Medically induced economic coma
Regardless of their merit, validity, or helpfulness, I keep spouting off my ideas every week.
As of the end of March, the fatality rate for COVID-19 is 50 times greater than the fatality rate for the flu. Because of this disease, there are literally millions of Americans who are living on the precipice of total financial collapse every single day in our country: the housekeepers, the barbers and beauticians, the restaurant owners and servers, all the day workers, independent contractors, and other small businesses where income comes from their sales.
Plenty of those people have succumbed to eating their seed corn during this crisis, but most don’t even have that luxury. Help them any way you can.
I have friends and family members who have lived on commission-only for decades, and there’s nothing providing those commissions right now. Then there are those folks who either didn’t play life’s game of monopoly well or else they were screwed by the system through things like leveraged buyouts that took away their pensions, or the trade agreements that transferred their jobs internationally. They were robbed of not only their jobs but also their pensions, their identities, their opportunities, and their futures.
When the choice was made to shut down the country or face either your own possible demise or potentially be accused of manslaughter for killing your neighbors, it became a no-brainer for the vast majority of us to stay at home.
It’s a challenge every day, and not many of us are loving every moment of this required quarantine. It’s not easy. It’s not fun, and the uncertainty is always there because it only takes one mistake to get this disease.
Unfortunately, there are many people out there who embrace a much more Libertarian view of life that is reflective of the New Hampshire’s license plate, “Live free or die.” Because of that narcissistic attitude toward your personal freedom during this very serious situation, the problem is you might not die. But your neighbor, your neighbor’s kid, or parents may die.
Remember, the Libertarian belief is you should be able to do your own thing as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else.
Unfortunately, there was so much false or unknown information put out there while the disease itself was spreading, millions of people still believe they are practically immune from COVID-19. If these folks would take a closer look at the data, they’d see, once again, that belief is not accurate. People of all ages can die from COVID-19, and we’re not exactly sure why some people are spared and some succumb.
One particularly brave social media troll indicated that I was just an old man who was afraid of death.
I’m not living in fear of death because I’ve faced it several times either through close family members or through my own medical interactions. I’m concerned for my family and neighbors. This selfish decision to “spread it” is not the same as wearing a T-shirt with some obscene expression on it or being allowed to drive without a speed limit on an empty road in Montana. This truly is about potentially killing others.
The time for tribal politics, blaming everyone, and for taking inane stands on issues that are not simple black and white issues, is not now. Life is a short journey that is “hopefully” filled with Karma, and, I for one, don’t think we should be overlooking those marginated individuals who could die or are suffering the most.
It’s a time for all of us to help and to live with some degree of belief in someone or something other than ourselves. Personal greed comes in many forms, and the evil that I’m observing all around us seems to be embracing every form.
Stay inside if you can, help anyone you can, quit hoarding all the toilet paper, and stop being a n%$#. Your fellow humans are depending on it and on you everyday. Be good.
Nick Jacobs of Pittsburgh is a Senior Partner with Senior Management Resources and author of the blog healinghospitals.com.