Establishment politicians lack of wisdom and foresight!! US economic loss from Corona virus --- in terms of lost jobs, closed businesses, etc. ---already far exceeds the cost to produce and stockpile tests, masks, ventilators, hospital beds, etc. needed to properly prepare for and manage the virus. You know the old proverb: An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure.
Even if all those supplies had been stockpiled, it still would've been an economic disaster. Isolation would still have been a necessity no matter how many tests, ventilators, etc... were at hand.
If we had adequate PPE's, not nearly as many nurses and doctors would be dying. The initial tests the CDC performed were dead slow and virtually useless.
The empire has its priorities. Remember the ill-contructed dykes before Hurricane Katrina??? William Blum had this to say about that: “Look at the US government’s preparation for the invasion of Iraq. For almost a full year the bases were set up, the airfields laid out, the tanks moved into place, the army hospitals readied for the wounded in Germany, the body bags inventoried, hundreds of thousands of military and civilian personnel assigned their spots and their duties, money being printed round the clock upon request, every “t” crossed, every “i” dotted, little left to chance … and look at the preparation for a hurricane hitting New Orleans, which was beyond the “if” stage, waiting only for the “when”. The empire has its priorities.” Anti-empire Report October 18, 2005.
You mean capitalism. Globalism is a result of capitalism. Trump slashed and burned many programs - the purpose of which is public safety and national security - like the Pandemic Response Team he gutted three years ago. And his disciples cheered. DRAIN THE SWAMP! DRAIN THE SWAMP! That is the kind of thinking that left us half blind, slow to respond, and vulnerable. That is why dems scream when trump guts critical programs.
additional thought. hospitals are generating billions and billions for decades, they also should have been better prepared, and less dependent on a just in time system dependent on an uninterrupted global supply chain. hospital, city. county state federal, all fell just a tad short of expectations. let's hope that in the next 30 days they can make up for those mistakes by working together. time to prove we are still exceptional. are we?
Im sure theres theres enough laid off Americans who would love to go to work making masks and goggles. We should do that.
I'm talking Gov too. and I'm not saying catastrophic failure. assuming we can pull a fast recovery, like a boss.