I like John Hindraker and Powerline very much. But you know how I feel about people wrapping themselves in the mantle of truth, rationality, fairness, justice, and the like. Let us be the judge of that, thank you. If you have to stomp your little foot and declare that you are being the rational one in this conversation - and I have been guilty of that more than once myself - it is a clear sign you are no longer listening to other people.
Some Rational Perspectives on CoVid 19. He may even be right, but I no longer waste my time when people start off like that. I do sometimes grant that the headline-writer may not be the author, and extend a paragraph's grace, or even two. "Hundreds of millions" of Americans lives might be being "devastated" by the government actions, John? A plural means at least two, so more than 200 million out of the 320 million of us are being "devastated?" Your reputation is eroded by that comment.
I write that as one who knows people whose lives are devastated by the economic shutdown, and I take their lives seriously.
sort of like when someone prefaces a statement with "to tell the truth..."
ReplyDeleteYeah, count the spoons afterwards with such people.
ReplyDeleteThey say we've got 10MM new unemployment claims. That's a lot of people, plus their dependents, but there are 350MM of us. We should be able to help them with the disproportionate burden that has abruptly landed on them through no fault of their own, in service of the common good. I'm not usually a fan of income redistribution, as you know, but this is an exceptional case.
ReplyDeleteI do feel an urgency to get as many people back to work as quickly as possible, perhaps through more targeted quarantines for those at highest risk. The economic impact is real and dangerous.
There are "essential" jobs, and there are "non-contact" jobs and occupations. And there are "minimal-contact" occupations.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are some hard-contact occupations, where maybe you want to double up the headcount instead of reducing it, to manage the extra cleaning involved--such as cleaning out truck-stop restrooms.