Quote:
Originally Posted by J1ceasar
Decisions were made by governments and hindsight is easy to dispute good or bad. Why don't you simply look at California New York and Florida for the differences those two states were much more strict than Florida but it had more deaths per capita but really neither result was correct because what if we did not shut down and everyone died they'd be no economy whatsoever so you can air on the side of caution and I hope the government will support you the economic light or you can be a free spirit let everyone die and then wonder why there's no companies left
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The most likely reasons those states had higher rates are numerous - majority international hubs, mass transit is heavily used, population density, etc. All contribute to a more rapid spread of a virus and an overwhelming of medical systems.
I don't know of any models that suggest everyone would die (extinction level event) if we did nothing - a LOT, but not everyone.
The issue is what is the purpose of government. And conservatives and liberals disagree on that - it is almost the entire disagreement between them. Liberals (me) believe the purpose of government is to do things the people want to be done that the people can't reasonably do alone or even as a company. For instance, reaching the moon, building the Interstate highway, the post office, etc. Conservatives believe that free-market capitalism will supply what people want - ie. supply and demand. Obviously, there is a spectrum from the radical right to the radical left, with many shades of purple in between.
As a liberal, I believe one of the purposes of the government would be to take control of pandemic mitigation. I personally feel the government should have required masks, should have used the emergency production act to supply needed items, like masks and ventilators, etc.
I completely agree with the government providing economic support for people impacted by the pandemic - another of those "things a government should do".
I think the government could have done a lot more to work with companies to figure out how to make the workplace safe for those companies that are involved in critical production.
But, I agree we are where we are. Pointing fingers might make us feel better, but will not help us move forward. We are in a terrible situation, and we can't solve it, so by my definition, it is the job of the government. We need the government to take aggressive actions to stimulate the creation of a mix of temporary and long-term jobs. I see the government trying to do that now, unfortunately, I also see some people trying to prevent the government from doing anything.