Crisis
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Coronavirus as Ideology
Even now, many people aren’t reading news or looking at data. They are confirming their biases. Our political culture has fully bled – a tsunami of blood – into one of the most essential tasks of civilization: caring for and curing the sick, and hence drowning rationality, science, and medical professionalism, and doing so at…
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Drugs, Suicide, and Crime: Empirical Estimates of the Human Toll of the Shutdown
With a current US population of 331 million, there are 3,310 groups of 100,000, meaning there is potential for an additional 28,797 deaths from opioids annually. Plus alcohol abuse, suicide, and crime.
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What Does the Growing Number of Coronavirus Cases Really Mean?
The infected are likely in the millions, but the rationing of tests prevents us from knowing the true number. In any case, that means the death rate is vastly overstated, and likely even lower than what has been typically reported for the seasonal flu.
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We Were Wrong: So Sorry that We Ruined Your Life
Andrew Cuomo has admitted some of the error. In a much-welcome change, he has even deregulated medical services. There’s just a hint of humility and humanity embedded in these statements and actions. We need more of that, vastly more.
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Free the Entrepreneurs to Deal with the COVID-19 Crisis
If states and – we can only hope – the federal government remove regulatory barriers that are preventing entrepreneurs from solving problems related to the COVID-19 crisis, perhaps that coming peak will not be a catastrophe and the shock to the economy will quickly become a distant memory.
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What Herbert Hoover Can Teach Us about the Reaction to the Coronavirus
Just as Hoover’s policies during the Great Depression made things worse especially for the poorest in America, the policy responses we see now will hurt.
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More Sensational Reporting on COVID-19 Estimates
We should certainly take steps to reduce those risks. But we should not sacrifice everything out of fear of losing something. Alas, such sober analysis does not lend itself to the sort of attention-grabbing click pieces that pay the bills for journalists. So we should continue to expect sensational reporting on the global pandemic. Discount…
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Why this Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment?
Yes, healthcare is much more important than fast food, which is exactly why we need to deregulate it and do so now before COVID-20, or some other contagious calamity, strikes.
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Florida Cracks Down on “Price Gouging” at the Worst-Possible Time
Products unavailable for sale at ‘normal’ prices are not actually for sale; they are utterly unobtainable – which means that their prices then are infinite.
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We All Depend on the Kindness of Strangers
Again, these are strange and frightening times. I want things to get back to “normal,” or at least as close to normal as they can get, as soon as possible. Until they do, though, I will remain grateful for the strangers who are helping me weather this particular storm.
-
•
Coronavirus as Ideology
Even now, many people aren’t reading news or looking at data. They are confirming their biases. Our political culture has fully bled – a tsunami of blood – into one of the most essential tasks of civilization: caring for and curing the sick, and hence drowning rationality, science, and medical professionalism, and doing so at…
-
•
Drugs, Suicide, and Crime: Empirical Estimates of the Human Toll of the Shutdown
With a current US population of 331 million, there are 3,310 groups of 100,000, meaning there is potential for an additional 28,797 deaths from opioids annually. Plus alcohol abuse, suicide, and crime.
-
•
What Does the Growing Number of Coronavirus Cases Really Mean?
The infected are likely in the millions, but the rationing of tests prevents us from knowing the true number. In any case, that means the death rate is vastly overstated, and likely even lower than what has been typically reported for the seasonal flu.
-
•
We Were Wrong: So Sorry that We Ruined Your Life
Andrew Cuomo has admitted some of the error. In a much-welcome change, he has even deregulated medical services. There’s just a hint of humility and humanity embedded in these statements and actions. We need more of that, vastly more.
-
•
Free the Entrepreneurs to Deal with the COVID-19 Crisis
If states and – we can only hope – the federal government remove regulatory barriers that are preventing entrepreneurs from solving problems related to the COVID-19 crisis, perhaps that coming peak will not be a catastrophe and the shock to the economy will quickly become a distant memory.
-
•
What Herbert Hoover Can Teach Us about the Reaction to the Coronavirus
Just as Hoover’s policies during the Great Depression made things worse especially for the poorest in America, the policy responses we see now will hurt.
-
•
More Sensational Reporting on COVID-19 Estimates
We should certainly take steps to reduce those risks. But we should not sacrifice everything out of fear of losing something. Alas, such sober analysis does not lend itself to the sort of attention-grabbing click pieces that pay the bills for journalists. So we should continue to expect sensational reporting on the global pandemic. Discount…
-
•
Why this Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment?
Yes, healthcare is much more important than fast food, which is exactly why we need to deregulate it and do so now before COVID-20, or some other contagious calamity, strikes.
-
•
Florida Cracks Down on “Price Gouging” at the Worst-Possible Time
Products unavailable for sale at ‘normal’ prices are not actually for sale; they are utterly unobtainable – which means that their prices then are infinite.
-
•
We All Depend on the Kindness of Strangers
Again, these are strange and frightening times. I want things to get back to “normal,” or at least as close to normal as they can get, as soon as possible. Until they do, though, I will remain grateful for the strangers who are helping me weather this particular storm.