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Who is better situated to respond to a pandemic than the state? What is the alternative?

by agency 5y ago

BitwiseFool 5y ago
I wasn't proposing an alternative, just chiming in that I don't believe the GP's assertion that "It ends with covid vaccines". Mainly because the government now has a powerful tool at its disposal for fighting pandemics and it will not want to stop using it once the threat is finally past us because it has so much utility and expandability for future health crises.
josefx 5y ago
In Germany there were at least half a dozen members of parliament caught with their hands in the cookie jar for the money meant to buy masks alone. It would be interesting to see how many more used it to enrich themselves but the decisions enabling them where so hilariously badly written that nearly all the money spend on the masks was wasted. You can write entire lists of how fucked up the governments response was. Government money for tests done under supervision of a professional? The same Dr. listed as on site contact in half the country. Repeated calls to get vaccinated? Government repeatedly blamed Doctors and population but never bought enough vaccines. The government response around here can be summed up as corrupt incompetents fucking up the economy while playing the blame game. I could not think of a group objectively less qualified to respond.
- nobody9999 5y ago
  >The government response around here can be summed up as corrupt incompetents fucking up the economy while playing the blame game. I could not think of a group objectively less qualified to respond. Assuming you live in a country with democratic (small 'd') institutions, you elected those folks. If they're corrupt and/or incompetent, that's on you and your fellow countrymen, no?
  - josefx 5y ago
    It is mostly the same parties sitting in government as back in Weimar when they helped Hitler ban the biggest competition. I am quite sure some of them even date back to our last Kaiser (not the soccer one). What is a single person to do against political parties that historically should be considered complicit in starting and losing two World Wars and survived without having their ideologies purged?
  - BitwiseFool 5y ago
    >"If they're corrupt and/or incompetent, that's on you and your fellow countrymen, no?" To an extent, yes, but I believe real-life has shown that removing incumbents is very difficult. I sense that the makeup of the district and the composition of party strength is the major factor in determining whether or not a politician is reelected or replaced, rather than popularity or approval rating.

Who is better situated to respond to a pandemic than the state? What is the alternative?

by agency 5y ago

Who is better situated to respond to a pandemic than the state? What is the alternative?

I wasn't proposing an alternative, just chiming in that I don't believe the GP's assertion that "It ends with covid vaccines". Mainly because the government now has a powerful tool at its disposal for fighting pandemics and it will not want to stop using it once the threat is finally past us because it has so much utility and expandability for future health crises.

josefx 5y ago

In Germany there were at least half a dozen members of parliament caught with their hands in the cookie jar for the money meant to buy masks alone. It would be interesting to see how many more used it to enrich themselves but the decisions enabling them where so hilariously badly written that nearly all the money spend on the masks was wasted. You can write entire lists of how fucked up the governments response was. Government money for tests done under supervision of a professional? The same Dr. listed as on site contact in half the country. Repeated calls to get vaccinated? Government repeatedly blamed Doctors and population but never bought enough vaccines. The government response around here can be summed up as corrupt incompetents fucking up the economy while playing the blame game. I could not think of a group objectively less qualified to respond.

nobody9999 5y ago
>The government response around here can be summed up as corrupt incompetents fucking up the economy while playing the blame game. I could not think of a group objectively less qualified to respond. Assuming you live in a country with democratic (small 'd') institutions, you elected those folks. If they're corrupt and/or incompetent, that's on you and your fellow countrymen, no?
- josefx 5y ago
  It is mostly the same parties sitting in government as back in Weimar when they helped Hitler ban the biggest competition. I am quite sure some of them even date back to our last Kaiser (not the soccer one). What is a single person to do against political parties that historically should be considered complicit in starting and losing two World Wars and survived without having their ideologies purged?
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  >"If they're corrupt and/or incompetent, that's on you and your fellow countrymen, no?" To an extent, yes, but I believe real-life has shown that removing incumbents is very difficult. I sense that the makeup of the district and the composition of party strength is the major factor in determining whether or not a politician is reelected or replaced, rather than popularity or approval rating.