It appears that some segments of American society are unaware that various flus sweep through this country, starting late fall each year, killing 30,000 to 70,000 people. Even though flu shots are provided free every year, approximately half the population does not even get vaccinated. True, the flu vaccines are only approximately 46% effective, but to cut your risk of getting the flu in half would appear to be an extremely good idea.
Now comes the coronavirus (for which there is no vaccine yet), as well as, an assortment of other flu viruses. The coronavirus appears to be highly contagious but not particularly deadly for anyone other than seniors with weakened immunological systems.
At least some of the persons who have died from complications of the coronavirus would also be at high risk if they contracted any of the other flu viruses going around this year. Many also had relatively short longevity expectations.
What has been unique about the coronavirus is the governmental response to it, both here in the United States and abroad. Here in Colorado, Governor Polis ordered all ski resorts closed for at least 30 days, all dine-in services at bars and restaurants, as well as closing gyms, casinos, theaters, coffeehouses, cigar bars, brewpubs and distillery pubs. All schools have been closed until at least April 17, 2020. None of the seven states contiguous to Colorado have adopted all of these draconian measures.
In 2009/2010 the swine flu, that originated from Mexico, infected 60.8 million Americans and killed 12,429. However, in Colorado, no such drastic measures were undertaken. Why? Some millennials point out that the swine flu overwhelmingly affected and killed the young while the coronavirus devastates those in the boomer generation and older. Millennials also note that the brunt of the economic hardships in Colorado that result in inevitable recession as a result of the economic stoppage will be borne by younger adults who are just starting new businesses or just entering the workforce. Conversely, they note among most of the politicians’ leadership positions in Washington, both parties are septuagenarians.
Governor Polis declared at his press conference announcing the mandated shutdowns that “Colorado is open for business.” Really? Is he talking about internet businesses where he made his tens of millions or perhaps the business of building high density apartment complexes throughout the Front Range? For the most part other portions of the economy are going to be very much challenged. The oil and gas industry, already reeling from ever-increasing restrictions imposed, is going to be further decimated by record low prices across the world. Tourism in Colorado is all but shut down for an indeterminate period of time, along with it the hotel and resort industry in Colorado, and, of course, the sports sector of the state economy.
Trump at the national level can just simply print another billion dollars in stimulus money while adding more billions of dollars to the national debt. But Polis on the other hand, cannot deficit spend at the state level. He will find that by a stroke of a pen, he can close businesses throughout the state, but he has little or no power to revive an economy spiraling into a recession.
While the number of coronavirus cases are increasing at a rapid rate in Colorado, they are far eclipsed by the all-time record-breaking rate of those attempting to claim unemployment in the state in response to the Governor’s proclamation. “We’re seeing one-day or likely one-week and two-week spikes like we never saw in the Great Recession,” Jeff Fitzgerald, the state’s unemployment insurance director notes. Rest assured the ripple effect from the governor’s proclamations are just beginning.
Is the economic devastation of the State of Colorado necessary? On the one hand it is difficult to blame politicians like Polis for fearing political retribution if they don’t get ahead of the curve on the spreading worldwide pandemic. Politicians started forbidding gatherings of more than 500, then 250 and now no more than 10. Countries like Italy have quarantined the entire population, while others like South Korea did not shut down the economy but mandated the wearing of face masks. Despite what some in the media are telling you, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) respirator masks, made to the specification of N95 or greater, can be effective in limiting the spread of the coronavirus. To date, South Korea has been more effective in controlling the spread of the virus than Italy, with all of its quarantines.
In addition to accepting the 34,100 flu deaths last year Americans also accept the fact that 38,800 die on our roads every year without an afterthought because we do not want to go back to the horse and buggy days. At some point rather than simply forcing the closing of business after business and forcing a recession on what was once a vibrant economy, those who make the decisions in Colorado, need to study what works and what does not. Politicians need to start making the hard decisions and not simply taking the easy out. The coronavirus deaths in Colorado as well as the much more numerous flu deaths will begin to recede as spring turns to summer while the self-induced economic recession will not.
— Editorial Board