So, I got my first unemployment voucher.

Minimum two years, but more likely closer to that decade.

It's odd that people aren't thinking in those terms, and acting accordingly. Scary, actually. Heavy denial going on, as evidenced in this thread.

 

With respect, it's the other way around.

Those who think they can just flick a switch and everything will return to normal are in dreamland. There is no 'normal' to return to. Nothing will be the same. It's crucial that we all protect ourselves NOW, for a future will probably hold few of the old certainties.

 

https://modernfarmer.com/2020/04/dairy-farmers-are-dumping-huge-amounts-of-milk/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste

https://www.american.edu/kogod/news/breaking-down-the-supply-chain-breakdown.cfm

 

In defense of our pal, plenty of people own their business lock stock and barrel. As in the building, the land the building sits on, and all goods, chattels, good will, and stock. I know several, and they can ride out 12 months closure quite easily. They're not paying out anything, after all. No rent, no payroll, not even power bills. Furthermore, they can lease out part or all of their premises to raise income. There are always willing tenants looking for space, even now.

 

Socialism (in this country), to most people, means redistributing wealth as a means of balancing economic spread and support those less fortunate in our country. We have many programs that are based on the concept of Social Programming, a foundation of socialism. They include welfare, disability, Section 8 Housing, and SNAP. In these programs, people are afforded benefits that are fully dependent on other people to provide.

Contrasting that, we have Social Services, which provides a mutual benefit which is supposed to be paid for by all. These include, our defense, highways and roadways, fire departments, and education.

Lastly, we have shared risk programs. That is, everybody pays into a premium to cover one another in the case of loss. Much like health insurance group programs or auto insurance, the premiums for this security are paid by the same people that benefit. Some of these programs are administered by the government and include Social Security and Unemployment.

What you are conflating are things in the first group in which everybody else sustains somebody else who doesn't contribute to the money in which they receive with the last group in which the cost of the program is paid for by those who stand to benefit.

Not really a fair comparison, and certainly not "socialism".

 

State governments contribute? Or administer?

 

Nobody thinks we can just "flick a switch" and return to pre-COVID "normal" ---- but the only way to begin returning to normal is to return to work, because every day we extend the shutdowns we're just exacerbating the self inflicted wound.

 

On Friday, he delayed Indiana’s May 5th primary election until June 2nd but said he would need to see more signs that the virus was spreading statewide before taking action to order residents to stay home.

The governor has ordered all schools to remain closed until at least May 1, banned public gatherings of more than 50 people and closed restaurants for all but pick up and carry out business.
https://www.wthitv.com/content/news...ents-to-stay-home-due-to-virus-569028471.html

You are unaware of what happens in your own state?

 

Two points:

a) these extended semi-shutdowns are a direct result of not having done a proper shutdown in the first place. IOW, self-inflicted.

b) correct. the longer you remain in semi-shutdown, the more people will become fearful of spending.

Once again, there's probably not going to be a return to 'normal'. Trying to make pre-COVID objectives work post-COVID is largely futile. We need to adapt, and adapt now.

 

I don't share your pessimism. We can get past this but we need to reopen, the sooner the better. Quit fearmongering, neuter Pelosi and her vindictive cronies, stop politicizing coronavirus, and quit throwing money at the problem.

Turn off the tv.
Reopen the country.
Get back to work.
Get back to living.
Quit living in fear.
Quit exacerbating the self inflicted wound.

We can do this. We still have enough Americans with backbones and grit.

 

On the contrary, I'm very optimistic. We're building a different future already .. have been for weeks. So are most of our friends and family.

And I agree that 're-opening' is important, but that's where we differ. Trying to re-open to the old normal simply won't work. Consumer confidence has either reduced, changed direction, or evaporated completely. That's the reality - that's what we have to work with. In order to survive as a business in an open economy with utterly changed consumer sentiment, we need to find out what people are likely to want and need in the short to medium term. EG, the massive oversupply of high street retail, tourism, hospitality, and personal services is going to be painfully corrected - while hardware stores, supermarkets, IT, property investment (for rental, not development), biomedical engineering, pharmaceuticals, food technologies, agribusiness, etc will all thrive.

 

Lets also include education, roads, rural water systems, military, police, fire departments, EMS, public transit, Medicare, medicade, Social Security, income tax returns (majority of americans get more than they pay in).

If you make 60k or less and have kids you are a burden to the government/higher tax payer. You cost more than you put in.
The large majority of Americans(including you) consume more government(socialism) help than you contribute. Sorry it's just statistics.

 

What you are talking about is NOT "framers not farming"

You're talking about breaks in the food chain.

 

We'll remind you of that comment next time a Dem president uses borrowed money to prop up the economy. Me thinks, you'll be singing a different tune then.

Second, I didn't know that somebody on furlough could claim unemployment benefits. When I was furloughed for a total of 2 weeks after the great recession, it would have never occurred to me to ask for unemployment benefits.

 

And they will conveniently forget and deny.

"That wasn't ME...that was some other Republican...HE was a RINO"

 

rare rare bird to find folks who are not leveraged in business.

 

True, but, not all jobs are easy to do in masks, an engineer or office workers easy. Others hot seat (second shifts works same location, and touch everything) in close quarters, have people working above them (like the one that dripped puss in my face from the upper deck), they hand off between each other, use the same blueprints...

Thing is, some of those places are still working, defense plants..., but the other day I saw a Foxy Blond Legs Channel how not to congregate video, few of them were wearing masks and thirty or more were within six feet of each other celebrating being STUPID AS ****!

STupid doesn't cut it.

 

I don't give a crap about masks, or which news channel has the hottest anchors, and if you've got someone dripping puss on your face where you work you've got bigger problems than COVID.

 

SAYS IT All!!!

 

You do you, I'll do me.

 

You would give a crap if you were working around asbestos.

 

Don't remind me of being ordered to vacuum that with a t-shirt filtered shop vacuum. The supervisor whose desk turned white was last seen riding an electric scooter to work with an oxygen tank.

 

Some things are just to obvious

 

I giggled when I read the back and forth.. I was listening to Classic Vinyl on the way back from the lake yesterday and the host was commenting on how beer/alcohol sales were up 38% from this time last year If I were a brewer I'd be making bank right now, just saying!