So far, the lessons learned from this Corona virus outbreak. The first is how bad our media truly has become. Much of our panic has been a result of a media that emphasize the worst-case scenario and much of the media hatred for Trump has continued that even as he working to deal with this situation, they won’t give him any credit. For four years, much of the media have behaved as nothing more than Democratic operative with bylines.
How many times over the past two days, our infection rates have exceeded China number, even though China numbers are suspect. How many times have we have heard how successful the Chinese have been even though anyone with any common sense would know these numbers are simply bogus? A recent story that Chinese have closed movie theaters again and several reports escaping China about the numbers of bodies being cremated and riots breakouts between Chinese provinces as polices from different provinces fight for jurisdiction on stopping the virus. I could go on but Orange man bad.
The news that US has surpassed China in total number has been treated as a Trump failure even though as mention, no serious journalist should even take Chinese numbers with a straight face and anecdotal from Asian sources that Chinese simply quit testing for COVID-19.
The newest aspect is saying Wuhan virus or Chinese virus is now racist which is nothing more than repeating Chinese government talking point. This regime unleashed the virus with their incompetence and even sold Spain and Czech Republic thousands of test kits. On my own podcast, I stick with COVID-19 to avoid getting dragged into a urinating contest but anyone who wants to use Chinese virus or Wuhan virus, I won’t call you racist. And I have made it clear that Chinese government is responsible for this mess and their still callous attitude plus their failure to take responsibility is threatening the world.
The first lesson is that China is responsible and if they are not held to be accountable, this will happen again only the virus might be worse. And the media must be more skeptical of Chinese numbers.
Second lesson is the economy matters and we need to understand that the virus is having an impact on the economy and will continue for the rest of the year. We shut down the economy on the basis what we didn’t know about the virus and how serious it is. It didn’t help with all the panic spread by a good portion of the media but the reality the economy was performing well before the virus and the collapse came as a result of the virus and the economic shutdown that came with it. This is turning into an economic warfare between the Chinese and the rest of the world. The biggest problem is the stimulus is based on expanded monetary policy to provide liquidity to the system and a temporary relief for those unemployed.
Depending on which studies you read about the Spanish flu, it did have economic impact. James Grant, the Forgotten Depression, noted that 1919 was a boom year but in a recent study, it was shown the overall manufacturing output decline by 18%. Grant showed that in 1920, a major recession occurred as the Feds overshoot monetary policy and inflation occurred. 18 months happened before recovery. In the study Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Does not, Lesson from the 1918 Flu showed that Pandemic was a significant reason for the decline and noted that those who were aggressive in intervention earlier did not suffer much more initially economically but prosper more later.
The government original isolation policy stopped the economy cold and with 3 million collecting unemployment the time has come to reopen the economy. The problem is two-fold. The temporary stimulus is using up funds we don’t have and the additional influx of money into the system could lead to additional inflation in the future. The key to future recovery begins with the defeat of the Democrat party, which is the socialist Party and a Party where control is all that matters. As a Party, they don’t care how many people die or become destitute as long as they win. They began impeachment without impeachable offenses in January when the virus began, and Pelosi along with other Democrats delayed votes on the stimulus so they can try to slip in money for Planned Parenthood or suffocate our economy with Green New Deals.
Democrats have already failed the test of leadership and as their nominee given us a man whose corruption and mediocrity marked his career. Biden at his peak was nothing more than a mediocre political hack whose as on Obama cabinet member noted, he was wrong on almost every major issue.
As for Trump, he has gained his ground as this crisis as he allowed states and counties to deal with their local crisis while balancing both medical concerns and the economic concerns. Yet, he has not been given any credit from the political class or the media. Ask Joe Biden what he would do and all he states we should do is what Trump already done.
Trump pointed out the weakness of globalization that the political class fail to see and the number one weakness, how can globalization works with when rogue nations refuse to play by the rules, and they taking advantage of a virus and economy ravaged from their incompetence and lies. China has put our planet at risk and lives of billions due to their mishandling and now continues to lie about their role in the virus. China is the weak link in globalization, and we must recognize that.
Another lesson is that human ingenuity when unleashed can go a long way to solve problems whether it is finding drugs off the shelve that can save lives or new tests that can even find the virus in five minutes. Our recovery begins when we recognize that free men and women can rise above the crisis and reinvent our country and planet.
The Donelson Files 