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some folks tie the stock market to the economy without completing the discussion with the fact about 45% of Americans hold no stocks or that the feds are pumping billions into it the last several months.

Not only the equities markets but anything in the nature of assets. Real estate, gold, etc. This is one of those unintended consequences things. Governments manufacture new money in the hopes that it will stimulate the economy and create jobs, with the hoped-for result of pumping the economy back up again. Instead, lots of that new money gets poured into assets. Because people having money (or access to credit) know that one way to store the value of it and protect against inflation is to tie it up in assets. Which they hope will inflate in real value as fiat money decreases in value. Money tied up in assets doesn't do what governments want, that is, stimulate the economy. Same thing with artificially low interest rates. They enable people to more easily access money to tie up in assets. This process is why GDP is down, employment is down, but equities markets and real estate are up.

Governments and central banks are in new territory in dealing with economic crisis. Since 2008-09 it has it been public policy to try to rescue everyone affected. Yet, the idea of making everyone whole goes against normal, natural business cycles of boom and bust. Going against nature in this way has results and consequences that aren't yet knowable.
 
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Not surprising
 
We could learn from it and decide not to destroy the economy the next time a virus comes around.
I survived Covid. At home. It was miserable. I had a high fever and breathing problems. 16 days of misery. Then it just lifted. Survived on fruit-protein-smoothies. The reason I add this comment is because all we hear is the doom and gloom. We don't hear real stories of people who had it, tested positive, got over it, tested negative, and moved on. Yes. Fear the Covid..... but chances are greater that you will survive it. My wife blew through it in 5 days with minimal wear and tear. I know of lots of other verified cases that ranged in similar experiences. What our elite officials have done is "never waste a good crisis." So much damage done for political purposes. A little truth might have gone a long way.
 
I survived Covid. At home. It was miserable. I had a high fever and breathing problems. 16 days of misery. Then it just lifted. Survived on fruit-protein-smoothies. The reason I add this comment is because all we hear is the doom and gloom. We don't hear real stories of people who had it, tested positive, got over it, tested negative, and moved on. Yes. Fear the Covid..... but chances are greater that you will survive it. My wife blew through it in 5 days with minimal wear and tear. I know of lots of other verified cases that ranged in similar experiences. What our elite officials have done is "never waste a good crisis." So much damage done for political purposes. A little truth might have gone a long way.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Vid. I don't know if this number is still holding but last I heard is that 80% of the people who contract covid have mild to no symptoms. There are likely many who have already had it and didn't even know it.
 
We could also learn, as some people did in 2009, to not spend themselves into high interest debt, to save for a rainy day, and be prepared for fecal matter hitting the fan.

I follow a group on FB that is for people dealing with the OED (Oregon Employment Division) - mostly having to do with their UI claims and benefits. A LOT of these people are struggling - BTDT numerous times when unemployed. I would guess that many of these people do not live within their means so to speak.

I understand how hard that can be on minimum wage - it is hard to save and not go into debt when you don't make enough to make ends meet. But consumption spending for non-essential goods, which 70% of the economy depends on, is the evil that drags many people down, yet those who sell this to us (not just the goods and services, but the advertising too) don't care about the damage they do to people's lives - just the dollars it brings in.

I struggled to find a way out of that situation; between making some wise decisions and some "luck", I managed to work my way out of it (not that I always made wise decisions, I made a lot of stupid ones too - still do). The main thing was to pay down/off debt and put aside savings - but also to work towards making more income and working in a more stable profession that increasingly paid well.

I cut back on my spending last year, because my employer started laying off tens of thousands of people. I didn't think I would be one of those, but I tried to prepare for it if it did happen - and it did. Sooner than I thought it would, but that is part of preparing - the unexpected.

My hope is that one good thing that comes out of 2020 and 2021, is that at least some significant number of people will have learned a lesson, and that some percentage of those will change their financial and spending habits. Maybe in the future, just as my parents and grandparents remembered the Great Depression, the people who went thru this recession/pandemic, will remember it too.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Vid. I don't know if this number is still holding but last I heard is that 80% of the people who contract covid have mild to no symptoms. There are likely many who have already had it and didn't even know it.

The vaccine should help. We have to remember that vaccines do not prevent infections, they build up an antibody resistance to fight off the infection when it happens.
 
I survived Covid. At home. It was miserable. I had a high fever and breathing problems. 16 days of misery. Then it just lifted. Survived on fruit-protein-smoothies. The reason I add this comment is because all we hear is the doom and gloom. We don't hear real stories of people who had it, tested positive, got over it, tested negative, and moved on. Yes. Fear the Covid..... but chances are greater that you will survive it. My wife blew through it in 5 days with minimal wear and tear. I know of lots of other verified cases that ranged in similar experiences. What our elite officials have done is "never waste a good crisis." So much damage done for political purposes. A little truth might have gone a long way.

COVID is currently the leading cause of death in this country.
 
COVID is currently the leading cause of death in this country.

Umm no?

Cancer and heart disease are.

Approaching 300K deaths by the end of the year, CV-19 is nothing to be sneezed at (pun intended), but cancer and heart disease far surpass it (my father died from cancer, my mother from a heart attack).

That said, cancer and heart disease are diseases that are more and more likely as you get older and our population is getting older and older. But then death from CV-19 is more likely when you get older too.

Combine CV-19 with heart conditions (I have both heart and lung conditions) and you have a much higher risk of death; one reason why I am careful about precautions.

FYI - we are getting off topic here. :s0128:
 
COVID is currently the leading cause of death in this country.
That is a bald-faced lie that is easily debunked.
And CDC's website, for which the latest data is for 2018, shows that 2 years ago heart disease and cancer were even then far ahead of where COVID-attributed deaths are today. COVID only manages to come in 3rd (even if you believe that all deaths attributed to COVID are due only to COVID - which we now know to be demonstrably false), after heart disease and cancer.
So stop spreading bullsh!t...

Cancer and heart disease are.
Correct! Thanks for correcting the fake news, @The Heretic! :s0155:

/rant and back to topic.
 
Last Edited:
That is a bald-faced lie that is easily debunked. From the CDC's own website, the latest data is for 2018, which even two years ago shows heart disease and cancer far and away ahead of current COVID-reported deaths. COVID only manages to come in 3rd (even if you believe that all deaths attributed to COVID are due only to COVID - which we now know to be absolutely false), after heart disease and cancer.
So stop spreading bullsh!t...


Correct! Thanks for correcting the fake news, @The Heretic! :s0155:

/rant and back to topic.
I hope no one forgets the 450,000 or so deaths per year due to medical malpractice.
 
I hope no one forgets the 450,000 or so deaths per year due to medical malpractice.
I didn't mention that one, since the CDC didn't list it, but you raise an excellent point.
However, I thought it was on the order of 300,000-400,000 deaths per year.
Still, it's a staggering amount, and more than COVID...
 
I didn't mention that one, since the CDC didn't list it, but you raise an excellent point.
However, I thought it was on the order of 300,000-400,000 deaths per year.
Still, it's a staggering amount, and more than COVID...
More than all deaths by guns!
Perhaps we should start putting restrictions on medical professionals?
Its for the children...
 
I didn't mention that one, since the CDC didn't list it, but you raise an excellent point.
However, I thought it was on the order of 300,000-400,000 deaths per year.
Still, it's a staggering amount, and more than COVID...
You're likely right. And your family can't sue them if they screw up. Duuuuuuuuumb.
 
Umm no?

Cancer and heart disease are.

Approaching 300K deaths by the end of the year, CV-19 is nothing to be sneezed at (pun intended), but cancer and heart disease far surpass it (my father died from cancer, my mother from a heart attack).

That said, cancer and heart disease are diseases that are more and more likely as you get older and our population is getting older and older. But then death from CV-19 is more likely when you get older too.

Combine CV-19 with heart conditions (I have both heart and lung conditions) and you have a much higher risk of death; one reason why I am careful about precautions.

FYI - we are getting off topic here. :s0128:

 

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