Libertarian666 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:00 am
Hopkins County (2010 population 35000) also has a confirmed case.
There used to be an uninfected area about 100 miles across in Northeast Texas.
Not any more.
But we still need to restart the economy or we will be headed into a second Great Depression.
Let's unpack that...
1. Stay shut down totally for duration > get 2nd Great Depression
2. Shut down temporarily > reopen > repeating waves of exponential growth > get to 2nd Great Depression somewhat more slowly but more deaths than in case 1
Honestly, if we reopen and we get anything near the worst-case number of deaths and ICU stays, and the hospitals collapse, and first-responders are taken down, do you really think people will volunteer to go to work, even if Feds allow it? Work is a voluntary activity for employee and employers. I would not.
I'm sure the Management Class and Business owners would be saying, "Hey you (expendable serfs), get back to work! I need to make my numbers!" At some level, many of us who work in companies work for b@stards like that. Workers are expendable... management elite are not.
And I submit, in case two, the vital supply chain is even more endangered... water, electricity, food, fuel... if we get to rampant, uncontrolled spread.
There are time when you're just screwed, and you have to admit it, face up to the new realities, and forge the best (or least worst) plan, and ignore all sunk costs. Clinging to what will not be makes it worse.
I think we're screwed, but we're in the Denial or Bargaining phase of of the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross psychological cycle. It's a 100% human thing to do, but it's not useful.
We're going to see in April / May how awful this gets. I think it will be pretty awful. People have a really hard time internalizing what exponential functions are. Many have never even studied them.