History of the Plague Years

Death By Unemployment:

The Trumpist’s handbook has a number of responses, each tailor-made to help Trumpists refute the arguments of their benighted opponents. From what I have been reading, these counterarguments, usually learned by heart, are more and more popular and, it seems, often stop the anti-Trumpist cold.

Just yesterday I was talking to a neighbor and trying to convince her that ending the lockdown would cost tens of thousands of lives. But before I could finish she hit me with an argument that stopped me dead in my tracks.

“But even more people will die of unemployment if we don’t reopen the economy,” she said with the kind of triumphant smile characteristic of those who know they have their opponent in a forked stick.

She then marched off triumphantly in search of some other snowflake to hold to the fire.

Once the shock of her retort waned a bit, I fell back on my usual habit of examining her argument.

Well, this sounded pretty dire. Of course we don’t want a cure that is worse than the disease, do we? And who would wish this horrible kind of death, death by unemployment, on anyone?

Then I started to think a bit. We know what causes death in people with the virus. But just what is it that causes death in people who are unemployed. Is it be hunger? Well, it might be if the President keeps reducing the allowance of food-stamps and other aids for the poor. Is it be illness? Again quite possible until we have a modern system of health insurance that provides decent care to the poor and unemployed. Will it be depression, sadness? Perhaps, but only, I hope, until November 4 of this year. In other words, if, indeed, unemployment promotes mass fatalities, the cure for that effect is within the power of our government to apply.

But, to be honest, I do not see unemployment as a clear and present threat to life and limb. I’ve been unemployed more than once, and I didn’t like it a bit, but I am still here. Look at statistics for unemployment during rough times in this country, and I do not think you will find a significant increase in deaths. I have talked to physician friends to ask them just how often they report the cause of death of this or that individual as “unemployment.” They have asked me if I was joking.

No, unemployment is not fatal, nor is it contagious. Furthermore, it is temporary. The economy will recover.  And, in fact, I don’t think that the Republicans want to end the lockdown because they fear that unemployed folks will die off like flies if the economy is not reopened.

No. I think Republicans want to reopen the economy and put the lives of tens of thousands of Americans at risk for the same reason that motivates them at all times and under all conditions: financial gain. Follow the you-know- what.

Never have so few taken so much away from so many.

They are wed to a policy of Without Risk There Can Be No Reward.

The reward, of course, is always theirs.

The risk? Well it seems that they want the rest of us to take care of that part of the equation.

Economies recover. Dead people don’t.