A bunch of middle class Ivory Tower Academics weened on the public teat & inoculated in plush self-isolation, demand we go back to work in the teeth of a pandemic which viciously impacts the working classes worst?
Why how delightful…
Coronavirus: Lockdown rules should be relaxed, health experts say
A group of public health experts has broken ranks on the Government’s lockdown strategy, calling for a return to near-normal life in two weeks.
As the number of new coronavirus cases continue to drop, the group of academics told Stuff the Government’s lockdown plan is out of proportion with the health risks posed by the virus.
The group said that from 22 April, when the current lockdown period is due to end, New Zealand should drop to “level two” alert.
This would leave Kiwis free to return to work, most schools and universities and businesses would re-open, and leisure activities and domestic travel would resume.
Restrictions on overseas travel restrictions and gathering on more than 100 people would remain under their plan, titled “plan b”.
…Death Cult Capitalists who want us slaves back to work because their boomer privileged wealth is at risk need the veneer of academia to trick us sleepy hobbits that we should all be putting ourselves at risk to ensure they retain their tax bracket and gold card air mile perks.
The fact that this pandemic is spread by the travelling wealthy, that those wealthy have the luxury of self isolation with well stocked larders and that the health effects destroy the poor and the working classes most tends to get glossed over here.
With all due respect to the Death Cult Capitalists and their shrill threats, the service workers who have been so undervalued are the ones who put themselves at risk here, not boomer academics wrapped up in leafy burbs.
You not being able to holiday in Bali this winter does not a shared sacrifice make.
Of course we need to work out how we get the economy working again, only a fool would underplay the enormity of the economic tsunami rushing towards us, but using intellectually feeble ‘herd immunity’ nonsense as a license to allow a full blown pandemic to erupt is not a solution.
Of course the pandemic modelling predictions have been wrong. That’s because most people don’t understand exponential growth, Jacinda’s go hard go early strategy has snuffed the human oxygen out of this virus, but coming back will have to be managed with extreme caution incase the bloody thing gets lose and those modelling predictions become real!
We will need a new way of doing economics – we will need to see the State as the main employer for a period of time. We need a massive Ministry of Works, full benefits, and we will need full union membership of every essential work force to strengthen that work force to be resilient enough in an ever adapting workforce landscape.
The economy is fucked!
Jobless rate could reach 26% if lockdown extended, according to the Treasury
New projections from Treasury show that the unemployment rate can be kept under 10 per cent if the Government comes to the table with extra financial support to help the country weather the fallout of Covid-19.
Without new support measures, however, the Treasury predicts the unemployment rate in New Zealand could reach as high as 13.5 per cent if the lockdown remains at four weeks.
If the lockdown were to be extended, that figure could reach between 17.5 and 26 per cent – Treasury’s worst of seven economic scenarios.
The unemployment rate at 10 per cent would imply the number unemployed would be around 275,000 people.
Until a vaccine is ready, 12-18months away, there is no new normal, just survival.
The Death Cult Capitalists are saying the virus can’t be contained, let’s get it to kill as many and infect as many as it can so we can get herd immunity and go about our economy.
This is intellectual bullshit.
Even if we accept the math can’t be right, that asymptomatic spread and mild cases make the mortality rate 1%, that still means a death rate in the tens of millions globally and what these Death Cult Capitalists don’t acknowledged is we aren’t certain yet if you do gain complete immunity from having the virus.
These fanatics would green light the deaths of millions without even knowing for certain that we would gain herd immunity???
I mean, there’s killing for the cause of capitalism, and then there’s global genocide eh?
Fuck! These! People!
Jacinda has shown incredible courage with the lockdown, now she needs incredible imagination. The new Capitalism of the next 18 months until the vaccine requires bold visionary ideas or else the Death Cult Capitalists will throw working people and the poor under the bus of this virus faster than you can say untaxed capital gains.
It’s immoral to get the public to pay for things that are fundamentally wrong with the system that was already breaking down before the Wuhan virus. I could go on about what is wrong with the system but instead what I would like to do is joyously reject the system. I have every intention of sharing Fortress Aoteroa with everyone and jealously guarding my right to shepard the secrets through.
The government is basically using public funds to subsidise all private business. It was the individual decision to create that business but with bailout the entire population now has a share in these failing businesses? No. And the enterprises that folded a month before lockdown won’t get a cent. To keep the unemployment numbers below a certain level the government should start restructuring the entire employment sector. They have made the economy scream but instead of helping the economy over it’s trauma is instead giving the entire population ear muffs to block out the noise.
A 1.1% reduction in CPI would cause a reduction in entitlements from WINZ as well as an increase in taxes because taxes are indexed. Now to me it’s unconscionable that anyone one has the right to transfers wealth cryptically by adjusting a fundamental barometer. That would be like saying “in order to meet Wuhan virus testing requirements we have to recalibrate every test so that it reads covid-19.” One simply can’t do that in science but the neoliberal speak the response I find is very interesting. The neoliberal response is in fact not interesting because in general neoliberalism believes this is not the most terrible thing. I’m of a different opinion, no one has the right or abilities with in science that would fudge the data to meet social goals in this fashion.
I thought you were in Austrayah?
Ok, if thats the case. Lets try herd immunisation out first in Remuera, Takapuna, Tamaki Drive, St Heliers, Mission Bay, Devonport, Glendowie. You know, places like that, oh and Pauanui, Queenstown too, just for ‘trials’.
Please get over this boomer thing. It adds nothing to the debate.
Agreed Rosie Lee. I’m a boomer and I’ve never been to fucking Bali .I traveled to find work.
Ooooo,… I wish I was a middle class Ivory Tower Academic weened on the public teat & inoculated in plush self-isolation,…
Y’know… I’ve thought of joining the monastery a few times,… I’d get to enjoy peace and bloody quiet (with no idiots blaring their car boom boxes at 3am or starting up a chainsaw at 7am) , garden, pleasant chats , read the Bible and study a lot, and drink TONS of wine !!!
Bliss !
( And if they’ve got the internet, I could play computer games in my meditation hour,- not bad for an old country kid, eh? )
Lock down ?- the longer the better !
Pssst ! Just kiddin’ again, folks… the monks and nuns do a tremendous lot of good and I was just being a smart arse. I have the utmost respect for them. 🙂
I noticed in the original article that a lot of the group weren’t even health experts as claimed.
Arrh, ‘Google’ experts I guess!?
Aotearoa have done the hard yards ( bar some fools ) for ‘lockdown . what comes next has to make that count , other wise the billions spent and lively hoods lost is an even bigger kick in the guts .
coming out of ‘lockdown , government suggests level 3 which would include border restrictions , social distancing which if done well , the virus cannot spread , right ?
right .
it would also avoid going in and out of , level 4 ‘lockdown which i doubt anyone particularly want’s ..
hospital waiting lists have been pushed back even further , which is harder on everyone further down the line so there will needs , be some sort of consistency .
schemes for voluntary grocery shopping , can be made up for the elderly etc .
My job requires me to be out in the community – including more time in supermarkets (though slowly cutting this back) than I care to enjoy.
Social distancing is done by perhaps half to two thirds of customers. The rest either forget or don’t care. Some will use the two metre spacing I create between myself and another person to barge through or fill a gap.
Just this afternoon I was at a Four Square (in Hataitai). There was an orderly queue outside, 2 metre spacing. Elderly woman walk past me and through the door. Like, are we invisible?! I check my cloaking device; nope, not switched on.
I call after her,
“Um, excuse me? Line? Queue? Here?”
She replies,
“Oh just going in to check on something.”
And walks in.
Guy behind me has a wry swmile,
“Age has its privileges, I guess?”
I reply,
“Hmmm, well not if she’s visiting our planet…”
Anyway, my client and I take our turn to enter. We quickly buy what we want, and as we walk out through the door, a young couple walk in past us. No two metre distancing. No one metre distancing. Maybe a foot (in old imperial).
If we’re going to rely on people remembering to social distance, especially in shops, I think it’s little better than throwing dice.
My local NWS has a guy on the door letting people in, one at a time, presumably when he sees others leave.
Markings on the floor to show where to stand to queue at check-out.
I unthinkingly back-tracked to the first section, which I don’t think I was meant to do – someone looked at me, but not unkindly – just sort of looked, fixedly; I think there may be other floor markings to follow, but I hope not to have to go back again. I found that maintaining a reasonable space does require reasonable concentration – vastly different from my ‘normal’ shopping.
The outside queue has a security guard hovering; everyone seems to queue well, mainly looking at their phones except for one man standing reading a book.
Your a gentleman Frank.
I was lined up at the chemist and a woman walked past the line and tried to push past the chemist staff person taking names and offered hand sanitiser as people entered.
A young bloke behind me stridded forward deliberately in front of the interloper and walked backwards into her and pushed her out of the shop entrance.
Then told her in a loud angry voice without facing her, that the ignorant behaviour was totally unacceptable. The Chemist staffer told her she was trespassing and would not be allowed into the shop for an hour.
Sad scene but I hope a salutary lesson.
DO IT ONCE :DO IT RIGHT
While the economy is dead the planet is happy.
There is obviously significant pressure to ” Restart business as usual ” from right wing academics , talk back hosts like Mike Hoskings/ Duncan Garner /Du Plessy-Allen ,the National Party /Mathew Hooton and Multi National Corporations ,which is an International problem and not just restricted to NZ.Look at the Repuplicans (business comes first ) vs the Democrats (health comes first ) = same dilemma .
I know which I prefer.People lives first .
Holding the line for a fair outcome for all New Zealanders is a tough position for Jaccinda and I wish her the tenacity to sort the health outcomes first and foremost .
I heard on RNZ this morning 3 economic recovery senarios.
1.The V curve . ——–Rapid economic decline and rapid recovery .Unlikely
2.The U curve ———Rapid decline followed by a flat spell and gradual recovery.More likely .
3.The L curve ———-Rapid decline and no recovery . Less likely .
I would suggest there is a fourth option that we must avoid …
4.The neoliberal W curve ———Rapid decline ,slight recovery , reinfection through premature normalisation ,then more decline before a longer slower recovery.
If we abide by the Death Cult Capitalists insatiable urge to immediately transit to ” Normal” (because their fortunes are vapourising ),then we do risk wasting our 4 week lockdown .
If the virus ramps up again and starts moving faster than an Ozzy bush fire can we afford another 20 billion to give it another crack ?Not Really. Do it once ,do it right .
The cost of the NZ extermination experiment is 3000 million dollars a week .We simply can’t afford to fuck it up .This is based on economics not health .
If you can’t go to Briscoes for another week or two , Boo Hoo.
Our Waka’s course has been set ,let Saint Jaccinda ,with her hair blowing in the wind ,hold steady on the tiller as we head towards the mark ; this is not a time to be blown off course by the fickle ,gusty right wing winds of greed .We are miles ahead of most other boats in the world fleet , let us ,with a steely eye , hold our course,consolidate our lead and progress to win the race .
Kia Kaha crew
Onwards to safe harbour .
AY AY Captn Jaccinda !
Jacinda is fucking it all up if she bows to the bussiness pressure to open up the bussness’s without strict rules which we believew she is doing now.
The hope I had for a different economic future is now fast evaporating.
The usual suspects will win again, as they successfully convince the govt to use OUR money to maintain THEIR version of society.
4 weeks isn’t long enough for most wage slaves and salary serfs to realise the truth of their situation.
You can save a sheep from slaughter but you can’t make it think.
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