Facts and Issues of the Economic Lockdown Due to the Pandemic

We are now almost one year from the dark days when the coronavirus first hit these shores. Why are the politicians making the same policy mistakes today that they made nine months ago? The 400,000+ deaths are an act of nature, but the virus’s death and despair have been compounded by acts of man. I know we all have our own viewpoints about this subject but I think there is a consensus that the entire lockdown situation could have been handled better. Some states seemed to be more successful than others which proves it could be done.

Haven’t we learned anything about how to combat this virus without slamming shut our economy? Yes. And so, in the hopes that these errors of government are corrected, I present some well-established truths about how to keep us safe from the virus. These are very short and to the point facts about what has happened during this past year.

No. 1:Yes, COVID-19 is a very dangerous disease for those over the age of 70 and for those who are severely overweight or with pre-existing health issues. For young and healthy people, the risks remain minuscule.

No. 2: Lockdowns have had very limited efficacy in reducing death rates from the virus. It was recently examined the correlation between the stringency of business lockdowns in states and their corresponding death rates. The relationship is slightly positive. In other words, strict lockdowns have not been a smart strategy to stop the spread of the disease. Sequestering the elderly and the infirm is a much more effective strategy — something New York, New Jersey and Michigan failed to do.

No. 3: The factor most associated with death rates from the virus is the population density of an area. Pandemics are primarily urban diseases. If you want to minimize your health risks, get out of the big cities like Chicago or New York. This of course would be very difficult to actual put in place but it is a reality.

No. 4: The only statistically significant impact of lockdowns is severe and potentially long-term damage to the local and state businesses and workers. Another way to put this is lockdowns do not flatten the curve of the virus, but they do flatten the economy and put millions of Americans in long unemployment lines. I think by now most Americans and others throughout the world believe this statement is true. It appears we have not followed the science regarding the lockdown.

No. 5: Almost all of the severe lockdowns are in blue states with Democratic governors, and these are the states with very high unemployment rates. Here are the unemployment rates in blue states with severe lockdowns: New Jersey 10%, Nevada 10.1%, New York 8.4%, Connecticut 8.4%, and California 8.2%. These blue-state unemployment rates are almost twice as high as the rates in states that have minimal or no lockdowns: Nebraska 3.1%, South Dakota 3.5%, Iowa 3.6%, Utah 4.3%, and Alabama 4.4%.

No. 6: The blue states of America, led by Democratic governors and mayors, have tragically turned a health crisis into an economic crisis.

My New Year’s wish is that Democratic governors stop the misery of soup lines and unemployment lines and small-business bankruptcies and open up their stores, restaurants, shopping centers and schools — now. Maybe all the current stimulus talks could be curtailed to only the people and businesses that actually suffered losses. People that have been working and receiving income should not receive any stimulus. Open up the economy is the best solution for all of us.

What do you think?