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Are you intentionally being simplistic or do you really think that’s a reasonable statement? Are you literally trying to claim that any given life is a fungible

Are you intentionally being simplistic or do you really think that’s a reasonable statement? Are you literally trying to claim that any given life is a fungible economic unit? According to the NHS, over half of deaths attributed to covid in the UK were going to die within a year anyway, from other causes. Over half of deaths are from nursing homes in many places. We’re sacrificing the economic livelihoods of our children to buy a few months for a small fraction of the sickest, oldest people.

DanBC 6y ago
> According to the NHS, over half of deaths attributed to covid in the UK were going to die within a year anyway, This is untrue. Most people who died were expected to live for another ten years. https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/5-75/v1 https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/5-75/v1 > Results: Using the standard WHO life tables, YLL (Years of Life Lost) per COVID-19 death was 14 for men and 12 for women. After adjustment for number and type of LTCs, the mean YLL was slightly lower, but remained high (13 and 11 years for men and women, respectively). The number and type of LTCs led to wide variability in the estimated YLL at a given age (e.g. at ≥80 years, YLL was >10 years for people with 0 LTCs, and <3 years for people with ≥6). > Conclusions: Deaths from COVID-19 represent a substantial burden in terms of per-person YLL, more than a decade, even after adjusting for the typical number and type of LTCs found in people dying of COVID-19. The extent of multimorbidity heavily influences the estimated YLL at a given age. More comprehensive and standardised collection of data on LTCs is needed to better understand and quantify the global burden of COVID-19 and to guide policy-making and interventions. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_720672_en.html https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_720672_en.html > “This new analysis found that death from COVID-19 results in over 10 years of life lost per person, even after taking account of the typical number and type of chronic conditions found in people dying of COVID-19. Among people dying of COVID-19, the number of years of life lost PER PERSON appear similar to diseases such as coronary heart disease. Information such as this is important to ensure governments and the public do not wrongly underestimate the effects of COVID-19 on individuals,” he added.
hyko 6y ago
I think it’s a reasonable statement, in fact I’d say it represents orthodox economic thinking. Permanently removing hundreds of thousands of people from the economy (as well as temporarily removing millions) will depress both aggregate demand and productivity for decades to come. The government and the central bank should support people of working age with fiscal and monetary policy for as long as they are kept safely on the bench. Another point that’s worth making is that even someone in a nursing home is way more economically active than someone who is six feet underground. In short, there’s no tension between protecting “the economy” and protecting people’s health. We avoid fighting a war that we cannot win, we bide our time, and then confidently return to full output when the medical crisis has been fixed.

DanBC 6y ago

> According to the NHS, over half of deaths attributed to covid in the UK were going to die within a year anyway, This is untrue. Most people who died were expected to live for another ten years. https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/5-75/v1 https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/5-75/v1 > Results: Using the standard WHO life tables, YLL (Years of Life Lost) per COVID-19 death was 14 for men and 12 for women. After adjustment for number and type of LTCs, the mean YLL was slightly lower, but remained high (13 and 11 years for men and women, respectively). The number and type of LTCs led to wide variability in the estimated YLL at a given age (e.g. at ≥80 years, YLL was >10 years for people with 0 LTCs, and <3 years for people with ≥6). > Conclusions: Deaths from COVID-19 represent a substantial burden in terms of per-person YLL, more than a decade, even after adjusting for the typical number and type of LTCs found in people dying of COVID-19. The extent of multimorbidity heavily influences the estimated YLL at a given age. More comprehensive and standardised collection of data on LTCs is needed to better understand and quantify the global burden of COVID-19 and to guide policy-making and interventions. https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_720672_en.html https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_720672_en.html > “This new analysis found that death from COVID-19 results in over 10 years of life lost per person, even after taking account of the typical number and type of chronic conditions found in people dying of COVID-19. Among people dying of COVID-19, the number of years of life lost PER PERSON appear similar to diseases such as coronary heart disease. Information such as this is important to ensure governments and the public do not wrongly underestimate the effects of COVID-19 on individuals,” he added.

hyko 6y ago

I think it’s a reasonable statement, in fact I’d say it represents orthodox economic thinking. Permanently removing hundreds of thousands of people from the economy (as well as temporarily removing millions) will depress both aggregate demand and productivity for decades to come. The government and the central bank should support people of working age with fiscal and monetary policy for as long as they are kept safely on the bench. Another point that’s worth making is that even someone in a nursing home is way more economically active than someone who is six feet underground. In short, there’s no tension between protecting “the economy” and protecting people’s health. We avoid fighting a war that we cannot win, we bide our time, and then confidently return to full output when the medical crisis has been fixed.