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So do we treat anyone outside the group of 20-50 year old with no preexisting conditions as acceptable collateral damage to keeping the economy afloat?

Klinky 7y ago
It's almost as if some people think human's purpose is to sustain an economy, rather than the other way around. Economies and markets are a tool used by human's to achieve goals(ideally better quality of life), they are not the goal itself.
- jjeaff 7y ago
  It seems like you are making their point for them. If an economy's purpose is to sustain humans, then letting it crash and burn puts those humans at risk. It's a balancing act. We just can't forget that too much economic destruction will cost lives as well.
  - Klinky 7y ago
    It is a balancing act, but we need to watch out that we're not letting the economy run the show based on things like overinflated valuations and speculation, which at the first sign of trouble, implode on themselves at almost a 50% loss. How much actual value(quality of life) is really being generated here? How much of it is hype, bandwagons, and charades? How sustainable is it and what safety nets are available when the bottom falls out? During this time you also think about how many people are telecommuting effectively right now, and how much downtown economies and real estate relies on everyone getting in their car, or on a bus/train going downtown each morning, and then the knock on effects this has on the environment. A lot of people don't want to hear pessimism or realism, they want to see growth, growth and growth. Growth at all other costs can still result in the side effect of quality of life improvements, but unlimited economic growth has not been sustainable, and we've had quite a few boom and bust cycles the last 2 decades now. If you're designing the economy to continually boom & bust, it's hard not to expect eventual economic destruction. It's not a matter of "not letting it happen", it's a matter of that's how it's been designed. It's what it does.
chrisco255 7y ago
Collateral damage? There's no vaccine for this disease and we may not get one for years. We have to develop immunity for it at some point. We can't live in a bubble. A body in quarantine is safe but that is not what bodies are for.
misun78 7y ago
We quite literally do do what you're saying with general influenza that also takes folks outside the 20-50 range as collateral damage to keep the economy float. Hence your comment is meaningless without understanding how much more severe and infectious covid-19 is.

Klinky 7y ago

It's almost as if some people think human's purpose is to sustain an economy, rather than the other way around. Economies and markets are a tool used by human's to achieve goals(ideally better quality of life), they are not the goal itself.

jjeaff 7y ago
It seems like you are making their point for them. If an economy's purpose is to sustain humans, then letting it crash and burn puts those humans at risk. It's a balancing act. We just can't forget that too much economic destruction will cost lives as well.
- Klinky 7y ago
  It is a balancing act, but we need to watch out that we're not letting the economy run the show based on things like overinflated valuations and speculation, which at the first sign of trouble, implode on themselves at almost a 50% loss. How much actual value(quality of life) is really being generated here? How much of it is hype, bandwagons, and charades? How sustainable is it and what safety nets are available when the bottom falls out? During this time you also think about how many people are telecommuting effectively right now, and how much downtown economies and real estate relies on everyone getting in their car, or on a bus/train going downtown each morning, and then the knock on effects this has on the environment. A lot of people don't want to hear pessimism or realism, they want to see growth, growth and growth. Growth at all other costs can still result in the side effect of quality of life improvements, but unlimited economic growth has not been sustainable, and we've had quite a few boom and bust cycles the last 2 decades now. If you're designing the economy to continually boom & bust, it's hard not to expect eventual economic destruction. It's not a matter of "not letting it happen", it's a matter of that's how it's been designed. It's what it does.

chrisco255 7y ago

Collateral damage? There's no vaccine for this disease and we may not get one for years. We have to develop immunity for it at some point. We can't live in a bubble. A body in quarantine is safe but that is not what bodies are for.

misun78 7y ago

We quite literally do do what you're saying with general influenza that also takes folks outside the 20-50 range as collateral damage to keep the economy float. Hence your comment is meaningless without understanding how much more severe and infectious covid-19 is.