I'm not the kind of guy who sees the
benefit of throwing water on a drowned man. No point in recovering
ground once covered. But, hey, I'm essentially trapped in my home
office with nothing better to do. I'm becoming a bit cranky over this
WuFlu lockdown. The longer it drags on, the less in favor of it I
become – and, I wasn't a true believer to begin with.
I think 50 years from now when history
takes an objective look at this pandemic, it will be referred to as
the Great Toilet-Paper Famine of 2020. Every textbook for
sociology, economics and political science will frame this virus
and our over-the-top reaction to it as the killer of the most robust
economy in a generation. Is “killer” too harsh a
characterization? I guess we'll see, but consider this....
In what we now call the Great Recession
that began in 2008, basically, one element of the economy took a dump:
the housing market. I won't go into the whys of how so many bad loans
were made, but the easy-mortgage market created a false demand for
housing that drove values far beyond fair market. When the defaults
began pouring in, the housing market collapsed, taking a huge chunk
of financial institutions and the stock market with it. Getting the
economy booming required nearly a decade.
Look around today. Following
recommendations from the Feds, state and local governments have
shuttered any and every business deemed nonessential, cutting across
a wide swath of the economy. Most of those not closed are operating
under some sort of duress. Sixteen million workers are sitting on
their duffs at home hoping the unemployment checks begin soon. Who
knows how many small businesses will never reopen their doors?
Although I have little regard for
“experts,” some have lined up to predict the unemployment rate
will reach 15 percent before this is all over. That rate averaged less
than 10 percent at the height of the Great Recession in 2009. You do
the math.
Even as someone in the higher-risk
pool, none of this makes any real sense to me. I still don't know
anyone who knows anyone who is sick from this. Our (U.S.) experts
have admitted to inflating the death numbers. Even at that, I don't
know anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone, well, you get the
picture, whose death was attributed to the WuFlu.
There is still no clear picture on how
many have been infected because in some people the symptoms are very
light and others don't even exhibit symptoms. Hell, half of us could
already have had it and don't even know it. The first reported case
in China was in mid-November, but that wasn't patient zero.
Reportedly, the Chinese can't find patient zero and have no real clue
how long the virus was spreading through China before the first case
was reported.
We know we can't believe the virus
numbers coming out of China. The hysterical media in this country are
claiming reported U.S. virus deaths now surpass China's. “Reported”
being the key word in that headline. Knowing how the virus spread in
this country, is it reasonable to think fewer people died there, when
China didn't even know what it was dealing with in October and
November? If you do, I have some beachfront property in Iowa I'd like
to unload on you.
(Here's a math problem for you to
ponder: How is it that Beijing, China, with 21.5 million people sitting 700 miles from Wuhan, only reports 8 WuFlu deaths? Shanghai
with more than 24 million people lying 500 miles from Wuhan only
reports 6 deaths? And, New York City with its measly 2.4 million people that is
7,500 miles from Wuhan reports more than 5,500 WuFlu deaths? Let's
see, carry the one.... Really, how is that even possible? Hmmm.....)
My point in all of this is, it has
become clear that the early models for this pandemic are wrong.
Remember the 2.2 million U.S. death-toll prediction? Do you know how
many are being treated on the hospital ship sent to New York City?
Zip, zero, zilch. Nary a one. What about those desperately needed
ventilators Gov Andrew Cuomo continues to whine about? New York still
has a stockpile of thousands of unused ventilators.
And, allow me to drift into the
political for a paragraph. Isn't Andrew Cuomo the chief executive of
New York? I've got that correct, right? If I ever had the misfortune
of being elected governor of New York, knowing that the numero uno
target of every aspiring great-infidel-hating terrorist is New York
City, I think I would ensure warehouses outside of the city are
filled to the brim with ventilators, gas masks, medical supplies,
hospital tents, hazmat suits, bags of rice, and so on and so forth.
The fact that New York was caught as flat footed as every other
state, is the fault of, wait for it, Andrew Cuomo. I get why Lincoln,
Nebraska or Minot, North Dakota wouldn't be prepared, but there's no
excuse for New York to not have stockpiles of stuff in case of a
terrorist attack, biochemical or otherwise. Cuomo can point the
finger at Trump, but in fact, making sure New York is prepared is
Cuomo's job.
So, here we are heading into month No.
2 of the Great Toilet Paper Famine of 2020. It's time to climb out of
our bunkers, stretch our legs and get back to work. Anyone who is
still worried can stay hunkered down at home. Otherwise, head out,
buy some Schweppes Tonic Water and zinc tablets, and let's get things
rolling again.
