How the first-world quarantidiots look like from the perspective of the third-world hungry:
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/04/21/nigeria-africa-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-restrictions-livelihood-busari-lkl-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/coronavirus-intl/
Nigerian citizen: I prefer to die from Covid-19 than hunger
In many third world countries a total quarantine is indeed a major challenge due to the lack of savings (many people don’t have a bank account for instance), they spend the little money they make the same week.
Macro economically the countries themselves don’t have the wealth to cover the needs of their citizens.
The situation should be very different in the US:
- there is tens of times the wealth at country level
- people and companies have all the tools to manage their financial safety net
What the current reactions to lock down and the hope that the country helps both reveal is simply that:
- many people should rethink their consumerism including the lack of savings. In short stop spending more than they can afford. Being locked down a few months with reduced or no income should be manageable for a large majority of adults managing their assets in a reasonable way and limiting the use of credit. There are obviously many exceptions and the country should help those.
- there is a real push in the US towards a more socially aware form of governance, more empathy towards people in need and a more balanced distribution of wealth. Alan was probably right when he wrote « Bernie won ». Trump being the populist that he is has sensed this and the economic package he is proposing is European in nature.
Cheers,
Bernard
