A few questions come to my mind about this pandemic. I can't write about all of them in one or two blogs. So I invite anyone who has thoughts or questions about any of them to write in and continue the discussion on any or all of them.
Saw some people going to protests in various states openly carrying guns, high power rifles and automatic weapons. So I ask, are they trying to kill the virus with AK-47s? Do the other protesters feel safe next to these people with the guns? Are the police arresting them, talking to them or even monitoring them? What would happen if these gun-toting people are black or Arab?
The government has spent 3 trillion dollars to stimulate the economy. More will likely be needed. Where did all these money came from? We have an annual deficit of about 3,8 trillion which is about 18% of the economy. So do we have 6.8 trillion deficit this year at least? If Medicare for all is supposed to cost 3 trillion a year, why can't we fund that if we are funding the stimulus with more than that much this year? Can we just print money? If so, why can't other countries do the same when they are in trouble?
There are news out of China that Africans are being discriminated against such as being forcibly quarantined, kicked out of their rented apartments, not allowed to go into certain hotels, restaurants, and stores. Are Chinese racists? Do they discriminate against foreigners?
The flu can kill up to 70,000 people in our country in a year. Covid-19 will pass that for sure, but is it so much more dangerous than the flu? After all, we have not shut down the country over the flu even during the worst years, why do we have to shut down the country this time?
When will we have major sports again? What sports would be more safe to play soon? Are there going to be fans in the stands when play resumes?
Are we going to recognize the "essential workers" who are on the lower end of the pay scale but have to work to keep the country going? The janitors, garbage collectors, the grocery workers, fast food workers, meat processing worker etc. They don't get paid much but they cannot work at home and are at risk every time they go to work. Are we going to raise the minimum wage after this?
So if you have interest in any of these questions, please start the discussion and I will give my thoughts on it.
Sunday, May 03, 2020
5 comments:
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The only thing I want to comment on is the sports thing. There are already rumors that baseball will start up at some point. I would assume it'll be a shortened season and maybe they will play some or most of the games in one place with no crowds.
ReplyDeleteI expect college football to maybe start a later as well. It'll depend on if the schools have on-campus classes. I can see them getting rid of the non conference games or I'd like to see them start the season in April after the Final Four.
NBA will resume too this summer, I think. Maybe they will play in Vegas or something. This looked like it could be the Lakers and Dodgers years too, so LA fans better hope that the seasons start/resume.
The question about essential workers reminds me of how the market somehow doesn't pay teachers or our military enough. It's an interesting view on how society works. I was against hiking the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but the people who kept us fed really earned it. But when things go back to normal, will we see them as essential then?
-LBOAYM
I think baseball can be played in Arizona and Florida. There are 15 teams using each of these two states for spring training, so just sent the teams there to play. Two 15 team divisions playing each other 2 times for a total of 98 games. Start practice in June, start games in July and finish at end of October. Use November for playoffs. The fifth and fourth team in each division play one game. Then semi-finals, 2 out 3. Finals 3 out of 5. World Series at Dodger stadium. If Dodgers are in it, move to Angels stadium.
ReplyDeleteNBA and NHL should just go right to the playoffs at 2-4 sites. I don't think players like Steph Curry would want to risk further injury by playing meaningless regular season games. The teams in contention can get ready in 3 weeks. So start practice in June.
Football is too far ahead to discuss at this point. If things are good, they maybe able to keep regular schedules with less fans and masks mandatory. But if there is a second wave in the fall, things can fall apart quickly.
I don't see why they can't play tennis and golf. Other than grand slam finals, stands are mostly empty for tennis anyway. There is no contact between players, just seat them farther apart. Line judges and ball boys can wear masks and gloves. Golf should be easier as the venue is huge and players and caddies are away from each other when they hit anyway.
Now everybody appreciate the lower wage workers who have to be around people. But I doubt there will be minimum wage increase after this, at least not significant amount. Even now, Trump and others are more worried about the meat processing plants opening up despite the safety of the workers. Just as we like our products from China because it is cheap, we want the prices we paid for services in this country be cheap also.
correction on baseball: The teams in each division will have 14 opponents so they will play each other 7 times for a total of 98 games, not 2 times as stated in the comments. Each team will have a day off on average of every 8th day.
ReplyDeleteSo these games being played in two cities also hurts the cities where they are not played. I think that cities like Boston that have draw a lot of people and without huge TV contracts like the Dodgers and Yankees would be hurt from no ticket sales and spending in the city. It'll be interesting to see if we will see an opening of stadiums this summer and fall.
ReplyDeleteHaving the NBA and NHL start up for playoffs seems like a sensible idea, but no fans, right? At least we'd be able to watch the games on TV.
I don't know if there would be any harm to have the college football season start after March. There is time to finish the season and we'd be better off safety-wise. As far as the NFL goes, that's more difficult, since the season is longer and you'd have to move the Super Bowl to some other time.
You had asked about protesters carrying guns. I really didn't want to get into it. I really don't understand why these people have this need to show off their guns. I am not anti-gun like you are, but I would not want to draw attention to it either. Is this like showing you have a big penis? Are you making up for something? I wonder if any of these people were ever in the military too. Hey, if you want to bring your gun to a gun rally, that makes more sense. But to show up at this protest and to try to enter the building without masks, seems over the top to me. Also, I question what would have happened if black people carried guns at the capitol if they would be arrested. What would happen if these gun carrying "patriots" were met with gun toting members of Black Lives Matter?
I read this opinion piece from Tom Ridge. I thought it was OK. I did like his quote on asking if these guys were going to "shoot the virus".
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/29/coronavirus-stay-at-home-protests-dishonor-veterans-column/3038871001/?fbclid=IwAR2CR8V8eYgsnFnn4kAnh7bsOTGusJsIzN3i6rhED67KuzJPCMFwLyxJUSM
-LBOAYM
There will be big losses no matter what you do. Even if they get around 100 games in, MLB will lose a lot of money even if they play in their own stadiums. There is no chance that they can open up the stadiums in the summer, in my opinion. If you start in September, you will have to finish in January and then spring training in 2021 is right around the corner. There will be a slight improvement per game revenue on tv since the ratings will be a lot higher than normal. The NFL draft broke the record and people are starving to watch live games. The revenue will have to split between all the teams. I don't see any other way at this time.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, football situation can wait to decide. College football can be in spring theoretically but how many good players will opt not to play since the NFL draft is in April and team start practice in May? So you will see stars skip the season anyway so not to get hurt. Then if you finish the bowl games in August, are you going to start in September the next season? So I think they will try to play in the fall, if possible. But of course, recruiting is also messed up because we don't know about the high school season. It is a domino effect, so I don't want to guess now.
Tom Ridge was quite good and aggressive against the protesters. Wonder if he has guns at the ready in case some nut shows up at his door! I did not give him credit for that shooting the virus quote since I had thought of it myself before I saw his interview. I had thought that I was clever thinking of the light at the end of the tunnel turning out to be a train remark. But since thinking of that many years ago, I have seen it quoted about a hundred times. So I guess think shoot the virus will be said many more times.