Phase Four of the Virus War Coming
Phase four of the virus war could include another 2 trillion to bail out states and build infrastructure.
Virus War
But John Kass thinks that’s not what people want or need right now:
Nobody in politics has been laid off.
And what of the small-business owner who doesn’t build roads? She risked everything to open her business. She went into debt. But there are no customers now, and the landlord wants the rent and the taxman is always waiting.
She doesn’t see herself as someone who Just Wants People to Die.She wants to work. She wants to live.
-John Kass, Chicago Tribune
Dismal Science of Ending the Shutdown
It’s a dismal science for the governors of Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina as they re-open their states for business. And public health officials aren’t excited about the prospect. Here’s Dr. Fauci:
“We are scientists, physicians, public health officials. We’re not economists,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.” “We’re sensitive to the idea that the economy could suffer, but it was patently obvious looking at the data, that at the end of the day if we try to push back prematurely, not only would we lose lives, but it probably would even hurt the economy.”
Kevin Liptack, CNN
Dismal Science
So, how much is a life worth? Economists have a plan for that:
Economists use the Value of Statistical Life. It measures the value placed on changes that increase likelihood of death, not the value on a human life to avoid death. “It’s used in court cases when assigning damages,” Camerer said. I could make a highway a little safer at a very high cost. This is one reason economics is called the dismal science.
Quentin Fottrell, MarketWatch
Oil Has a Negative Attitude
Now even oil has a negative attitude. The price of West Texas Crude went negative yesterday. Nobody wants to buy the stuff. So producers were theoretically willing to pay you $37.63 at one point to take a barrel off their hands.
That was the price on a May contract which expires today. So if you have a tanker parked somewhere, now’s the time. The price on June contracts and later should move back up to positive territory.
Pippa Stevens at CNBC explains why.
Meanwhile, negative interest rates could be on the way to a bank near you. Thanks to negative rates in Europe and Japan, savers pay institutions there to store their money for them.
And, if you’re feeling nostalgic, here’s a cartoon in memory of high gas prices.
World Health Organization and China Relationship
The World Health Organization and China seem to have an unhealthy relationship.
That is to say, it’s sort of like a pirate to parrot relationship. China speaks and the WHO repeats:
The most notorious example came in the form of a single tweet from the WHO account on January 14: “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus.” That same day, the Wuhan Health Commission’s public bulletindeclared, “We have not found proof for human-to-human transmission.”
Kathy Gilsinan, The Atlantic
World Health Organization and China
President Trump also has “kissing up” issues with China. For instance, on Jan 24 he had this to say:
“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
Politico
Still he did restrict travel from China 5 days later – with the usual Trumpian embellishment that he did it over the objection of experts. After all, it’s not like he’s putting his name on stimulus checks. Oh wait, he is.
Anyway, last week he suspended U.S. funding for the WHO.
Not Just Hair Sniffing for Joe Biden Anymore
It’s not just hair sniffing anymore. Tara Reade, a former Joe Biden senate staffer, has accused Biden of sexual assault. Uh oh! As President Obama’s point man reforming campus “rape culture” Biden helped gut due process rights for those accused of sexual assault.
Biden’s rhetoric has also employed a de facto presumption of guilt. On a 2017 conference call with campus accusers’-rights activists, Biden offered a simple message to those who alleged that they had been sexually assaulted: “I believe you.”
KC Johnson, City Journal
And during Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing Joe had this to say:
For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real
Robby Soave, Reason
