Coronavirus thread

[Todd]

But my point is that money alone is not going to fix this.

To get the virus under control, the US will have to go into another - and this time more coordinated and thorough - lockdown.

I have at no time claimed that money alone will solve the problem.  I have primarily focused on the continued inability of Europe to gets its fiscal and monetary house in order, thus relying on the US and diverting American resources. That harms the US.  Then I placed that in the context of the dissolving international system.  The current crisis is accelerating that, and the US should take full advantage of it.  Alas, too many folks cling to the past.

With respect to a coordinated and thorough lockdown in the US, the president does not enjoy powers under the Constitution to impose and enforce rules sufficient to achieve that.  At the very least, Congress would have to pass new legislation and the executive branch enforce it.  And then it would rightly and immediately be challenged in court.  The Commerce Clause does not grant Congress the power to do that, nor does any other provision in Article I, and case law pertaining to public emergencies does not envision national lockdowns.  The ironic thing is that some of the same people who decry Trump's authoritarian/dictatorial/fascist actions turn around and decry him for not engaging in an even more authoritarian/dictatorial/fascist action than even the most ardent proponents of essentially unlimited executive power, like Billy Barr, would even suggest.  (Some people get easily confused about what a slave to authority is.)  Such a lockdown will require coordination at the state level, with federal participation to provide guidance and resources.  The last would be the ticket; pass some massive spending bill that includes gobs of cash for compliance - money being one of the most important tools in the public health tool chest.  More governors are slowly moving in that direction without coercive federal action.  There's a degree of coordination on the Left Coast and has been for months, and some other states coordinate activities.  But there needs to be more.  Governors are on the hook, but even some of them are constrained by state constitutions. 

As to wasting money, the US does that on everything, all the time.  No biggie.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-24/americans-spread-virus-fear-in-one-eu-country-they-can-visit

[drogulus]

All points happily granted. The US is able to throw much more money at this than it already did, I'm sure.

     For a sovereign currency issuer like the US the need for throwing money and the ability to throw it is always an identity.

     It's harder to waste money than people usually think. Less then optimal spending goes optimal when money is spent on into the economy. Idled resources tend to be less efficient than running out of dollars to deploy them even when spending is sub-optimal. This insight is captured by the increased efficiency of digging holes and filling them in a demand crunch compared to allowing demand to spiral down. That's exactly why we are paying people to spend for their own needs when unemployed. It's more efficient than not doing it. We would be less concerned with the suffering of individuals if it wasn't more efficient in the aggregate to relieve it than to let the unemployed drag the rest of the economy down with them.

     Whatever value judgments are attached to helping those who need help, there's a cold, hard determination behind doing it. Many on the left and right would prefer not to understand the point. Both sides think helping the needy is a burden.

[Herman]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-24/americans-spread-virus-fear-in-one-eu-country-they-can-visit

Ireland would do well to ban USA tourists just like the rest of the EU.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I can not figure how to download this video into this post so here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUiDLcp_hIw

Karl had also brought up this video earlier.  First time that I had ever heard of Randy Rainbow, but he certainly is very talented and creative!

PD

[drogulus]

I can not figure how to download this video into this post so here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUiDLcp_hIw

You use Flash instead of Hyperlink, changing this portion "watch?v=" to "v/"

https://www.youtube.com/v/lUiDLcp_hIw

[arpeggio]

Very interesting!

At 0:35 Fauci gives two reasons for the fact that the US hasn't "brought the virus back down to the baseline":
1) the containment measures never got to the right level;
2) Americans have an issue with authority.

Q

You #2 is important reason why we have problems here in the United States.  Although they are only a minority, they are a large enough group to cause problems.  On television there was a doctor who stated why there are problems in California.  In San Francisco they are doing a better job with the virus than in Los Angeles.  He stated that it is because there are more people in the Los Angeles area that are defying the anti-virus restrictions that have been implemented.  All one has to do is look at pictures of the beaches and the large numbers that are not wearing masks.

The lesson is that even here in the United States it is possible for a radical minority, who think they are the true majority, to take control.

[Todd]

Spain's Reopening Stumbles as Virus Cases Rise Among Young People

[SimonNZ]

The ironic thing is that some of the same people who decry Trump's authoritarian/dictatorial/fascist actions turn around and decry him for not engaging in an even more authoritarian/dictatorial/fascist action than even the most ardent proponents of essentially unlimited executive power, like Billy Barr, would even suggest. 

Who is saying this? Absolutely nobody is saying this. Wanting him to stop contradicting and undermining the health experts and stop cheering on the dissenters and conspiracy theory peddlers is not asking him to be a dictator.

[arpeggio]

Who is saying this? Absolutely nobody is saying this. Wanting him to stop contradicting and undermining the health experts and stop cheering on the dissenters and conspiracy theory peddlers is not asking him to be a dictator.

I agree.  A leader knows how to lead without being a dictator.

[BasilValentine]

Who is saying this? Absolutely nobody is saying this. Wanting him to stop contradicting and undermining the health experts and stop cheering on the dissenters and conspiracy theory peddlers is not asking him to be a dictator.

Nor is asking him — months ago — to coordinate a national policy on mitigation, production and distribution of essential supplies, testing, and contact tracing.

[T. D.]

Ireland would do well to ban USA tourists just like the rest of the EU.

That's for sure. And it's not just the EU:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-23/americans-not-welcome-in-caribbean-resorts-re-opening-to-tourism

I always thought the Orange Swindler was going to render the USA a pariah country.  That's happening to a degree, but for reasons I never imagined.

[Karl Henning]

Nor is asking him — months ago — to coordinate a national policy on mitigation, production and distribution of essential supplies, testing, and contact tracing.

He's trolling. It's a sick mind entertaining hisself.

[Herman]

He's trolling. It's a sick mind entertaining hisself.

And deep down he's proud at achieving such a mortality rate on his watch. Bigger and better than Vietnam!

After all, this is a man who bragged about his sexual exploits (if any, but that's another issue) as being his Vietnam.

As I said before, he positively gets a kick out of people dying because of him.

[T. D.]

South Korea story:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-25/these-elite-contact-tracers-show-the-world-how-to-beat-covid-19

[drogulus]

     C.D.C. Calls on Schools to Reopen, Downplaying Health Risks

     The latest guidance went to the CDC and is supposed to be from the CDC. DR. Twerpfield prayed on it, or whatever he does, and now it's like it really came from the CDC.

In a call with reporters on Friday, Dr. Redfield said that he understood the "trepidation" many parents and teachers were feeling about reopening schools and that decisions should be made based on levels of infection in each community.

The new materials, he said, were not meant to replace the C.D.C.'s earlier guidance on school reopenings but "to really help put some more granular detail in how administrators and parents can begin to think about putting those guidelines into a practical plan."

Still, he said, "The goal line is to get the majority of these students back to face-to-face learning."

     It certainly is. He didn't have to say "even if it's unsafe" because everyone know that's what it means.

[Mandryka]

South Korea story:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-25/these-elite-contact-tracers-show-the-world-how-to-beat-covid-19

Thanks for that one. In the Uk bars and restaurants need to hold contact details of every group of customers, so they can be contacted if a positive result comes to light, and all the contacts are being encouraged to self isolate whether they have symptoms or not. This should go some way towards what happens in S Korea.


Strange times we live in.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-27/covid-19-sinclair-pulls-the-plug-on-fauci-propaganda-this-time

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-27/miami-marlins-cancel-game-as-virus-spreads-through-clubhouse

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-27/trump-national-security-advisor-robert-o-brien-has-coronavirus

[Todd]

Coronavirus Is Back With a Vengeance in Places Where It Had All but Vanished

Hong Kong, Japan and Australia are seeing new waves of infections after relaxing Covid-19 restrictions

[Karl Henning]

Thanks for that one. In the Uk bars and restaurants need to hold contact details of every group of customers, so they can be contacted if a positive result comes to light, and all the contacts are being encouraged to self isolate whether they have symptoms or not. This should go some way towards what happens in S Korea.


Strange times we live in.

Strange days, indeed!