With the election in the rear-view mirror we can hopefully begin to look forward to a return to normalcy right? Not so fast! New restrictions have been levied by Governors and Mayors all over the country in regard to “spiking” COVID-19 rates. I use air quotes because this is an infectious disease and is transmittable in ways that we cannot pin-point yet. I can back that statement up by saying we have no idea how this thing is passed from one person to another, we are relying on doctors who have seen no patients to speculate.
Take this example, Sacramento County has now shuttered indoor gyms, dining and church services, saying the virus is being spread at those venues. But where is the proof? These so-called contact tracers? How can they be sure as to where the spread occurred? I have witnessed a Starbucks close for a deep cleaning, but I wouldn’t call that indoor dining! I have yet to see a gym close down for cleaning due to COVID. In all fairness, a church in Dixon was responsible for a breakout of the virus but why must the entire flock be punished for the mistakes of a couple sheep? If one restaurant had a cockroach infestation, do we shut down Restaurants County wide? Nope.
How come it’s a blanket policy when it has to do with a virus? How come folks were allowed to protest Trump or celebrate a Biden victory in large groups, yet the folks who actually love this country could not? Folks can still congregate by the river in this county and have house parties, yet we shut down people’s livelihood? Is this really America? Are we just going to open and close down as we seem fit? Are we actually going to come up with real rules? As in a bar can’t serve chips and salsa to skirt the re-opening laws? The problem is the rules are not uniform and were put together willy-nilly leading to businesses finding ways to get around it.
Things are getting bad and will keep getting worse, there is no two ways around this. Further lockdowns and stimulus are coming, likely another round of bailouts as well. We have a moratorium on evictions in place and that will likely be extended as well. I know several folks who are not paying rent, and quite a few who received forbearance on their mortgage. This may be all well and good from a consumer point of view but what about businesses? Entire industries are teetering on the brink of destruction. Don’t believe me? The retail apocalypse will be here just after Christmas shopping season, if covid doesn’t kill it first. Visit a mall, its eerie. Restaurants shutting down mean more wait staff out of jobs, they won’t be needed in large numbers. Most family run businesses will shut down for good. Here is a sobering thought; in CA, even the least restrictive tier allows only 50% capacity. Yeah, and according to the Restaurant Association they need to be at 80% to roughly breakeven. Disney has laid off 28,000 from its operations, and they are still excluded from opening at all. Professional sports teams are losing millions, layoffs are occurring their as well, ditto for university athletic departments. Movie theatres are gasping for oxygen, retail appears dead. Wait until the music stops, I would be saving money not spending right now.
Who is to blame for this? The cable media/watchers, government workers and retirees. The first group grew this narrative of everyone dying due to the virus, the toothpaste came out of the tube, and as a result we had a narrative out of control. Government workers; Fauci, Beilenson, Sisson et al. decided we had a pandemic on our hands and that all sectors must be shut to stop the virus…. all while still collecting their salaries. The last group…. well they collect social security or other handouts when it rains, snows, or is sunny….so we all need to stay home! In the meantime, others are ruined financially and emotionally, the toll may never be known.
The good news is that during a public health crisis (the government’s words not mine) we shut down the gyms, and most dining at places to eat, yet the golf courses and Indian casinos can stay open? At least the 90-Day Guy can be happy.
God help us all!
Johnnie Does
We know how covid is spread, but if only we could figure out what spreads stupid.