Don't ask me why, but I found myself scrolling through this thread earlier today. It's a pretty cool BDBL time capsule showing our real-time reactions to a historical event. I'm commenting here mostly to give this a bump so it doesn't disappear, but also to highlight a few quotes:
Me, 3/14/20 wrote:Help me understand this.
...Up to 720 Americans could possibly die from COVID-19.
...Is my math wrong?
Yes, it was! Of course, we now know why: the Chinese were LYING to us. Their numbers were bullshit, which is why my math, based on their numbers, was so wildly wrong.
Me, 3/14/20 wrote:But more importantly: are we going to do this every year from now on? ...Isn't it safe to assume, then, that we'll see another "novel" coronavirus next year at this time? And the next year? And the next? If so, are we just going to shut everything down every year from now on? Is this the new normal?
Apparently, yes.
Mike Stein, 3/14/20 wrote:This will indeed be devastating to the economy. It will probably finish off Trump.
Yep. And yep! Stein goes 2-for-2 in the predictions game.
Mike Stein, 3/14/20 wrote:So you think there would still be a low infection:mortality rate if we left everything as is and just let everything proceed as normal? The shutdowns will have no effect?
After all is said and done, it sure looks like this would have been the smart approach. Sweden was roundly criticized for not locking down, keeping schools and businesses open, and going about their business normally. They currently rank 53rd in COVID deaths per capita, and 21st out of 31 European countries. If Sweden were a US state, they would rank 43 out of 50. And their students, children, and businesses didn't suffer the way that ours have.
Me, 3/15/20 wrote:Instead, we're SHUTTING DOWN OUR ECONOMY, and putting millions of people into poverty and bankruptcy. This is a gross overreaction. But what's worse is that we've allowed the government to strip us of our freedom -- and we're okay with that. We have just rolled over and accepted whatever mandates the government hands down.
Yep. The worst part about the past two years, from my perspective, was seeing so many people not only accept the loss of their freedom, but cheer for it -- and shame others for not doing the same.
Me, 3/17/20 wrote:Imagine if that happened here...So, we'd add $4.4 trillion to our $23 trillion debt, and workers would give up five days of pay just to keep their jobs. Something tells me the overwhelming response to all of this would be: HELL NO. But then, given that our entire economy is about to collapse, and millions will lose their jobs thanks to this overreaction, maybe most people would consider that to be a fair deal.
Instead, we added $6 trillion (and counting) to our debt, paid people not to work, and are now living with 1970's-style inflation, an employment crisis, a supply chain crisis, an energy crisis, and economic ruin because of it.
Me, 5/7/20 wrote:Either way, the lockdown didn’t work. Older people, staying mostly at home, still got sick. So what was the point of shutting down the entire economy, sending countless millions into unemployment, poverty, and bankruptcy?
This is the greatest mistake mankind has ever made. We may never recover from the pointless overreaction to this virus.
I stand by that statement. And we've only begun to suffer to the consequences of that mistake.