Whatever else may happen, this should be a teaching moment of the risk of having your health insurance tied to your place of employment. When suddenly 30% of the work force loses their job, they will also lose their own and possibly their family's coverage. While the top few % can afford to pay for their own coverage, the many cannot.

Job loss does qualify a person to apply for coverage via the ACA [Obamacare] but this requires out of pocket payment and a large number of low wage earners do not qualify as when the law was written it was believed that those low earners would qualify for state Medicaid benefits.

To avoid being erased for political comments, I will avoid making any suggestion. But I do think that the pandemic illustrates a major downside of losing insurance at the same time as losing employment.

By the way, under the ACA you can buy coverage to begin the first day of the month AFTER your insurance ends. If your job loss is on April 3rd, fairly reasonable date in this environment; no ACA coverage, if I read the rules correctly, until May 1. Try hard not to get sick in April. A request to open the option to enroll earlier was turned down by the Federal Gov. And of course the Supreme Court has on its docket an appeal designed to completely end the ACA, to be heard after the November election. With no ACA, these unemployed low and moderately paid Americans would have no affordable market.

I foresee a push to change in how we provide health care coverage to our citizens.

I thought about this a bit before replying. I was in Manhattan when 9/11 happened. There was indeed a profound effect on everyone. People were friendlier and more helpful. They became considerate and considered other people in addition to themselves. That lasted for a year or so. "People" than basically reverted back to what they had been before 9/11. On the other hand, there were substantial and long lasting changes. These included all the stuff we now take for granted like airport security, more complex ID checks, etc.

I expect the coronavirus of 2020 to be similar. Initially, there will be profound changes to us as people. I doubt if these changes will be long lasting. Externally, there are likely to be more permanent changes including: greater numbers of people working from home; a sincere drive to buy American; a contraction of international tourism in general and cruising in particular; and modified expectations regarding physical contact (e.g., fewer handshakes). I suspect there will be changes to how religious services will take place. But I do not expect any fundamental changes to sports, music or movies.

Having given my opinion, I would also like to share my hope. We now collectively have a much better understanding of contagion and the importance of simple things like washing our hands. Maybe these lessons can take root and we can greatly reduce other deadly events like the annual flu.

Nothing will change here, sadly. Crowds will continue, 70 year old women will still belly dance in public and twirl their batons attempting to recapture their youth. Age appropriate is not present in TV. The bars will be 3 deep in season and no one will remember. Publix Colony will remain a nightmare. And we will return to the restaurants not delivering. The one positive of this stay at home is that the restaurants are bending over backwards to get your business.
Stay well and wear a mask!

Unless this becomes a seasonal bug NOTHING will change..

Let's hope with a successful vaccine and treatment therapy, things will go back to the normal we all know as normal.

In some form Universal Health Care will become a reality>

I disagree with your "me first generation" reference at the same time we are burying our children and grandchildren in debt with our social security, pensions, and medical care that we feel is our just due. We will have to agree to disagree as to who is the real "me first" generation is.

I think the 'Western' culture of handshaking should be discouraged (or banned)...history>


Handshakes: Then and now
With origins dating back to ancient Greece, handshaking is believed to have originated to prove participants were not holding weapons (the shaking may have been a way to loosen daggers hidden inside clothing.) A funeral stone in Berlin’s Pergamom museum from 5th century B.C. shows two soldiers clasping hands.

Even then, handshakes were likely a formalization of a pact between two parties. Homer references handshakes in both “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad,” usually as a display of trust.

I vote for:

Namaste
It's a Sanskrit phrase that means "I bow to you." You place hands together at the heart, close your eyes and bow. It is good manners to say namaste to the elders. It was the equivalent of hello, but with an element of respect.

Or, if holding a briefcase or such, eye contact and a slight bow or 'head bow'.

NO CONTACT, but a warm personal greeting.

Being a grumpy old git by nature, I hope social distancing continues, and lockdown becomes a feature of daily life.
All golf courses will be floodlit and open 24 hours a day, and maintained as a truly essential service.
Scooter the DJ will be declared a Bio hazard and only allowed at Town Squares south of 44.
OH! and all dogs will have to wear diapers, when out walking!

Everyone will always have a stockpile of t.p.

Hopefully residents of TV will learn....have learned to not wait until the emergency is upon us to take action.

Hurricane season will soon be upon us.

Having a 2-4 weeks food supply should already be a way of life due to coronavirus actions.

There is no reason to deplete the the 2-4 weeks food supply currently on hand.

Water. If you don't have it now get a 2 weeks supply of water in some form......NOW!

Keep your gas tank full as a matter of practice.

Coronavirus could become seasonal. Don't get unprepared.

Unfortunately after living here for 16 years.....I can safely say nothing will change.

A significant number of people in our age bracket will no longer be taking cruises.

I think you’re right about cruises. I feel bad for people in those jobs.

Salad bars and buffets will disappear. Or perhaps a server will place what we want on our plate for us. I believe that’s how it used to be done. Serving tongs are nasty.

Every person receiving SS paid into it. I also paid into my pensions. These are not entitlements. Medicare is not free. I pay for it every month as well as a deductible when I go to a doctor. The kids are in debt for useless college degrees that we have forced upon then. Better to be a plumber than major in Art History and make coffee at Starbucks.

I really hesitate to even post an opinion here. But ...here I go. How about these people who insist on all this hugging?!?!? It amazes me. I attend a particular workout session here in The V. and have been appalled & amazed that several ladies hug and rock back and forth and make a big “show” of hugging each other. This was as recent as early March before the Rec centers shut down. They see each other 2 or 3 times a week, yet the hugging and body rocking continued to take place. It’s apparent that they only see each other at these workout sessions. I hug my children, grandchildren and other close family members after not seeing them for weeks or months. But acquaintances...not so much.