To all my friends and fellow posters on this great message board. I want to tell you guys not to worry about this virus. This was planned a long time ago. I have videos of people talking
about it as early as 2005. Anyways, it's just another thing to bring about more laws and control. Everyone I know all around me is healthy. I go to like 10 or 15 towns on a regular basis. Don't let the tv
and media scare you. Just continue to live your life and eat healthy, drink lots of water, get sunshine and normal sleep. Don't buy into the propaganda.
I don't know, WL. I fully realize that they lie to us - that when a politician's lips are moving it's lying; when a talking head on tv is talking or the media is printing something or showing something on tv or in the movies, likewise; same with what they teach in schools and colleges now, libraries too. But on the other hand I fully realize that the earth's population of bipeds can't keep growing exponentially forever without the four horsemen of the apocalypse coming by to pay a visit. I hope you're right, tho.
These comments are from a financial forum:
"
Major questions remain, will the US go the way of Italy, Iran and Wuhan where the virus overloaded health care systems and had a greater than 3% mortality rate or will the social distancing/travel restriction policies be enough that the US follows the rest of China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea with good mitigation, slow virus spread and a health care system that can keep up. Mortality rates in those countries have been closer to 0.7%. No matter the answer....
I'm sorry, what? Why do "major questions" remain? I can almost certainly tell you the answer: the USA will follow the Italian model, although probably much worse. The reason is quite simple: the USA has done very little to slow the spread of the virus. What we have done has been too little too late.
I would point to the criminal lack of testing, made freely (read: for free, at no cost) available to all who need it. The lack of a national health care system with almost 30 million people without any form of insurance (and most with expensive co-pays), ensuring millions will avoid doctors and hospitals due to prohibitive costs. And lack of a social safety net, ensuring normal people can maintain income while under quarantine (they need to work to feed their kids, ergo, they will work, even while sick).
Add to that the criminal messaging for our leaders, basically downplaying this as just another flu that will magically take care of itself with minimal impact, and you have all the makings of a national disaster, unfolding daily in front of our eyes. Because of exponential growth rates, however, it will still take some time for this virus to overwhelm our hospitals. That should happen in about 2 weeks or so, depending on where you live.
Side note: Wuhan's response was slow in the beginning, and yes they were overwhelmed. In their defense, they were first. They quickly mobilized in a way that was admirable. Something the US is just not capable of repeating. Not because "we love freedom" or some other BS. But because China has a national health care system and a belief that government can mobilize to save lives, and that top down, national action is required. That citizens should take priority over markets. They put in place a rigorous, multi-faceted testing pipeline to ensure sick people were identified and quickly isolated, especially from their families, when testing positive. They built 10 temporary hospitals in a couple of weeks! This system was fast and effective. We have a very fractured and in many ways broken health care system that will not function under this stress test. Certainly not without top down mobilization, which did not happen, and likely won't happen.
So you can stop asking the question of whether it will be bad, and just start preparing for the worst. I'm not primarily talking about revisiting your portfolios, I'm talking about making sure you isolate yourself and your loved ones as much as possible. Avoid all non-essential travel. Take care of your families, especially anyone over 65. If you have a loved one in a senior care facility, you had better do a quick analysis of whether they are prepared for what is coming. If not, you should get your family members out of that facility asap. Make sure you have cash on hand should the economy really go south, which I expect will happen, in the coming months.
I'm reminded of the satirical headline (was it The Onion? Can't recall): "How will your death impact markets?" I think it nicely highlighted our misguided priorities in a real crisis like this, as least what we see in the media. America can't BS its way out of this with cutesy marketing and flowery lies. This is the real deal. This virus just doesn't care what you say about having "the best health care system in the world," or whatever.
But sure, by all means, reorganize your portfolios. But on the basis of reality. If you are assuming this is just going to magically go away, that we are going to get lucky and do little but not be significantly impacted, then I am quite sure you will be in for a very rude awakening in about 10 days, if not sooner. There are specific steps we should have taken to follow South Korea and not Italy. We did not follow those specific steps.
Americans have no special immunity from this virus. We were shown how to mitigate it over 6 weeks ago. We did almost nothing to prepare. And now - to be brutally honest - it's too late. Brace for impact."
"“Americans have no special immunity from this virus. We were shown how to mitigate it over 6 weeks ago. We did almost nothing to prepare. And now - to be brutally honest - it's too late. Brace for impact.”
The other concern we have here in the US is that we are incredibly unhealthy. Heart decease, obesity, diabetes, these are problems a country like South Korea doesn’t really deal with. We are a fat society and they are not.
So If this does spread as it’s spread in other countries, and there is simply no reason that it won’t, the death rate is most likely going to be much higher here, not lower.
The virus is here, not border control, or shutting down of travel is going to stop it now. It’s now how to live with it is the only thing we as a society and nation can focus on."
