The View from Right Field

Why Wasn’t Texas Ready for the Cold? Why Weren’t We Ready for Covid-19?

In talking about getting ready for the next coronavirus, etc., last April, I said this in my conclusion:

“Robustness.  Resiliency.  Nimbleness.  These are what we need if we are to be ready for the emergencies and disasters that will happen, though we don’t know which ones or when.” 

The problem is, however, as I said in December:

“Building robustness, resiliency, and nimbleness into our systems and our countries, and maintaining them over time, will cost money, a lot of it.” 

What’s Next for the Virus? Shots, Restrictions, and Masks.

Both Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Scott Gottlieb are saying that, by April, we are going to have plenty of vaccine.  Everybody who wants a shot will be able to get one.  In other words, the problem pretty soon is not going to be getting a shot; it will be getting enough people to get a shot.  One hopes the powers that be are working on that.

But another question: Once we get to that point, i.e., when there is enough vaccine for everybody, what does that mean about all the restrictions we have been living under?  What about social distancing?  Limits on restaurants?  Plays and concerts and sports?  Ultimately, what about masks?

Vaccine Bragging

With the number of people getting at least their first Covid-19 vaccine shot going up, we are seeing more and more posting, on Facebook and elsewhere,¹ by people showing pictures of their vaccine cards or standing in line to get their shot, etc.  Which I wonder about. 

While more people are getting shots, a lot of people aren’t, even in the “essential worker and old people group” that they are doing now.  It’s hard, especially for those who may not be computer-literate, to figure out how and where to get an appointment.  Even those who are on-line have to be lucky to get an appointment because there just isn’t that much vaccine available yet.  And then there are those people who aren’t eligible yet for a shot.  They too are concerned and worried.  Their risk may not be as high, but it isn’t zero. 

Polio – and the Covid-19 Vaccine

With Covid-19 and everything else that is happening, polio isn’t something most people think about right now.  But I do – because I remember when polio was a big deal. 

In the early 1950s, 25,000 or more children were getting polio every year.  Some years it was more.  In 1952, it was 58,000, and in 1953, it was 35,000.  But then, in the spring of 1955, it was announced the Salk vaccine worked!  I don’t remember much about it, I was only six at the time, but I remember getting a shot early in the process.  Maybe it was because of what was happening in Joliet, where I lived.  I don’t know.  But what I do remember is getting that shot and how happy my mother and dad were when I got it.

And that’s why I am getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

Covid-19 Relief Ought to Be More Than Just Throwing Money Around Randomly

President-Elect Biden is proposing a big Covid-19 stimulus program: $1.9 trillion.¹  The plan includes an additional $1400 per person payment (to bring the total up to the $2,000 Donald Trump proposed in late December), additional unemployment payments of $400 per week (up from $300 in the bill signed in early January), and much more.

The $1400 payment (plus the $600 already approved), is a follow-up on the $1200 per person payment in the first Covid-19 program last spring.  Back then, the idea of giving everybody a lump-sum payment made some sense because (i) we didn’t know what was going to happen and (ii) we needed to get money to people as quickly as possible and we didn’t have time to come up with a more carefully targeted program. 

The Cubs Convention That Isn’t Happening

But for this stupid virus, I would be at the Cubs Convention this coming weekend – for the 30th time in 32 years.¹  I understand why the Cubs cancelled the Convention this year.  What I don’t understand is why they are doing nothing for the fans in its place.

People are working from home on their computers.  Schools that can’t open in person are teaching via Zoom.  Theaters and concerts are livestreaming performances.  But the Cubs?  Nothing.

Getting Ready for the Next Pandemic. Will We?

With vaccines on the way, it looks like we may be able to see the end of the pandemic.  It is still a ways off, but, unlike in April and May, we can see an end coming.  The question is, though: What about the next one?  Will we be prepared for it?  I talked about this in April.  I won’t repeat what I said there, other than to quote from my conclusion:

“Robustness.  Resiliency.  Nimbleness.  These are what we need if we are to be ready for the emergencies and disasters that will happen, though we don’t know which ones or when.” 

Inflation, Deflation, and the Pandemic

Let me use an article in the Financial Times a couple of weeks ago¹ as a basis to comment on inflation, inflation rates, and inflation indices during the pandemic.  I’ll quote sections from the article (they will be in italics and indented) and then comment on them.

The cost [i.e., price] of many goods and services that have become popular with eurozone consumers during the pandemic is rising far faster than the bloc’s overall depressed level of inflation, an analysis of official data by the Financial Times has found.

Nothing Is Better Than Too Much; Nothing Is Better Than Too Little

That is the essence of the dispute in Congress on a coronavirus relief bill.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans say that the plan proposed by the Democrats is too big and they won’t approve it.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats say that the plan proposed by the Senate Republicans is too small and they won’t approve it.  In other words, both of them are saying that doing nothing is better than passing the bill the other side wants.  And so, nothing is done.

Which sounds familiar to those of us in Illinois who remember the Governor Bruce Rauner/Speaker Michael Madigan disputes in 2015-17.¹
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¹ See here and here.

Covid-19 Leadership: Is Anybody Leading?

When it comes to Covid-19 leadership, Donald Trump has been a disaster.  Too often he said the virus wasn’t that bad.  Other times he suggested almost quack solutions.  And masks were seemingly verboten around the White House.¹  Clear, confident, national leadership could have made things less bad.  He didn’t provide it.

But too many of our governors and mayors haven’t been effective leaders, either.  I understand it is hard to lead when the national message isn’t clear.  But that doesn’t mean state and local leaders couldn’t have done a better job.