My apartment purchase settled yesterday, so I'm officially a home-owner. This weekend will be the last of my packing, or as close as possible before the move on Wednesday.
There's a very good sci fi book series (Ancillary Justice by Ann Leike), which contains a culture with no concept of social gender. They use "citizen" as a greeting. It makes me want to use it IRL.
It's a shame when business like that fold, thanks for sharing Kristin.
As to how this could be prevented, economists are still figuring out the economic effects of all this, but here's a few things we've learned so far:
1) Based on Sweden's experience, only about 8% of the economic effects of the pandemic are lockdown-related. The rest is driven by people's reluctance to go out in a pandemic. That means it's unlikely that Timber Creek Buffet would have survived even if there had been no lockdowns at all - the only way to get the economy to recover is to control COVID.
2) The best way to control COVID is to already have an extensive testing and contact-tracing set-up that allows infected people to be quickly identified so they can isolate. This lets people continue their regular lives in safety. Unfortunately this requires a lot of capacity to be set up in advance - the only countries that have managed this are the ones that had extensive experience with SARS and MERS, like Taiwan, Vietnam and South Korea.
3) The second-best way is a sharp lockdown until all the community cases are resolved, and then slowly open things back up with a carefully controlled border, and expanded testing and tracing capacity. That way any new cases can be isolated without locking down the whole country. This is how New Zealand beat COVID, and now all out non-tourist business can operate normally, people aren't afraid to go out because there's no risk.
The only way to save the economy is to stop COVID, abandoning restrictions won't help.
This isn't simply about policy though. The Republicans didn't make Newsom organise a large dinner in the middle of a pandemic. If a country's leadership creates the sense that the laws or rules only apply to ordinary people, you can't be surprised when people come to see government as a racket.
I'd be keen to hear your perspective but my impression is that the US government isn't trusted because it doesn't act in ways to create and preserve trust.
A big part of why our lockdowns worked is that the rules were evenly applied. When the Minister of Health drove to go on a bike ride instead of staying local like he was supposed to Adern gave him a public dressing down and replaced him as Minister of Health as soon as the immediate crisis had ended.
For government policy to work properly people have to trust their government, and that means government needs to act in a trustworthy way.
The incentive problem is a problem with socialism, but not the biggest problem.
The biggest problem is the calculation problem. A socialist economy becomes like a potluck where everyone brings side dishes. This is a problem you can solve at the size of a community potluck, but there is no known mechanism besides prices for handling this at the size of a country's economy.
On “Weekend Plans Post: It’s Out”
My move went well and I'm now installed in my new apartment. My weekend will consist of some unpacking and Session 0 of a Pathfinder campaign.
On “Mini-Throughput: The Reality of a Vaccine”
I strongly agree, I can't wait to get it myself.
On “The Political Cyberpunk 2077 Thread”
And of course, Reagan's tax cuts. There's a massive spike in incomes in the US when those tax cuts come in as fringe benefits suddenly got monetised.
On “From Westword: House of Representatives Approves Marijuana Legalization”
I find it hilarious that you think that breaking a treaty would dissuade the US government from doing anything.
On “Weekend Plans Post: The Last Normal Weekend For A While”
I don't follow.
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In fairness, by "last minute" I mean the night before the move. The only thing I intend to do on moving day is strip and disassemble my bed.
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Thanks.
This weekend is mostly working out what I can pack now vs what has to wait until the last minute.
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My apartment purchase settled yesterday, so I'm officially a home-owner. This weekend will be the last of my packing, or as close as possible before the move on Wednesday.
On “The President of the United States Shares Thoughts…”
Yes, at this point the few Republicans with a functioning sense of decency need to leave a form a new conservative party.
On “Yet Another Bill”
I imagine it's not literally glass.
On “Scott Adams and Me”
Yeah, Adams has always been a weirdo / edgy contrarian. His full-throated Trumpism is just a more extreme example of a long-running pattern of his.
On “Guys, Guys: Inclusive Language Is Important, But Let’s Not Warp A Word’s Meaning”
There's a very good sci fi book series (Ancillary Justice by Ann Leike), which contains a culture with no concept of social gender. They use "citizen" as a greeting. It makes me want to use it IRL.
On “Requiem For a Heavy Meal”
It's a shame when business like that fold, thanks for sharing Kristin.
As to how this could be prevented, economists are still figuring out the economic effects of all this, but here's a few things we've learned so far:
1) Based on Sweden's experience, only about 8% of the economic effects of the pandemic are lockdown-related. The rest is driven by people's reluctance to go out in a pandemic. That means it's unlikely that Timber Creek Buffet would have survived even if there had been no lockdowns at all - the only way to get the economy to recover is to control COVID.
2) The best way to control COVID is to already have an extensive testing and contact-tracing set-up that allows infected people to be quickly identified so they can isolate. This lets people continue their regular lives in safety. Unfortunately this requires a lot of capacity to be set up in advance - the only countries that have managed this are the ones that had extensive experience with SARS and MERS, like Taiwan, Vietnam and South Korea.
3) The second-best way is a sharp lockdown until all the community cases are resolved, and then slowly open things back up with a carefully controlled border, and expanded testing and tracing capacity. That way any new cases can be isolated without locking down the whole country. This is how New Zealand beat COVID, and now all out non-tourist business can operate normally, people aren't afraid to go out because there's no risk.
The only way to save the economy is to stop COVID, abandoning restrictions won't help.
On “Wednesday Writs Pie Edition”
However long it was, it was worth it.
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That would also be a good idea.
On “President Trump Pardons Michael Flynn”
Like so many things with Trump, this is as awful as it is predictable.
On “A Mostly Peaceful Transition of Power”
He has the desire to be a tyrant, but not the work ethic.
On “Turkeys of the Year and Golden Drumsticks For 2020”
This isn't simply about policy though. The Republicans didn't make Newsom organise a large dinner in the middle of a pandemic. If a country's leadership creates the sense that the laws or rules only apply to ordinary people, you can't be surprised when people come to see government as a racket.
"
I'd be keen to hear your perspective but my impression is that the US government isn't trusted because it doesn't act in ways to create and preserve trust.
"
A big part of why our lockdowns worked is that the rules were evenly applied. When the Minister of Health drove to go on a bike ride instead of staying local like he was supposed to Adern gave him a public dressing down and replaced him as Minister of Health as soon as the immediate crisis had ended.
For government policy to work properly people have to trust their government, and that means government needs to act in a trustworthy way.
On “Weekend Plans Post: Work From Home”
My condolences for your loss.
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The company that made my gaming table went out of business, so I'm afraid that's a non-starter.
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My weekend will be consumed by packing, with side-order of buying packing materials.
On “Harsh Your Mellow Monday: Post-election Intramurals Edition”
The incentive problem is a problem with socialism, but not the biggest problem.
The biggest problem is the calculation problem. A socialist economy becomes like a potluck where everyone brings side dishes. This is a problem you can solve at the size of a community potluck, but there is no known mechanism besides prices for handling this at the size of a country's economy.
On “Like It Or Not, Remote Learning Is Coming Back”
That's a pretty common cycle in policy making honesty.
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