People wonât be quick to get the vaccine either. Even for the ones that donât think thatâs a way theyâre going to microchip people (dumb asf as is) many arenât willing to be early adopters, at least not in my area.
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Actually, modeling the impact of the pandemic and the damage the shutdown is doing to our socioeconomic systems is much more complicated than simple Newtonian physics. Functioning societies have inherent dangers of death and dismemberment that we accept without thinking about it (i.e. automobile deaths). Like everything else, we need to determine a level of acceptable loss and get on with our lives. Tightening the screws in a destructive attempt to gain an unrealistically low mortality rate is insane.
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I totally respect this, and those are some pretty solid points. For the sake of conversation, could you weigh in on some other aspects? Iâm pretty curious, and I think it can be informative for both of us.
So, masks are pretty easy and have an quantifiable impact on infection rates. Letâs keep wearing those for awhile when weâre in crowded or confined areas (if youâre in an area with lower population density and few cases I think it could be fine not to wear masks).
These things are definitely having an economic impact:
- Closing bars/indoor sporting events
- Limiting air travel
- restricting restaurants and motivating people to dine outdoors
Should we not do those things at all, maybe just a little?
Instead of dialing back the response and treating it like the seasonal flu, do you think itâs possible in retrospect (considering the amount of hardship weâve gone through trying to limit infections) we could have done a bit more early on and functionally eliminated the virus like many other countries? If that were the case, we would not be dealing with these prolonged implications weâre dealing with today.
Thereâs also the actions of other countries to take into account. If we decide that itâs not worth dealing with, and they believe differently, we would be literally quarantined from the rest of the world. Does that not have unnecessary economic impacts?
All things considered it seems like less work to care than to not. I might be wrong though. I donât have all the numbers.
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What countries have functionally (as opposed to politically) eliminated the virus?
The Spanish flu was named as such because Spain was the only country reporting it. Everyone else censored it to avoid demoralizing populations engaged in fighting WWI.
I agree reasonable precautions (masks, social distancing, etc.) should be required and adhered to under penalty of law. The selective shutting down of small businesses is effectively trying to kill the disease by killing the patient. I fear weâre creating a socioeconomic disaster that may take decades to recover from.
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Forcing people to stay home - and potentially lose their livelihood, go gaga with the kids etc - is tightening the screws. Forcing people to wear a mask while they go about their daily lives isnât. Americans who refuse to wear a mask should be jailed, is my opinion.
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Of particular note are New Zealand, China, and Australia, but there are many others. It requires very little effort for them to keep it in check at this point, and they therefore are not suffering the economic impacts that we are.
COVID-19 is not solely to blame for the economic downtown weâre now suffering. Also, the selectivity is not specifically targeting small businesses, itâs targeting businesses that increase infections. The reason itâs not impacting multinationals as much as mom and pop shops is because they have the support network. We could be providing better support for small businesses to weather this unprecedented time, but weâre not
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China, yeah, right. If you believe that I have a bridge to sell you.
I also cannot believe my local brew pub following every guideline is a greater infection risk than wal-mart.
This is where response becomes political, not scientific.
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Oh, donât like the Reds, huh? 
I get your incredulity, but you canât say the same for New Zealand and Australia.
We definitely donât need to get political. I was fine being scientific. The fact of the matter is that the virus (and any weâre likely to encounter in the future) can be defeated with the proper precautions. If the prediction is that stuff like this will continue to happen with increasing frequency, we canât just roll over.
If the USâs bloated economy canât function under these conditions, then evolution dictates we make some alterations to the system in order to survive. Iâm sure your local brew pub would feel a lot better about any restrictions placed on them if they were given guidance so that they could open safely, and even better yet if they were given some economic assistance to stay open with funds appropriated from regulating behemoths like Wal-Mart 
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Dear Italy,
How long did it take after you got rid of Berlusconi before you felt like you had to quit apologizing for him in international circles?
Asking for a friend.
Sincerely,
U.S.A.
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My vitriol is reserved for the US Govt. and the CCP, not the people. My fuck buddy Ming and I canât decide which government we trust the the least.
Yes, for some reason I have more trust in what I hear from NZ and Oz
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Mate you fucken nailed it. 
This is my observation and by no means an attack on you fine folks and it is purely my opinions.
You were let down by a number of things, we all know what one of those things is/was and âheâ is an easy scape goat.
Another huge contributor.
Culture
Meanwhile in NZ.
Suck it up, Shut the fuck up, stay at home, hit it hard, hit it early.
Most people accepted it as a part of the greater good
We closed our borders early. Nobody in or out. (except returning citizens and residents) And THAT is where our Covid numbers came from, but they were all isolated until tested clear.
Yes NZ is geographically isolated, but the USAs infection threat is not from Canada or Mexico, it is from within.
We currently have concerts, big events, our equivalent of Comic-con etc happening.
Life is and has been virtually back to normal for a good number of months.
As I look around right now, I am sitting surrounded by about 300 complete strangers, I can count 3 people wearing masks.
The threat is still real, but is being managed appropriately, with clear rules and expectations which and accepted by the masses and people react accordingly when the risk level changes.
Yes
I can only give you one example, I had booked a 6 week work / holiday from Rhode island to LA, with my family in tow.
When Covid kicked off, My work said NOPE, maybe next year buddy.
Then the government agreed. I was going nowhere.
Not long after the rioting kicked off, Iâm glad I didnât go and thankful my family didnât either.
Next year, if I am allowed to travel to the USA, my family will be staying behind, I see the USA as too volatile and not safe/ stable enough to take my family.
I have been to a few other sketchy places in the world that I also wouldnât take them, so its not just the USA. You are just a new entry on my list.
I hope this didnât come of as righteous.
âWe were right and you were wrongâ
it is not intended that way and I feel very lucky to be where I am and genuinely feel sorry for you guys.
I feel the position you are in is a tough one to dig yourself out of, and now it will take A LOT more time, money if it was dealt with better and most of all buy in from everybody.
I hope your new leadership is a vast improvement on the narcissistic dictatorship you have overthrown.
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It did a little 
only hurts cause itâs true.
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It is not all, rainbows and unicorns.
Financially we will pay for it ( DUH ), we were lucky enough to have the governments support throughout, people that were unable to work ( Non-essential workers) were required to stay isolated at home and they were paid 80% of their wage.
There were some small businessâ that âwent underâ but overall not too badâŠit could be worse.
That subsidised money has to come from somewhere, but it will be spread over our taxes for years to come, but I still think that is a better option and easier to recover from.
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If your goal is to minimize the economic impacts on the country as a whole, locking down hard and early was probably the best move, dollar for dollar. In a place like NZ, thatâs bound to be a net gain for almost every individual involved. In the US though the tax and social support structures are a bit more exploitative, so I can definitely sympathize with people who donât trust the US government to evenly distribute the woes and winnings across the populace. Average people will get hit harder.
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Is it possible to turn off notifications for âlikesâ
If you know, you know
Not trying to flame them, but itâs becoming Spam
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my post Sigh, it was hiding my layout is a bit different on my phone, but I found a different optionâŠ
Letâs try a âmuteâ
itâs a very specific problem
And this should ignore specific notifications
I donât mind most likes⊠I like feeling the love
I donât like being spammed
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