Layoffs are already starting.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisett...ng-list-of-job-losses-caused-by-the-pandemic/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisett...ng-list-of-job-losses-caused-by-the-pandemic/
The dominos that will fall because of Covid-19
- Thread starter Skills
- Start date
Fully believe it. I was still within the US, but in a different city than the one in which I lived. received a $11000 bill for a five hour ER visit for kidney stones. This was inclusive of a few cc’s of Toradol for pain & lab blood tests, plus the hospital gown & socks. As I knew exactly what it was, I forewent a CT scan (I already had a bout two weeks earlier with exactly the same symptoms). Once the pain had abated enough, I was given some urologists to contact for follow up. A couple of weeks later, the bill showed up, not itemized, just the total. I had recently started a new job, thus I didn’t have insurance yet. I called the billing department back & told them I wanted the itemized bill. They said they would send it to me, finishing the conversation up by asking if I wanted to start a payment plan. I told them I would pay the minimum per month until I received the bill, they said it was $25/mo. Their reply was that I sounded like I could afford more than that per month (!). After I roundly criticizes that person for such a statement, I told them that I was flabbergasted at the price they were trying to extort with no total reduction for cash payments. They stuck to their quote, I never received the itemized, I am still paying $25/mo. This hospital visit was three years ago. They occasionally call, I tell them to ‘feck off’ until I get an itemized, but none ever shows up in either mailbox.
So, yes, such preposterous medical charges are levied every day in this fecked up country.
Plus their ‘business savvy’ eliminations of key governmental departments that would have been essential in fighting this. Their rationalization was to streamline the efficacy of government & to save money; the amount of money saved was less than the typical governmental accounting rounding error every year, a true drop in the bucket. Along with practically every head of a department being ‘Acting’ or ‘Interim,’ there is no department that can act with any autonomy or in a ‘good of the people’ mindset if it flies in conflict with how it makes Trump look.
In both cases (MERS/SARS) where bats were the origin there was an intermediate host - civet and camel - but it is unclear if transmission to humans was from contact with a sick live animal or eating an infected animal.
Considering that both versions of SARS originated in wet markets, it really doesn’t matter, the end result is the same. It is all cause some sick fecks want to eat bats, and now millions will die.
We don't know that for sure. MERS in particular.
But of course I agree that wet markets are a ludicous and dangerous entity that we would all be better off without. Doubly so as they are so bad at safe hygiene practices.
Trump and the Republicans are eventually going to try and use this to delay elections and stay in power longer.
The biggest problem is of course that Trump seems to live in his own world, he knows best. He isn´t listening to anyone around him and his conferences about this this look more like a SNL sketch than a official that knows what he is doing. Again he is against advices from the people who know and is doing anything in his power to undermine them. Hope that Americans now see what an incompetent populist now looks like.
I do kind of hope this could happen - demonstrate that remote working is perfectly possible and less alien. It's not possible to do all the time, and face to face communication is really important, but it should be done more.
They haven't exactly been able to capitalize on Trumps wrongdoings before. Hopefully, this is the end for the Orange Despot. But it might very well swing the other way with people seeing the need for a "strong" leader.
Why did Swine flu not get as much hype as Corona has?
I think this is going to escalate the existing tensions in America massively if this outbreak is as bad as anticipated. Sad to say there won't be any unity on this one but a lot of blame shifting. I do wonder if some of Trump's supporters will turn.
Somebody else said something about China getting more powerful after this. I can see that. The US is divided and this will get worse.
The rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.
If Millions of older home owners die, passing their property down to the younger Generations - the housing markets will be transformed completely.
I wish but don't see it happening for another 20 years. It's always the feckers in their 40s/50s who object to such things and we'll have to wait until they retire to see the benefits.
Disclaimer: Not all people in their 40s/50s.
It’s the ‘confidence’ he projects, that's what a lot of the ignorant in my country like in him.
It wasn't half as contagious so that helped battling that crisis.
Cause its mortality rate was 0.05% or so (lower than normal flu) and cause it was not contagious as covid-19.
Right, saw somewhere that it had a higher mortality rate.. hence my confusion. Thanks for clearing it up.
Many Italian people before this did not see the EU in a positive light. The fact that their fellow EU members have done feck all to help them whilst China sends the country medical equipment could be the catalyst in them eventually leaving in the coming years.
It's now not at all certain that SARS-ncov-2 originated in that animal market.
I posted earlier that I think this could be the most significant global event since the adoption of the Internet. It's going to have far bigger ramifications than the banking crisis and 9/11.
H1N1/swine flu had a very low mortality rate (lower than normal flu). H1N1/Spanish flu had a very high mortality rate (3-10%). I guess the reason for this is that the virus had mutated over time to something less deadly and/or many people get vaccinated.
The biggest risk was H5N1/bird flu which had an insane mortality rate of over 60%, but fortunately didn't spread from people to people (except in three cases which were isolated early). If that would have gone airborne, then humanity would be fecked.
The other EU members are in deep shit though. Spain now is just a few days behind Italy (over 1000 new cases today), same for France. Germany is just a week behind at best.
It's not like the others are fine and deciding to not help. The others are in as big trouble as Italy itself. China has managed to control the crisis, which is why they are able to help other countries.
Also because social media was not around to the point of amplification of any true/false opinion, narrative, etc. every other second. Social media already stokes anxiety to begin with, now a world pandemic...it's a mess.
The virus can jump when the animal is killed or butchered.
Sometimes it jumps into a dead end. In other words, it can kill a different animal quickly which stops it in its track.
Unfortunately, this wee bugger found conditions just right when it made the leap.
I am hardly an expert in the topic, but I've read that for a virus to be able to jump to another specie, it needs to mutate and/or combine genes with native viruses. Animal markets are a perfect scenarion for it to happen. Even if the chances of it happening are extremely low, when you put and kill thousands of animals of different species near to each other for decades, eventually the jump happens.
Yeah, I read that too. It mutates every time it jumps.
Same as us actually. We put on a coat when we go to Iceland for the winter solstice and take everything off when we fly to warmer climes in the south.
Reminds me of that scene in the Matrix where Smith refers to the human species as a virus...
There's a lot aobut this crisis which I think points to the need for a *strong* state. Not in military terms but in terms of being able to chart an independent course wrt the economy. I probably cannot explain it properly, here are a few articles and tweets which sum up what is missing and wrong right now:
This one is funny and shows just how timid govts are now. (Alternate link)
A great article:
The Dismantled State Takes on a Pandemic
Conservatives won their war on Big Government. Their prize is a pandemic.
https://newrepublic.com/article/156901/dismantled-state-takes-pandemic
Another one making the same point: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/gop-small-government-trump-coronavirus-incompetence/
but i feel this one focuses too much on trump and less on the decades of work that have made his response acceptable.
Some advantages of a strong welfare state are also obvious.
And these messages, from the largest retirement community, which has 50 golf courses and has been growing exponentially, say a lot about the mindset that powers Trump and others like him. Total disrust of institutions and parallel realities. (twitter thread)
This one is funny and shows just how timid govts are now. (Alternate link)
A great article:
The Dismantled State Takes on a Pandemic
Conservatives won their war on Big Government. Their prize is a pandemic.
https://newrepublic.com/article/156901/dismantled-state-takes-pandemic
The rulers now believe the propaganda that was initially used to keep the rubes in line.
Another one making the same point: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/gop-small-government-trump-coronavirus-incompetence/
but i feel this one focuses too much on trump and less on the decades of work that have made his response acceptable.
Some advantages of a strong welfare state are also obvious.
And these messages, from the largest retirement community, which has 50 golf courses and has been growing exponentially, say a lot about the mindset that powers Trump and others like him. Total disrust of institutions and parallel realities. (twitter thread)
I was going to pose this exact question earlier. Though my top 3 would have been limited to this millenium: 9/11, the Iraq War or Covid-19.
I still think 9/11 changed more about the world than Covid-19 will. But I wouldn't argue too strongly against anyone who thought otherwise.
Whatever the case, if there's really such a thing as a pre- and post-9/11 world, there's certainly going to be a pre- and post-Covid-19 world.
Post 9/11 change wasnt for the better. I hope this time it is. Increased int. cooperation and much bigger resources put in tackling disease for the benefit of all.
If the German and French health services don't collapse like the Italian one is seemingly doing then the narrative will be that 'You let us die'. It won't make any difference to the Italian people to find out that because other major EU countries took precautions to not supply Italy with emergency supplies, their health service coped far better.
I don't think there is any realistic chance of this happening. Even with the new measures, they'll add, next week they are gonna be in the same scenario as Italy right now. And Italy's system is near the collapse.
As consumption is reduced to the most basic needs, I wonder if we will see a change to a more efficient society after this is over, when businesses that provide the least basic needs have gone bankrupt.
By more efficient I mean a bigger percentage of people in jobs connected to food, health, energy etc., and less in culture, entertainment, luxury etc.
By more efficient I mean a bigger percentage of people in jobs connected to food, health, energy etc., and less in culture, entertainment, luxury etc.
The demand severely outpaced the supply in such a tiny window of time. And some of the demand has been self-inflicted such as going to the store and just hoarding shit. Within entertainment, there's still a lot of service jobs too.
But to your point, the things that are "shutting down" such as sport/entertainment, really shows in context how unimportant it is to our daily life unless you directly work in those industries. It's a nice to have, but not a necessary to have.
It's only a matter of time before Colonel Sanders opens a KFB near you.
At least the wings will have more meat on them.
