats voted against yesterday only helped businesses. Large corporate bailouts with no strings attached. It would have allowed the administration to bailout companies on their own without ANY Congressional oversight. It even snuck in abortion restrictions and limitations on not-for-profits ability to receive support. The payments that have been discussed that would be sent out to citizens would need to be PAID BACK. The Republican Senate is looking at this as an opportunity. It’s not an opportunity, it’s a crisis.
We are going to see the fight between the health of the population vs. the health of the economy escalate. BOTH need to remain healthy, but for the moment, both just need to remain alive. For the economy to thrive, we all need to be healthy.
How do we stay healthy?
We self-isolate.
We sit this out.
Patiently.
It’s going to get waaayyyyy more boring before this is all over. Anne Frank survived two full years in total lockdown. We have to suck it up. It’s only been a week or so.
Please be smart. And be kind. And be safe. We can do this. As somebody meme’d yesterday, “We can save the world by staying on the couch and watching TV? Let’s not screw this up!”
A shout out to Erich Bergen for helping get the Rosie Show online yesterday. Great seeing all of our peeps at home doing the smart thing. Thank you for that - we all needed it!
JB Bliss update: It seems like the Americans and Canadians are home.
Waiting to hear from some Brits but I THINK they should be home by now.
Aussies still in transit. One got past the first leg to London and is now on the 2nd leg to Dubai…