Good Decisions

Be Advised: Your Government is Not Going to Protect You.  But it is Not the time for Despair.

Your health (and the health around you) depends on one thing- you. Not even a month into this and the wealthy are clamoring to "Reopen America." 40,000+ dead are not enough. They are totally willing to sacrifice you, your family and your friends for short term profit. They con the gullible into protesting for reopening (unknowingly risking their very lives in the process). Hint the Coronavirus could give two shits about Making America Great Again (or vote blue no matter who for that matter). It only cares about exponential growth. Killing human beings is only a side effect. It sounds like some of our leadership.

Bad Decisions- Reopen Now. 
Grow markets, economies and GDP's irregardless of the cost in lives. While you are struggling just to make it through the next week, remember the 0.01% are cashing in. No one lectures them about the personal responsibility of saving for a down turn. No one sends them to a website that does not work for help. No one asks them for a personal sacrifice to help their neighbors. No, you go right on and be their lackeys, this is just the flu and or a Chinese creation / hoax after all. Do their bidding as they snicker at you at a safe distance from their yachts, villas and penhouses. And if your "Side" cancels the election for an emergency of their own creation (on purpose or incompetence) dance and cheer in the streets at your great victory! You may get the theocracy you so much desire where praying for the dear leader is a requirement and daring to criticize is a death sentence. If it is good for business and Coronavirus, it has to be good for you.       

Good Decisions- Hang Tight.
 We are going to reopen soon enough. What is a few months in the grand scheme. For you, or some of your friends, only life and death. We can rebuild the economy. We cannot raise the dead. Remember unlike the flu, Mike, Coronavirus kills exponentially. We are not a patient people at all. We want everything yesterday and accept movie magic as reality. Vaccines and treatments that work take time to develop. No we cannot stay in forever but as long as we can all eat and get by, let's give the professionals actually working on this the time they need. Now is not the time for politics as usual. We need to unite against a common enemy and not drive wedges of division further into our country and the world. It comes down to you. 

Good things for reflection. 
What can I control for a better outcome? 
What can I do to be helpful? 
How can I plan for a better, brighter future after this all passes? 
Which of my beliefs are most helpful? Do I need to change any of them? 
Who can I reach out to? Who do I need, who needs me? 

Carry on friends with patience, love and tanascity! 
       

What Comes Next?

Here in April 2020, we are still in the middle of the Corona 19 pandemic but it is hard not to think about how things are going to change. Will it mean the end of Neoliberalism? Possibly but unlikely. We will still find ourselves dependent on international trade, the internet and money as we know it. Much depends on the next few months. If things wind down fairly quick, the disruption will be less painful obviously. There will be less long term change. If the crisis stretches into the summer and beyond who knows? What has changed already?

Many small businesses are not coming back. Hard to get back going with a quarter or two of zero or negative cash flow. That's a lot of people not going right back to work on that, as of now, elusive lifting of stay at home orders. The unemployment will run out and then what? We can only keep the circus going for so long. Meanwhile, the Walmarts of the world barely miss a beat. We are stuck on a hamster wheel of never ending debit bubbles. We too quickly forget the long history of socialism for the rich, S & L, Airline, Bank and automaker Bailouts. Trillions of dollars... Gone. Are you starting to see why we cannot have nice things like  affordable healthcare, a living wage and education as an investment (not a black hole of debit)? But math being math, this will end sooner or later. When the wheel finally flies apart, then what? 

Use the time now to learn new skills that will be of use in a post corona, post bailout world. Anything to do using your hands may be a good idea. Building stuff, repairing things and skilled trades never go out of use. Knowing  how to deal with others never goes out of style either. If you can sell, you will always have a job. Computers will still be around in one form or another. Learn something there. Working from home may become a norm. In many countries around the world the home is also the shop. Why pay for office space when you don't have to? Why waste time and gas commuting? Working from home is not as easy as it sounds. You still need self-discipline and have a schedule.   Build time in for exercise so you don't become a diabetic couch potato with liver failure and heart disease. Cook at home to eat better and save money. We are way too dependent on external systems too complicated to last indefinitely. Speaking of complicated, what about healthcare?  

Healthcare will not be the same. I like the no waiting around e-visit I had (non-corona related). That's gotta be better for everyone. I like skipping the petri dish waiting room! If I need tho come in, the doc can let me know. Send in my prescription and I'm good! On a less positive note, this crisis will sink a lot of insurance  and healthcare companies. Where I am a hospital stay costs around $1k a night with no complications. Days and days in ICU's and or on ventilators will easily run into six figure bills for somebody. Who's left holding the bag? You cannot get it from the newly unemployed and homeless guy. Will Uncle Sam (Sugar) pick up this tab as well? We can all ride the inflation rocket to the moon! What about the awkward hospital visit? Will this too disappear for good? Doubtful. This is a basic human duty after all. Just keep it short; a half hour or less is plenty. Let's hope there is some self reflection within healthcare. What went wrong? What went right? What can we do better? National government seems incapable of such thoughts. I doubt that will change.    

Neoliberalism has already won the US election. What happens if this structure indeed falls apart? Would Joe really have any better ideas on how to  build an alternative than the Donald? Possibly, but he has to win first. That's in doubt. Our government seems utterly incapable of solving problems of those with less than seven figure incomes. This bodes ill for long term stability. In the long run this is a much bigger challenge than covid-19.      

Shot Across the Bow

The Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world is a shot across the bow. No, it is not a civilization ending event; rather a warning of possible things to come. We live in an age of alternative facts, fake news and spin. Viruses don't give a shit about markets, political fallout or popularity contests. They will continue to operate as they have since long before humans came on the scene. They are also equal opportunity killers. There is no concern for your bank account, fancy title or power. It as if Mother Nature is forcing us to look in the mirror at long last. What do we see?

A healthcare system who's main purpose is to make money may not be the best way to go. Research and Development goes into things that are profitable. Apparently preparing for a pandemic is not profitable. Where's the money in having extra masks or extra beds? Where is the money in being proactive? Where is the money in planning? Hey, that's the CDC's job! Oh, right we cut their funding. Going to work is literally putting your life at risk. Thank goodness for safety nets. Um, about that....

This is America damn it, we don't need no stinking safety nets! Having a safety net is not profitable. Follow the money. Is this the path for society towards a long term future? It looks like we are about to find out. A virus comes along and rattles markets to their core and bam, there is a two trillion $2,000,000,000,000 dollar stimulus on the table (mostly for those involved in such markets). So much for, "we are too broke for that." But the powers that be still say, "No, we cannot afford free college, a livable minimum wage or healthcare! We gotta rescue these markets!" The universe is collapsing. Oh, you may get a check for a thousand dollars and or a little unemployment money to get through a few weeks, you greedy bastards!  Meanwhile airlines get $26 billion and there is $17 billion for "National Security."And how about all that money we gave the Pentagon?

It looks like viruses could give a shit about our shiny fleet of aircraft carriers or stockpile of new and improved ICBM's. Why prepare to fight the enemy you cannot see? Out of sight out of mind. We have hollowed out our nation for a massive bloated military unprepared for fighting stealthy microbes. Our track record in war fighting is not much better. But we did win in Grenada. It is not completely useless. The military is proving useful for setting up hospitals and doing logistics. Let's hope we don't need them for crowd control. Tanks in the streets have a way of putting a damper on the prettiest spring day.

Just a few thoughts as we struggle through the Covid-19 Spring. Next, we'll look at some changes ahead.