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It is now about survival in America
The Hill ^ | 4/1/20 | Jim DeMint

Posted on 04/02/2020 6:00:55 AM PDT by spacejunkie2001

The choice we face as a nation in this crisis is not between protecting our citizens or protecting the economy. Our ability to take care of each other with food, clothing, housing, security, health care, and basic government services is dependent on the capacity of the private sector to produce the goods and services that support every aspect of our lives. If our economy collapses, our heroic health care workers and their patients will be stuck behind in the Middle Ages, without the essentials of modern medicine.

The debate about the response to the coronavirus has polarized us in an illogical and harmful way. Somehow, perhaps due to our unhealthy habit of partisan politics, we are increasingly dividing into the binary camps of "public health" versus "economic prosperity." This scathing debate does not assist anyone except those in the media peddling conflicts and more than a few political aspirants. To save the country, we have to prioritize both health and prosperity immediately. It is now a matter of survival.

We should reflect on how we came to this point. A disease originating in China started to spread to the rest of the world. China downplayed the threat and hid evidence of the growing pandemic. Once evidence of a threat to our country was clear, President Trump responded quickly and decisively with early travel bans from highly infected countries. He has surrounded himself with medical experts to help millions of Americans avoid the coronavirus and prepare for possible worst case scenarios.

President Trump, however, has not paused the economy. It has been our mayors, governors, and executives who are mandating business closures, lockdowns, and quarantines. They are all trying to one up each other in a competition to be the most careful, and want to avoid costly political and legal liability. It is hard to blame them. The media has whipped the public into a frenzy by publishing the projections of millions of deaths in coming months. It does not matter what measures our leaders take if someone in the media always declares that more could be done and politicians who do less than the most extreme measures have "blood on their hands."

We have lost sight of a hard fact that even the most extreme measures taken cannot completely eradicate the coronavirus or create a situation with zero risks. We have to balance the risks to our health with the risks of an economic meltdown. The reason for our current shutdown has been to minimize the spread of the disease while we quickly build up the medical capacity needed to better manage the disease as we get back to work and our lives. We are very close to having this expanded medical capacity, and it is time for us to have all hands on deck to get Americans back to work.

We direly need millions of tests, masks, ventilators, medical supplies, and additional treatment options, so those who get sick have a good chance of recovery. These priorities are not only essential but are very expensive. We must get our economy going again quickly so that we can pay for it all. The only way this shutdown works is if it is brief. The federal government cannot print enough money to support an idle country. Make no mistake, however, printing money is precisely what we are doing at this moment.

Congress had already planned a $1 trillion budget deficit this year before the pandemic. Now lawmakers added billions in new spending for the first stimulus package. Congress last week passed an additional $2 trillion in loans, bailouts, and family relief. These are all forms of debt. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has expanded its balance sheet to a record high of nearly $5 trillion to add financial liquidity to the sagging bond market.

Factor in a dramatic drop in tax revenues this year, and the United States could add upward of $10 trillion to our money supply, diluting the value of our dollar. This could equal half of our gross domestic product and more than twice the size of our annual federal budget. That means many more dollars will be chasing fewer goods in a slow economy, raising the specter of historic levels of inflation. If the Federal Reserve is right that as many as 47 million Americans could lose their jobs in coming weeks, then extreme policy measures are in order. We cannot solve this by borrowing if nearly one out of every three Americans is unemployed. If we do not act quickly to reopen our economy, this could be worse than the Great Depression.

Our doctors, nurses, and scientists have demonstrated great courage and strength. We must be thankful for the dedication and commitment of the workers in our health care system. We need a fully functioning economy to survive the coronavirus. We also need a fully functioning economy to ensure the future of our nation. It is time to get Americans back to work.

Jim DeMint, a former Republican representative and senator from South Carolina, is now the chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute.

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TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: demint; goingbacktowork
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To: bagster
>>Too many FReepers are buying into it, and happily.<<

Again, some take things to extreme. In defense of some, no one would have thought we'd actually lock down our society either.

Millions out of work. The impact to the economy will be pretty significant and I don't think anyone really knows for sure what the coming months will look like.

When people get desperate....well...it speaks for itself.

41 posted on 04/02/2020 7:27:10 AM PDT by servantboy777
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To: servantboy777
When people get desperate....well...it speaks for itself.

Yep.

We should start replacing the word 'economy' with 'civilization'.

The derp state's bio attack and panic mongering is breaking down civilization. There will be consequences and repercussions.

#FlubroNation


42 posted on 04/02/2020 7:31:10 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: bagster

A friend of my daughter’s once commented to her that, because I was the dad that actually enforced rules and stuff, that I was the meanie butt daddy.

My wife made me a t-shirt with Meanie Butt Daddy on the front and No You Can’t on the back.

I’ve gotten some reactions to it in the Wally World. Had a couple of teens run up to me and scream ‘Yes we CAN’ a few times.

I wear it proudly.

You’re welcome. As well as being Microsoft Awesome.

No you can’t. Although you are mildly funnier than MumbleBummer.


43 posted on 04/02/2020 7:35:53 AM PDT by sauropod (Pelosi Galore: We know she's lying when we see her dentures flying.)
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To: sauropod; humblegunner
Although you are mildly funnier than MumbleBummer.

By orders of magnitude.


44 posted on 04/02/2020 7:39:12 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: sauropod
A friend of my daughter’s once commented to her that, because I was the dad that actually enforced rules and stuff, that I was the meanie butt daddy. My wife made me a t-shirt with Meanie Butt Daddy on the front and No You Can’t on the back.

p.s. I like that story.


45 posted on 04/02/2020 7:41:02 AM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: bagster

Even in the big cities like NYC the infection is MUCH heavier to the illegal immigrants that live in rat trap apartment buildings in Queens than in the other boroughs.

There was an article posted earlier today that showed the problem in NYC was not in Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn or even the Bronx. It was an are of Queens that was full of Asian and Hispanic immigrants. Many of which live in very close densities in apartments together. This was in AOC’s district. So, once again illegal immigration is causing untold economic and cultural problems.

This will not be mentioned tonight on any of the mainstream news networks. The Pols in NY did not want this information to come out.


46 posted on 04/02/2020 8:11:09 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: servantboy777

It is like the nuclear winter which would follow a massive nuke exchange were we to lock down the entire country for six months or so. If this is THAT serious then we should throw caution to the wind. Allow for using vacines whenever they are developed and give the providers legal protections from any liability beyond provision of a known defective product as in a fraud.

I don’t know what the Chicoms were up to here whether it was by design or accident but the evidence is clear, it came from there. Since we cannot trust Putin, we cannot wedge China between us both because he would be likely to fan the flames between both while sitting by and watching each nation destroy each other. Hopefully we have people who think this through.


47 posted on 04/02/2020 8:21:57 AM PDT by Mouton (The media is the enemy of the people.)
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To: spacejunkie2001

The number won’t get nearly as bad as the chicken littles state.
We’ll bounce back from this in less than a year.

And America will persist better than it has.

turn away from the doom and gloomers.


48 posted on 04/02/2020 8:25:46 AM PDT by No_More_Harkin
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To: bagster
By orders of magnitude.

You're a meanie butt daddy.

49 posted on 04/02/2020 9:41:53 AM PDT by humblegunner
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To: humblegunner
You're a meanie butt daddy.

Yes you can.


50 posted on 04/02/2020 12:24:34 PM PDT by bagster ("Even bad men love their mamas".)
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To: bagster
Yes you can.


51 posted on 04/02/2020 12:32:23 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: thirst4truth
That is what Japan is doing. All workers are wearing masks and everyone is working.

Japanese were wearing masks when I was there nearly 60 years ago, so what is new?

52 posted on 04/02/2020 5:27:41 PM PDT by itsahoot (Welcome to the New USA where Islam is a religion of peace and Christianity is a mental disorder.)
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