The world is back to business

[Lafayette]

FORGET THE LEARNING AND A REPEAT OF THE COVID-CONSEQUENCES IS WAITING

From the Economist here: The world is almost back to pre-covid activity levels

Excerpt: "The Economist normalcy index*, pre-pandemic level=100" here for the naked eye because it is not transferable from the net.

As the graphic shows, it's been a "long-way-back" to pre-Covid levels - two full years at the end of 2022. The graphic is good news given its clear evidence that world economic recovery is back to the beginning of 2020. But, who ever thought it would take two-years to recover? What happened with this last Economic Convulsion was not just its deadliness but the fact that we-the-sheeple were totally incompetant from the get-go to obtain a workable solution to a World Epidemic.

This was the first time in a long, long time that a deadly pandemic became multinational in nature. And, we should know that it can happen again.

Which is an important unforgettable lesson for us. It took Covid to start the economic-downturn because the world was totally unprepared to respond with a quickly effective cure. It took two-years to do so.

That lesson we should not forget easily because what has been economically proven once is always repeatable - it just take the right components-and-consequences to trigger the economic destruction ...

 

[Ginger Ale]

I want to thank all of those who adhered to the Covid protection protocols and saved lives. It was hard but you did what you had to do for our country and the world.

Much appreciated!!

 

[aociswundumho]

The economic downturn was caused entirely by idiotic governments forcibly shutting down private businesses, not by covid.

 

[Felis Leo]

FORGET THE LEARNING AND A REPEAT OF THE COVID-CONSEQUENCES IS WAITING

From the Economist here: The world is almost back to pre-covid activity levels

Excerpt: "The Economist normalcy index*, pre-pandemic level=100" here for the naked eye because it is not transferable from the net.

As the graphic shows, it's been a "long-way-back" to pre-Covid levels - two full years at the end of 2022. The graphic is good news given its clear evidence that world economic recovery is back to the beginning of 2020. But, who ever thought it would take two-years to recover? What happened with this last Economic Convulsion was not just its deadliness but the fact that we-the-sheeple were totally incompetant from the get-go to obtain a workable solution to a World Epidemic.

This was the first time in a long, long time that a deadly pandemic became multinational in nature. And, we should know that it can happen again.

Which is an important unforgettable lesson for us. It took Covid to start the economic-downturn because the world was totally unprepared to respond with a quickly effective cure. It took two-years to do so.

That lesson we should not forget easily because what has been economically proven once is always repeatable - it just take the right components-and-consequences to trigger the economic destruction ...

Except for the fact that China is going through flickering strobe shutdowns of their major cities, and we are on the cusp of a global famine in the developing world and a fuel crisis in most of the developed world due to Russia invading Ukraine...yeah. I suppose. We are almost back to pre-COVID levels, Lafayette.

 

[eohrnberger]

FORGET THE LEARNING AND A REPEAT OF THE COVID-CONSEQUENCES IS WAITING

From the Economist here: The world is almost back to pre-covid activity levels

Excerpt: "The Economist normalcy index*, pre-pandemic level=100" here for the naked eye because it is not transferable from the net.

As the graphic shows, it's been a "long-way-back" to pre-Covid levels - two full years at the end of 2022. The graphic is good news given its clear evidence that world economic recovery is back to the beginning of 2020. But, who ever thought it would take two-years to recover? What happened with this last Economic Convulsion was not just its deadliness but the fact that we-the-sheeple were totally incompetant from the get-go to obtain a workable solution to a World Epidemic.

This was the first time in a long, long time that a deadly pandemic became multinational in nature. And, we should know that it can happen again.

Which is an important unforgettable lesson for us. It took Covid to start the economic-downturn because the world was totally unprepared to respond with a quickly effective cure. It took two-years to do so.

That lesson we should not forget easily because what has been economically proven once is always repeatable - it just take the right components-and-consequences to trigger the economic destruction ...

That may very well be, but there's still allot of fallout, blowback, and impacts which still need to be reckoned with.

 

[Mycroft]

FORGET THE LEARNING AND A REPEAT OF THE COVID-CONSEQUENCES IS WAITING

From the Economist here: The world is almost back to pre-covid activity levels

Excerpt: "The Economist normalcy index*, pre-pandemic level=100" here for the naked eye because it is not transferable from the net.

As the graphic shows, it's been a "long-way-back" to pre-Covid levels - two full years at the end of 2022. The graphic is good news given its clear evidence that world economic recovery is back to the beginning of 2020. But, who ever thought it would take two-years to recover? What happened with this last Economic Convulsion was not just its deadliness but the fact that we-the-sheeple were totally incompetant from the get-go to obtain a workable solution to a World Epidemic.

This was the first time in a long, long time that a deadly pandemic became multinational in nature. And, we should know that it can happen again.

Which is an important unforgettable lesson for us. It took Covid to start the economic-downturn because the world was totally unprepared to respond with a quickly effective cure. It took two-years to do so.

That lesson we should not forget easily because what has been economically proven once is always repeatable - it just take the right components-and-consequences to trigger the economic destruction ...

Just think of where we'd be if we didn't have more than a year and a half of Biden's pukes and the Globalists doing their best to screw things up.

 

[Gateman_Wen]

Just think of where we'd be if we didn't have more than a year and a half of Biden's pukes and the Globalists doing their best to screw things up.

Hospitals overflowing, morgues choked, streets empty, markets crashed, and "pharma-bros" in charge of the vaccine rollout, which we'd still be waiting on.

 

[bongsaway]

Except for the fact that China is going through flickering strobe shutdowns of their major cities, and we are on the cusp of a global famine in the developing world and a fuel crisis in most of the developed world due to Russia invading Ukraine...yeah. I suppose. We are almost back to pre-COVID levels, Lafayette.

And what exactly do you have in mind to reverse these things or are you just carrying on the tradition of doom and gloom if this and that happens? How long have the dems been endangering america with their dreaded socialism, forty, fifty years? One of these decades.

Instead of pointing your finger at problems that you perceive to be a danger to america, vote some folks into office who mirror your concerns.

 

[yankintx]

The economic downturn was caused entirely by idiotic governments forcibly shutting down private businesses, not by covid.

The shutdowns where mandated to prevent Healthcare facilities from being overrun and overburdened.

Why so many wanted to turn a public healthcare issue political, well they had their selfish reasons.

 

[Lafayette]

COVID A POPULATION KILLER

The economic downturn was caused entirely by idiotic governments forcibly shutting down private businesses, not by covid.

That remark is kinda-sorta stoopid given that what was killing people was called an "epidemic" caused by Covid. Which means this: a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.

The "community" was pretty much of the populated earth!

Governments shutting down private-business was the smartest thing that ALL the governments new was essential to stopping the epidemic widely spread by humans mingling with one another.

The epidemic did cause the economic-downturn but there was no way to avoid the fact that people mingling with one another had to stop.

There was no way otherwise to arrest a highly contagious disease - the World Health Organization estimates that the total world confirmed death-rate was around 3 million individuals. (Source here.)

The total world population is estimated at 7.7-Billion people so the total loss is actually minimal compared to total-population on earth ...

 

[aociswundumho]

Governments shutting down private-business was the smartest thing that ALL the governments new was essential to stopping the epidemic widely spread by humans mingling with one another.

No, it was completely idiotic, and they had no problem letting businesses owned by giant corporations stay open. Gee I wonder why.

 

[Helix]

Since some need to be reminded of this as they seek to rewrite history, first the militantly maskless and then the anti-vax woo woos had a big part in making the pandemic worse. I know that faux likes to blame it on everything but those factors, but that's how it went down.

 

[Fearandloathing]

I want to thank all of those who adhered to the Covid protection protocols and saved lives. It was hard but you did what you had to do for our country and the world.

Much appreciated!!

Thank you.

As an aside I was attacked for wearing a mask and kicked to the ground by some Canadian mini MAGAs.

I never trust anyone who uses words like "freedom" or "patriot" in a political discussion, especially in Canada. They hide their mental issues and paranoia behind bluster and bullshit.

Anyone who attacks a man in his 70's walking with a cane doesn't deserve freedom. They deserve a ****ing cell and a good whipping.

If you can't make a point without violence, then you don't deserve freedom.

 

[Mycroft]

Hospitals overflowing, morgues choked, streets empty, markets crashed, and "pharma-bros" in charge of the vaccine rollout, which we'd still be waiting on.

That was just phase one by the Dems and Globalists.

 

[Gateman_Wen]

That was just phase one by the Dems and Globalists.

I think you're confused. Neither Democrats nor your mythical boogiemen were in charge at the time.

 

[Gateman_Wen]

No, it was completely idiotic, and they had no problem letting businesses owned by giant corporations stay open. Gee I wonder why.

Because republicans, that's why.

 

[Lafayette]

NOT ONE!

No, it was completely idiotic, and they had no problem letting businesses owned by giant corporations stay open. Gee I wonder why.

Because no law existed that stipulated that government had the right to close large companies by "fiat" (or command). That right would have had to come from parliaments. Or perhaps courts that interpret laws. Neither alternative was an option so companies simply remained open because no law existed for that situation that might close them. And, today, they are "open" to attack for Crass Misjudgement in a clearly dangerous circumstance of threat-of-life!

Methinks. I'd like a legal-opinion about that argument! When there is a "threat of life" in a country (as Covid was), typically it is the elected political leadership that has the responsibility to "defend the country". But what nation's lawmakers publicly voted to shut down large-sized companies that did not do so, the consequence of which was to require its staff to mingle with others on-the-job who were afflicted with Covid.

From the Wall Street Journal here:

The economic toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has been tough to measure, but new estimates from the Federal Reserve suggest it wasn’t as bad as feared for smaller businesses.

The pandemic resulted in the permanent closure of roughly 200,000 U.S. establishments above historical levels during the first year of the viral outbreak, according to a study released Thursday by economists at the Fed. In recent years, about 600,000 establishments have permanently closed per year, or about 8.5%, according to the study.

Individual companies account for about two-thirds—or roughly 130,000—of the extra closures if historical patterns hold, according to the Fed economists, who examined businesses with employees. Other closed establishments are units of major companies—say, a Gap or Pizza Hut—that closed some locations while remaining in businesses.
Barber shops, nail salons and other providers of personal services appear to be hardest hit, according to the Fed study, accounting for more than 100,000 establishment closures beyond historically normal levels between March 2020 and February 2021.

The larger corporations therefore wholly failed to avoid the threat of Covid invading its staffs. Their managements collectively failed to take the initiative (of closing down) in the face of what was a national plague killing people ...

 

[Ginger Ale]

Thank you.

As an aside I was attacked for wearing a mask and kicked to the ground by some Canadian mini MAGAs.

I never trust anyone who uses words like "freedom" or "patriot" in a political discussion, especially in Canada. They hide their mental issues and paranoia behind bluster and bullshit.

Anyone who attacks a man in his 70's walking with a cane doesn't deserve freedom. They deserve a ****ing cell and a good whipping.

If you can't make a point without violence, then you don't deserve freedom.

Wow, that sucks!! I had a few run ins with loud mouth Karen's so I feel your pain.

All in all, we can thank ourselves for saving a few lives and living up to the call of duty!

 

[Fearandloathing]

Wow, that sucks!! I had a few run ins with loud mouth Karen's so I feel your pain.

All in all, we can thank ourselves for saving a few lives and living up to the call of duty!

For some reason that woman annoys me instantly.

But then, I am a 60's era hippy living in Lotus Land of Vancouver and she's, well angry Alertan personified.

 

[Lafayette]

LIFESPAN DAMAGES

No, it was completely idiotic, and they had no problem letting businesses owned by giant corporations stay open. Gee I wonder why.

I think that there is a very different use of authority between the US and Europe.

In Europe, most companies were forced by governments to close during the epidemic. It was assumed that Covid was an emergency and so dictated that companies closed. And in Europe we are still feeling the economic-damages provided by Covid.

The result was this: Are COVID fatalities in the US higher than in the EU, and if so, why?

Excerpt:

The COVID crisis has severely hit both the United States and Europe. We construct comparable measures of the death toll of the COVID crisis suffered by US states and 35 European countries: cumulative fatalities attributed to COVID at 100 days since the pandemic’s onset in a particular nation/state. When taking account of demographic, economic, and political factors (but not health-policy related factors) we find that, controlling for population size, cumulative deaths are between 100 and 130% higher in a US state than in a European country. We no longer find a US/EUROPE gap in fatalities from COVID after taking account of how each nation/state implemented social distance measures. This suggests that various types of social distance measures such as school closings and lockdowns, and how soon they were implemented, help explain the US/EUROPE gap in cumulative deaths measured 100 days after the pandemic’s onset in a state or country.

If there is a "next-time", I am sure Uncle Sam will get off his fat-ass a lot sooner and take the pertinent measures to stop lifespan damages! Some people have to learn the hard way ...

PS: Well worth a read regarding the comparative impact of Covid in the US and beyond: COVID-19'S HISTORIC ECONOMIC IMPACT, IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD

 

[Lafayette]

NO MORE OUTRAGEOUS UPPER-INCOME TAX-FREEBIES

Because republicans, that's why.

It is difficult for me to understand - from afar since I live in Europe - how Americans cannot see the manner in which BigMoney is employed to maintain and enhance their riches. This all started with JFK - though it should not have. But JFK wanted to reimburse his father for the money-gathering he'd with "friends" to support his son's presidential bid.

What happened afterwards was that the Replicants repeatedly won presidential elections - and everytime they did, well, they reduced upper income taxation. That history looks like this:

What's the swiftest rate to get-rich-quickly in America? Lower upper-income taxation. So you can't do as Europe does, which is to have almost-free National Healthcare and very low-cost Post-secondary university diplomas - BUT MUCH HIGHER TAXATION LEVELS!

Wakey, wakey, Uncle Sam. You-plural are paying taxes that take the place of all those top-level taxation levels that have no-longer existed for 60-years! Since Kennedy won the presidency and wanted to show-thanks to his father for his election-funding so he lowered upper-income taxation, which is the first "step-down" in taxation that began in the 1960s. (Which some say came from funny-money that Kennedy's father obtained from "friends" in Chicago's mafia.)

Fair enough - lower taxation rates are really quite low. But ask any down-and-out impoverished American and he might not agree on the word "lower" because neither is their income very high below an annual income of $20K it's 10%. That ain't "low" at $20K income where "low" is more like 5%! (After all, they pay the same price for a beer at the supermarket as do the upper-class!)

Given the mountains of money the America's super-rich are making, taxation should be returned (at the upper-income levels) to where they once were at 90%. Let the super-rich work for a damn-fine salary, but no more "outrageous tax-freebies".

My Point? Upper-income taxation must be made much higher with two objectives - tax the rich for their exorbitant incomes. They just stock the wildly exagerated incomes and by means of inheirtance it ends up in the bank accounts of their kids. Who performed diddly-shat to earn it ...

 

[Lafayette]

The economic downturn was caused entirely by idiotic governments forcibly shutting down private businesses, not by covid.

What abject stoopidity? You would have prefered that companies kept people in their offices so they could contract Covid (and thus die thereby lowering the booming populationj)? But Covid was goodness because it expanded the need for hospital-beds and staff? (Oh wow!)

If you think Covid is goodness because it serves the needs for hospitals and staffs and thus stimulates revenues you are sadly mistaken.

The fact that Covid is contracted from other persons (and therefore requires self-isolation from them) seems to have escaped you ... !

 

[Kushinator]

Just think of where we'd be if we didn't have more than a year and a half of Biden...

That would be stagflation. Elevated unemployment and inflation.

 

[Mycroft]

That would be stagflation. Elevated unemployment and inflation.

Wrong.

Without Biden we'd have no inflation and the US economy would be firing on all cylinders.

 

[Kushinator]

Wrong.

I am absolutely correct.

Without Biden we'd have no inflation and the US economy would be firing on all cylinders.

Wrong. There were going to be supply chain issues regardless, and the U.S. economy is growing considerably faster than it has in more than 30 years (which is contributing to some inflationary pressure):

However, had the GOP stuck to their ideology and cut government spending, the U.S. would face heavily elevated unemployment to go along with elevated price levels. Your post is based on partisan fantasy and ignorance of political economy.