economic freedom

Wow. News about that outdoor dinner served indoors to six households gets worse by the day.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Details keep emerging about the governor’s $500 a person dinner with six households present which was held inside even though the governor said it was outside.

Previously it was disclosed that a longtime friend who is a heavy hitter lobbyist was also at the meal. One article said what a deal for the lobbyist – the entire world knows he has the ear of the governor of the state of California. Superb advertising, huh?

New info is tumbling out. Photos of the meeting emerged Monday showing the meal was served inside.

News yesterday was names of two of the other diners.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

The governor’s $500+ per person outdoor dinner wasn’t all that much, um, outdoorsy.

Previous post explained that while you and I are prohibited from having more than three households gather for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and our gatherings must be in the backyard, and we must provide turkey, potatoes, and dressing in single serve containers, and we can only let guests use the bathroom if we sanitize the bathroom regularly, the governor of California attended a lavish private dinner party with at least 12 people present, meaning there were likely six or more households present. The governor, the lobbyist whose birthday was being celebrated, and the restaurant all say the meal was outdoors.

Well, turns out the “outdoor” dinner wasn’t quite so outdoor.

If your idea of outdoor dining consists of a room that’s enclosed on three sides with a ceiling and chandelier, along with sliding glass doors on the fourth side that can isolate your party from the rest of the dining room, then the meal was outdoors.

For us unwashed masses unable to rise above our lowly submissive serf status, that sounds like an indoor meal.

A more deadly issue than the hypocrisy

Before we explore the increasing depths of flaming hypocrisy in this story there is a severe side issue.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Flagrant examples of hypocrisy just keep on rolling… This time $500 per person dinner with five other couples.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

It is corrosive to public trust when those in charge issue harsh rules for you and me but those making the rules can ignore them when they wish.

The corrosion will undercut our democracy, create more distrust of politicians than already exists, erode respect for public health officials, and eventually undermine compliance with all government rules not just the silly ones.

We do not want any of that to happen.

I sincerely hope governors, federal health officials, elected county officials, and everyone in the public health world will quickly realize the damage they are causing and change their ways fast.

Is it possible to shout my warning any louder?

Today’s illustration of flaming hypocrisy is from the governor of California.

As I was composing the previous post, this story broke, which is a postcard-perfect illustration of corrosive leadership.

11/13/20 – San Francisco Chronicle – Newsom attended French Laundry party with more households than California advises during pandemic – California guidelines prohibit private gatherings with more than three households.

Such gatherings may only be outside.

You may allow guests to use the bathroom if you sanitize it regularly.

In spite of these requirements, the governor of California and his wife attended a dinner on 11/6/20 with at least 12 people with more than three households present. Neither the people involved nor the restaurant will say how many people were present nor how many households were represented.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Rising danger from leaders revealing their hypocrisy during the pandemic lockdown.

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Politicians and public health experts are undercutting public trust in their leadership. While a certain level of distrust of politicians is a good thing, ongoing hypocrisy and poor leadership destroys credibility of the entire political class and appointed public health officials. Destruction of trust is dangerous.

Many incidents have been in the news over the last several months. A few articles of late have illustrated the problem. For your consideration:

11/12/20 – Commentary magazine – Pandemic Hypocrites Produce Pandemic Cynics – Author suggests the level of cynicism is growing. Distrust of political leaders is accelerating.

Why is this corrosion of trust taking place? I will mention merely four of the many illustrations in the article.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Devastating impact from shutdown visible in higher education, cancer treatment, pending evictions, and state government finances.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Every day there are fresh reports of the devastating impact from the shutdown of the economy. Damage is widespread. Impact is growing.

Just a few of the recent articles:

  • Early screening for cancer slowed down earlier, resulting in more serious cancers discovered now
  • People showing up for treatment have more advanced cancer
  • Wave of tenant evictions is on the horizon
  • State government budgets are collapsing
  • Freshman enrollment at colleges is down 16%

There is a severe cost to be paid from early mistakes and ongoing mistakes by a wide range of government officials.

 

Devastating impact from more serious cancers

10/15/20 – Wall Street Journal – Covid-19 Outbreaks Led to Dangerous Delay in Cancer Diagnoses – The closing of many health facilities meant regular screenings for cancer were not available for several months this past spring. Next, widespread panic kept people away from doctors’ offices. One insurance company reports the number of daily screenings for colorectal cancer dropped between 50% and 80% for about three months.

Only at the end of August was the number of screenings back to the normal amount compared to prior years.

The expected result?

A cancer care provider reports an increased number of patients are arriving with advanced stages of cancer.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Economic damage from shutdown continues to spread.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Summarized below are a few of the recent articles pointing to expanding economic damage from the shutdown. Destruction in the movie business is noticeable in recent days:

  • Second largest movie chain in the US closes all its theaters
  • Wonder Woman director worried the entire theater industry may die
  • Disney restructures in order to increase focus toward direct-to-consumer distribution channel and away from theatrical release
  • Sales tax collections in San Francisco collapse
  • Passenger cruise ships are getting scrapped

10/5/20 – Wall Street Journal – Regal Cinemas Suspending Operations at All US Locations – The chain with the second largest number of theaters in the U.S. has closed all of its US theaters after having reopened only two months ago. Article does not indicate when any of the theaters will be reopened.

Article says release dates for a dozen movies have been postponed.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Did the lockdowns have any beneficial impact on the rate of new infections?

Enough time has passed that there is enough information to start analyzing the lockdowns. Preliminary info is not pretty. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Indications are starting to emerge that the answer to the question may actually be no.

Previously mentioned one analysis which found a weak statistical correlation between weaker lockdown requirements and lower infection rate. The study found no correlation between the date that states started releasing the lockdown restrictions and subsequent infection rates.

 

The rate of infections accelerates rapidly and then hits an inflection point where the rate of infections either plateaus or the rate slows dramatically.

The following study suggests the lockdowns have no correlation to when the infection rates hit that transition point. In fact, the inflection point normally is reached before the lockdowns could have had any impact.

10/4/20 – National Review – Stats Hold a Surprise: Lockdowns May Have Had Little Effect on Covid-19 Spread –

Authors pulled the daily infection rate for 13 states and graphed the data on a logarithmic scale. Seeing infections on a log scale makes it easier to see trends. There are visible transitions in every state from rapid acceleration to a flattened or greatly reduced infection rate.

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By Jim Ulvog, ago

Economic bad news keeps rolling in, but hint of good news is on the horizon.

Parked airplanes idled by pandemic shutdown. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

The bad news on the economy called for the shutdown just keeps growing but there is a hint of good news in the near future. First the good news. 9/30/20 – CNBC – US economy plunges 31.4% in the second quarter but a big rebound is expected – Commerce Department calculations of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter were revised, which is routine, dropping from an annualized contraction of 31.7% down just a little to 31.4% reduction in GDP. (more…)
By Jim Ulvog, ago