Experts Everywhere
Let’s help the people first. The states can be run like businesses and start selling assets. And then, finally, let’s do a New Deal based on taking our workers and teaching them valuable new skills for the next century. Meanwhile, I am making use of this valuable lockdown time to learn new skills.
Capital Thinking • Issue #585 • View online
I’m so sick of all the epidemiologists on Twitter.
One of them, my friend Robert, called me and said, “You know, if the viral shedding is below [blah] then you can’t get it. But depending on the generation of mutation in your region you might have a higher Ro.”
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE
I said, “Rob, you’re a JANITOR.
And nothing against janitors because I know you work hard, but what is going to happen to your epidemiology career once this lockdown is over?”
“I don’t know, man. I got really into this stuff. It’s all I read about night and day. I mean, I’m even reading some of the research coming out of the Epidemiology Department at Wuhan University. It’s pretty good!”
And I appreciate that. I get obsessed with things.
Heck, I’ve been obsessed with this virus also. We all have.
I think a lot of people don’t want to go back to work because this entire time they’ve been medical doctors and scientists and soon they will go back to being paralegals.
BUT… is opening going to be straightforward? What’s going on in Georgia?
Georgia was the first state in the U.S. to reopen.
I finally saw a news story yesterday that mentioned the reopening.
Apparently two women were fighting in the parking lot, on the ground, just beating on each other.
And, of course, someone who was a few feet away decided to videotape it instead of actually helping them.
And the video has 5 million views. Congratulations!
But I read the article about it and the article says, “An official says, ‘Perhaps we ended the quarantine too early.'”
Excuse me?
I forgot that we were doing a lockdown of the entire economy to “flatten the curve” on people fighting each other in the parking lots of malls across the country.
Mall fighting was becoming an epidemic and we needed to make sure the hospital system didn’t get overwhelmed.
So, yeah, look what happens when you open up too early!
People just go straight back to pummeling each other right outside the local mall.
Shame on you, Governor! We need more testing of violent tendencies before we open. When will those tests be available?
Amid all the B.S. headlines is something more: 20 million unemployed.
This is very sad. As is almost everything about this pandemic (even the two people fighting, because people are stressed and we can see this).
The prior record was 15 million in 1932. Can you imagine?
We just crushed the record set in the middle of the Great Depression. That is terrible.
BUT… the idea is that many of these people are furloughed and will hopefully get back to work.
Some of them will, some of them won’t.
The unemployment rate is about 15% now.
My guess is after a full reopening of everything (let’s say by September 1) the unemployment rate will be 9% and will stay around there for a few months.
I do agree with people who say we need another stimulus. I would, however, hold off on a “New Deal” sort of stimulus.
These are the reasons why:
DID THE NEW DEAL WORK?
*Featured post photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash