Economy
Next to health-care providers, no workforce has proved more essential during the novel coronavirus pandemic than the 3 million U.S. grocery store employees who restock shelves and freezers, fill online orders and keep checkout lines moving. Although the public health guidelines are clear — steer clear of others — these workers are putting in longer shifts and taking on bigger workloads. Many report being stressed and scared, especially as their colleagues fall ill to the highly contagious coronavirus that is responsible for more than 21,000 deaths in the United States alone.
I’ve read the plans to reopen the economy. They’re scary. (dwatney)
The CAP and Harvard plans both foresee a digital pandemic surveillance state in which virtually every American downloads an app to their phone that geotracks their movements, so if they come into contact with anyone who later is found to have Covid-19, they can be alerted and a period of social quarantine can begin. Similarly, people would scan QR codes when boarding mass transit or entering other high-risk public areas. And GPS tracking could be used to enforce quarantine on those who test positive with the disease, as is being done in Taiwan.
‘Like 9/11 every day’: A New York paramedic’s diary (thc0655)
When we saw this spike, the system wasn’t set up for it. We were like: ‘How are we going to do this with the resources we have?’ It was just a case of ‘let’s get going’.
Right now, about 20% of the EMS workforce is out sick. We have a lot of members who’ve contracted Covid-19, we have members who are in the ICU – I have two of them who are on ventilators – and we have over 700 people who are being monitored with the symptoms.
Real estate’s clobbering runs wide and deep. Hospitality, including hotels, restaurants, and bars, took the first body blow in early March, shut down by Gubernatoruial fiat beginning with California before spreading to states east. Malls, shopping centers, and sporting and entertainment venues locked down next, emptying almost every physical location where people densely gather nationwide.
It’s A Scandal That We Don’t Know Who Supported The Coronavirus Bailout. Help Us Find Out (newsbuoy)
Knowing how every member of Congress would have voted on the CARES Act is a crucial measure of basic democratic accountability. The public deserves to know where lawmakers stand on the most important legislative decisions impacting the nation. The “voice vote” gambit only obfuscates the policymaking process and eliminates transparency.
Exclusive: JPMorgan Chase to raise mortgage borrowing standards as economic outlook darkens (Sparky1)
“Due to the economic uncertainty, we are making temporary changes that will allow us to more closely focus on serving our existing customers,” Amy Bonitatibus, chief marketing officer for JPMorgan Chase’s home lending business, told Reuters.
The bank was the fourth largest U.S. mortgage lender in 2019, according to industry publication Inside Mortgage Finance.
WHO is investigating reports of recovered COVID patients testing positive again (Sparky1)
“We are closely liaising with our clinical experts and working hard to get more information on those individual cases. It is important to make sure that when samples are collected for testing on suspected patients, procedures are followed properly,” it said.
White House rejects bailout for Postal Service battered by coronavirus (Sparky1)
“We told them very clearly that the president was not going to sign the bill if [money for the Postal Service] was in it,” the Trump Administration official said. “I don’t know if we used the v-bomb but the president was not going to sign it, and we told them that.”
A nurse revealed the tragic last words of his coronavirus patient: ‘Who’s going to pay for it?’ (Sparky1)
“(This patient) was in severe respiratory distress, had difficulty speaking, and yet still his main concern was who could pay for a procedure that would his extend his life but statistically he doesn’t have a good likelihood of survival.”
70 people contract coronavirus in San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter (Sparky1)
The building, which usually houses 340 people, had its occupancy reduced to “roughly 100,” Breed said. The remaining occupants with negative results were moved into hotel rooms and health officials will move into the 5th Street location to provide medical treatment on-site.
Mauldin Economics: Bending the Inflation Curve (hail)
Nevertheless, much of the economic damage is already done. We are not likely to see anything resembling the previous normal for a long time. I heard someone say we will emerge from lockdown to an “80% economy”—mostly back, but with big pieces missing. That sounds about right. But losing a fifth of the economy will still mean a severe recession, if not outright depression, albeit hopefully not as long as that of the 1930s.
A 2017 Pentagon Memo Foretold Today’s Pandemic With Creepy Accuracy (thc0655)
The report covers two major missions NORTHCOM should prepare for: responding to a pandemic domestically, including supporting civilian authorities, and protecting NORTHCOM forces that carry out the command’s traditional missions such as homeland defense and assisting allies. The report says NORTHCOM’s greatest vulnerability is its people, for whom the outbreak could cause absenteeism, with sick personnel adding to the burden of what it believes will be a stressed health care system.
Nurses, lauded for virus efforts, find their tires slashed (Sparky1)
Before the tires were slashed, dozens of police officers and firefighters had gathered outside the hospital Thursday night to applaud the health care workers, who like their colleagues across New York state have been treating patients stricken by the coronavirus, the newspaper reported.
43,000 more Walt Disney World workers will be furloughed April 19 (Sparky1)
The Service Trades Council Union, a coalition of six locals, announced the news Saturday on Facebook Live. The coalition said Disney had agreed to provide free healthcare benefits for a year and will keep paying for a program called Disney Aspire that gives workers a free education. About 200 union workers deemed essential will stay on the job, the union said.
The Thin Façade of Authority (thc0655)
An appreciation of practical knowledge accrues from watching central-heating mechanics come out in the evening to troubleshoot the unit on the roof, battling the roof grade, the ice, and the dark while pitting their own acquired knowledge in a war with the latest computerized wiring board of the new heating exchange unit that proves far more unreliable than the 20-year-old model it replaced.
Humility is key to learning, but it is found more easily from a wealth of diverse existential experiences on the margins. It is less a dividend of the struggle for great success versus greater success still, but one of survival versus utter failure.
Kinins and Cytokines in COVID-19: A Comprehensive Pathophysiological Approach (Bernhard S.)
We propose that the severity of the disease and many deaths are due to a local vascular problem due to activation of B1 receptors on endothelial cells in the lungs. SARS-CoV-2 enters the cell via ACE2, a cell membrane bound molecule with enzymatic activity that next to its role in RAS is needed to inactivate des-Arg9 bradykinin, the potent ligand of the bradykinin receptor type 1 (B1).
There’s No Going Back, We Can Only Go Forward (pinecarr)
Those in power around the world crave one thing above all else: control. If you can’t control the situation and key assets, then what good is your supposed power? If you can’t control the situation and key assets, your power is illusory.
Understanding the Current Investment Reality (Monica G.)
While there is a great deal of uncertainty because of the Coronavirus, there are two things that we know for sure. Many industry sectors have no revenue, and governments will print enormous amounts of money in an attempt to mitigate the financial crisis. Most companies with no earnings will see enormous declines in share prices. Bonds, particularly corporate bonds, will default and become worthless. Even real estate is likely to suffer dramatic declines as both commercial and residential tenants are likely to default on rent payments. This in turn will result in mortgage defaults at every level, and properties will be sold at fire sale prices. These conditions create a perfect storm for an increasing gold price.
Whistleblower: How CDC Is Manipulating The COVID-19 Death-Toll (lulu)
The CDC’s role in the way it is handling the Coronavirus crisis has come under a lot of suspicion. Earlier the CDC was caught covering-up a contamination of its lab when Health officials who paid a flying visit were blocked entry into the lab. The matter is now under investigation.
Based on wastewater data, Biobot gave an estimate of anywhere from 2,300 to over 115,000 infected persons within the area sampled, though only 446 cases in the area had been reported. While the estimate had a very wide range, it was the discovery that there were likely many more infected people than revealed by numbers based on COVID-19 clinical testing alone that set off alarms.
The Road To Perdition Is Paved With Evil Intentions (thc0655)
America is devolving into a totalitarian state before our very eyes and we obeyingly confine ourselves in our homes watching Netflix, heeding the “expert” dictums of Fauci and Birx as gospel, and waiting for $1,200 to be electronically inserted into our empty bank accounts, as our recompense for losing our jobs and going further into debt to Wall Street banks. As Huxley pointed out almost ninety years ago, we were on a path towards an efficient totalitarian state, and we’ve finally arrived. Are you loving your servitude?
Smithfield shutting U.S. pork plant indefinitely, warns of meat shortages during pandemic (thc0655)
“It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running,” Smithfield Chief Executive Ken Sullivan said in a statement on Sunday. “These facility closures will also have severe, perhaps disastrous, repercussions for many in the supply chain, first and foremost our nation’s livestock farmers.”
Top Pork Producer Shuts Key Plant and Warns of Meat Shortfall (Sparky1)
While it’s unclear whether the meat-employee infections have anything to do with the workplaces, the news exposes the vulnerability of global supply chains that are needed to keep grocers stocked after panic buying left shelves empty. The shuttered plants and sick workers are adding to other disruptions caused by the virus that’s making it harder for food to get from farm to table. Trucking bottlenecks, and snarled port traffic have also contributed to why shoppers are seeing empty shelves.
Dumped Milk, Smashed Eggs, Plowed Vegetables: Food Waste of the Pandemic (Evan G.)
And the costs of harvesting, processing and then transporting produce and milk to food banks or other areas of need would put further financial strain on farms that have seen half their paying customers disappear. Exporting much of the excess food is not feasible either, farmers say, because many international customers are also struggling through the pandemic and recent currency fluctuations make exports unprofitable.
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