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Covid: brief commentary on the Federal Government’s failure to lead in a time of crisis, what “leadership” means (hint: it’s not socialism, you nitwits), and a logistics-centric proposal for how we recover from here.
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Covid-19 is a problem.
While it’s problematic in many ways, this thread focuses specifically on the economic externalities, which is the area in which we have been woefully horrible at solving thus far.
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While it’s problematic in many ways, this thread focuses specifically on the economic externalities, which is the area in which we have been woefully horrible at solving thus far.
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Let’s start with the goal.
The goal, for our purposes here, is to get people 1) working, and 2) spending money.
Let’s dismiss the illusion that growth is happening this year (it’s clearly not) and focus instead on a restoration of previous economic work/spend activity.
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The goal, for our purposes here, is to get people 1) working, and 2) spending money.
Let’s dismiss the illusion that growth is happening this year (it’s clearly not) and focus instead on a restoration of previous economic work/spend activity.
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The central problem here is that people are afraid. Many of you will instinctively react and say “I’m not afraid” and that’s great. Super proud of your bravery.
But you’re not the economy, we all are. So our job is to get people to be “confidently economic.”
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But you’re not the economy, we all are. So our job is to get people to be “confidently economic.”
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<INTERLUDE>
The health department in my town is very good. They are doing an awesome job, but this is also their first pandemic.
There’s free testing here but there are also… “UI problems” happening with it.
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The health department in my town is very good. They are doing an awesome job, but this is also their first pandemic.
There’s free testing here but there are also… “UI problems” happening with it.
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There are signs up on the road directing people where to go, but it’s still unclear *when* testing happens because they’re understaffed and overworked.
This is leading to people who want to get tested having a hard time sorting out how to do it.
</INTERLUDE>
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This is leading to people who want to get tested having a hard time sorting out how to do it.
</INTERLUDE>
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What we need from the Feds is 3 things:
1. money for more staff and supplies - and not even that much.
2. a checklist of things individual, local jurisdictions can follow in order to do a good job locally.
3. supply chain support.
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1. money for more staff and supplies - and not even that much.
2. a checklist of things individual, local jurisdictions can follow in order to do a good job locally.
3. supply chain support.
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None of implies behavioral mandates, it’s just the Feds acting like a project manager for the country.
That’s it.
No top-down dictates, no scary fascist whatevers, just a bit of smooth, steady support and a clearinghouse for logistical information & shared learning.
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That’s it.
No top-down dictates, no scary fascist whatevers, just a bit of smooth, steady support and a clearinghouse for logistical information & shared learning.
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This is not tyrannical, nor is it difficult. It’s the kind of thing that we pay taxes for, just like national defense. Put another way, it *is* national defense.
The fact that we haven’t done it is a result of feckless, self-absorbed leadership.
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The fact that we haven’t done it is a result of feckless, self-absorbed leadership.
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The convos in this country are appalling. Precisely zero focus on taking action in these simple ways.
Doing so would help local jurisdictions self-serve on solutions that are most appropriate to their community, while also letting them discard those that aren’t.
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Doing so would help local jurisdictions self-serve on solutions that are most appropriate to their community, while also letting them discard those that aren’t.
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We will need to overcome low-value conversations about “whether it’s a problem” or “who gets credit” at some point to solve this, even if the solution is administering a (2-stage) vaccine.
This is how we get the economic bit solved for the long term.
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This is how we get the economic bit solved for the long term.
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The longer we wait to do this, the more accrued net economic damage we will have to carry.
We need to do this as a country at some point.
How about we start now?
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We need to do this as a country at some point.
How about we start now?
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