I&I Editorial
We’ve shut down major parts of our economy, ranging from stores and restaurants to concert venues and bars. Schools have closed. Transportation is at a near standstill. Now, some even want to close the stock market. The question is, why?
Of course, the answer to that is the threat of COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan Flu. It’s a nasty bug. But in truth, we don’t know how nasty it will be here.
So far, there’s little in the way of macro-data for our outbreak. Problems in Iran and Italy, where the coronavirus has wreaked havoc, have been repeatedly highlighted by the media, but they aren’t parallels for the U.S.
Iran’s health care system is, by most accounts, substandard and ramshackle, to be kind.
As for Italy, its population is far older, on average, than most other countries and thus more susceptible to the virus, which hits the elderly hardest.
As the New York Times recently noted, Italy has the oldest population in Europe. Roughly 23%, about one in four, is over 65. The average age is 47.3, compared to 38.3 in the U.S.
Moreover, the Italian health care system is less modern and less efficient than ours. As a single-payer system, it suffers from underinvestment and rationing. That means, letting people die as it is overwhelmed.
And Italy seems to have unwittingly made the situation worse, allowing thousands of Chinese workers returned to their Italian jobs in leatherworking and other industries after the Chinese holidays earlier this year.
The result, a contagion that still isn’t under control. But, again, perspective is important.
Right now, after nearly three months of the threat, the U.S. has had a total of 3,487 cases of the Wuhan virus, with 68 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That compares to 222,000 flu cases with a range of 22,000 to more than 50,000 deaths.
Yet, we’re told repeatedly that, out of “an abundance of caution,” we must shut down our economy. From New York to California, state and local governments have declared “emergencies.” So has the federal government, part of a much-broader “crisis” response.
This gives government officials, including non-elected bureaucrats, extraordinary powers over all of us. We should be alarmed.
It started with asking people to avoid gatherings of more than 250 people. Now that’s been shrunk to just 10. And we’re told restaurants, churches and other places where people usually congregate are now considered dangerous.
This should be a concern to all Americans. Yes, we need to take reasonable precautions agains the Wuhan coronavirus to minimize deaths. We’re all for being careful. And, no, we don’t believe the Wuhan coronavirus is a hoax or anything like that. But the media focus has been hysterical to the point of absurdity, encouraging government to impose the most stringent controls in modern history.
That’s bad enough, given the mainstream media’s undisguised contempt for President Donald Trump. But they’re providing cover for those who would deprive us of our rights permanently.
Dangerous precedents are being set – precedents, we fear, that will have seriously negative consequences, particularly if far-left socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders or almost-as-far-left Joe Biden win election in November.
Yes, we’re being tested. Not for coronavirus, but for our tolerance for being controlled. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party sees every problem as one that requires immediate nationalization, in some way, either by taking over major parts of the economy, taking more of Americans’ earnings, or mandating Americans’ personal behavior through the regulatory state.
And no, that’s not just an opinion. Take their word for it.
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste,” were the immortal words of Rahm Emanuel, a top adviser to President Barack Obama. “And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
That could be the motto of the Democratic Party.
After all, it was House Democratic honcho Nancy Pelosi who recently tried to push public funding for abortions into a bill to fight the coronavirus. Just imagine what her party might do to the First, Second, Fifth and 10th Amendments to the Constitution, all of which have been targeted by the Democratic Party, if given the opportunity of a “serious crisis.”
Democrats see the Constitution, the shield that guards all Americans’ rights, as an unnecessary impediment to government by those who know better than you do what to do at all times.
That should frighten Americans more than the Wuhan flu. If those in power find that all they have to do is declare a “crisis” and that will give government at all levels authority to usurp our rights and tell us what to do, we’re all in big trouble.
“Social distancing” has gone from a reasonable health action into extensive and coercive controls over individual behavior and the entire economy.
Again, we’re not saying there is no threat. But so far, the reaction has been far in excess to the response we’ve seen. We expect the number of cases to surge in coming weeks, as more tests are taken.
We also expect the cases to peak soon, as science writer, author and lawyer Michael Fumento argued in these pages on Monday. We would only hope that Americans should realize no “crisis” is big enough for them permanently to give up their most precious possession of all: Their constitutional rights.
— Written by Terry Jones
Of course we are about to lose more right, freedoms and economic security. Does anyone remember what happened after 9/11? This is going to be worse. And especially worse as our economy is about to fall apart with so few people working. All the small businesses and their employees who need traffic to keep their heads above water are already starting to sink.
I just sent a letter about this very topic to my local paper. Graham Ledger last night spoke of the samething, so it is not that we the people are not aware it is just that govt is not the ans we are. If we forget that then yes we are in big trouble especially w/o the re-election of pres Trump
You have verbalized my thoughts exactly. We cannot afford to behave like sheep over this health scare.
Very well written Mr. Jones. It captures my sentiments exactly. Unfortunately, very few seem to pick up on this, or care. We have become a nation of sheeple.
Those who would surrender their liberty for protection deserve neither.
Fine, but we don’t deserve to be carried along in the wave. Speak up, inform, lobby and if necessary imitate the antics of those who want those privileges taken away. Freedom is always one generation from extinction.
I had tickets for a concert at The Straz Center. It was cancelled until some time in April. I was told to hold onto my tickets for rescheduling. They never called me to say the show was cancelled. I had to call them instead of making an hour and a half drive to find out it was closed. I hope they really do call to let me know of the new date. Two of my Veterans groups cancelled their meetings this month. The VFW closed their doors to keep people out and safe. Funny, I went for surgery on March 5th and 12th. The hospital and doctor had no problem performing it. The nurses were all there. They don’t seem worried. I have doctor appointments and they aren’t being cancelled.
The difference with a medical emergency is that most of the power lies with the states and local governments. The feds have limit ability to shutdown anything, but, of course, we can revisit this if “marshal law” is declared.
Being facetious? Marshal Law? Martial would be more like it.
This weekend the Federal Reserve bailed out banks to the tune of $5 trillion dollars–more than any bailout in U.S. history. You did not notice? Covid19 virus keeps us distracted, then again that might be the plan. You are not noticing because you are not supposed to notice……… Behind the scenes of a dynamic Trump economy has been a financial (banking) system that has been teetering since 2008. If you knew that a building risked collapse what would you do? You would likely want a controlled demolition. We are witnessing the controlled demolition of our financial system. Covid19’s global export provides cover for a reset of our collapsing global financial system. Consider the following…. Banks have been required to have 10% cash in their vaults as a percentage of all loans issued. This past week, that changed. The cash reserve requirement is now zero. That means that If a bank has no cash, then it can just say that it is closed due to the virus instead of declare a “bank holiday” as banks did during the Great Depression. In Ohio, where I now live, banks are restricting how much cash you can get. My bank says only $3K even if you want $5k. Other banks are limiting it to 1K per day. ***The President has just said that we will each receive 2K per day as a way to help us deal with no paychecks. That 2K adds up to 1 trillion total. However, the large banks just got 5 trillion this weekend. That means that when we are all unemployed, the banks that should fail according to free market principles, can stay in business. But, they can also use the 5 trillion to buy up bankrupt competitors and other assets. Then they can turn around and sell all these assets for pennies on the dollars to their buddies later. That IS exactly what happened to Greece in 2008 when Greece defaulted. Greek islands, national parks, hospitals, and airports were all passed onto banks who then sold them to well connected banker friends. Now, the entire Western world is on the precipice of default. We are all up to our eyeballs in debt. How do you cover for a global financial default? You provide a pretext call Covid19. The virus is real. However, it is being over played so that we can have martial law to contain the population’s wrath, hunger, and frustration. The Chinese might be right. Did our military plant the virus on Chinese soil for global export? Maybe. I hope not. But, our financial elite have an incentive to hire mercenaries to do just that. On the other hand, President Trump’s 2K per person check; is the beginning of a debt jubilee. So, it is very possible that God has used the evils of men— God also tells people to not eat bats and snakes—-to bring on a global debt jubilee. It IS the only way out. Learn more here: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/if-contrived-political-hysteria-what-objective?fbclid=IwAR0fVXnZdM_8mr4t5TnczTbzg2h-dwqCwcaFpdTR4iBl39-x9jB8Ml_5Rok
[Thanks Woody Guthrie]