[2006alum]

And an aside to those who are tired of reading my posts about the economic devastation: I don't give a rip.  I'll keep being one of a few lonely voices who understand that the carnage we've inflicted on ourselves will ruin this country.  Read it or don't.  Care or don't.

I don't think anyone doesn't "understand that the carnage we've inflicted on ourselves will [significantly hurt] this country." Speaking from my own experience, my industry has been completely flattened, already. Future recruiting for entry-level positions has been pushed back a year, at least, probably more. It's very likely some firms won't survive at all, and the entry-level generation will be starting their careers permanently 2-3 years behind. I have family members who've already closed their small businesses AND MOVE STATES to live with relatives. They're not sure whether they'll ever go back. To be honest, I'm a bit insulted that you think only you alone can understand the damage this has inflicted.

From my vantage point, we all know that. But saying we committed economic "suicide" is just ludicrous when you look at places like NYC, Italy, and Spain, which are essentially warzones due to slow interventions to shut things down. We had no choice -- the alternative would have been a suicide of even greater propositions.

But now that it's happened/happening, how do we move forward? How do we "re-open" (whatever that means) the economy? My view is that this will also be an opportunity, because a lot of our current economy didn't make much sense. There was a very interesting story on Bob Iger on the front page of the NY Times last night that noted how he's basically back running Disney and recognizes how much things will change when this is all over:

Mr. Iger is now intensely focused on remaking a company that will emerge, he believes, deeply changed by the crisis. The sketch he has drawn for associates offers a glimpse at the post-pandemic future: It’s a Disney with fewer employees, leading the new and uncertain business of how to gather people safely for entertainment.

I just wish we'd focus on what happens going forward: what do you think proactive steps should be? How do we manage the risk when we don't even know whether those who have antibodies can have the virus reactivated in them? How do we encourage folks to start participating in the economy who are worried about SARS-COV-2? How do we put a testing, tracing, and isolation system into place like the successful ones in Taiwan and South Korea. What industries, like cruise lines and amusement parks, are unlikely to re-open in the same way any time soon? Do we have to rethink our assumptions about international travel and international trade? Dependency on global supply chains and "just in time" delivery patterns? Etc.

[2006alum]

And an aside to those who are tired of reading my posts about the economic devastation: I don't give a rip.  I'll keep being one of a few lonely voices who understand that the carnage we've inflicted on ourselves will ruin this country.  Read it or don't.  Care or don't.

I don't think anyone doesn't "understand that the carnage we've inflicted on ourselves will [significantly hurt] this country." Speaking from my own experience, my industry has been completely flattened, already. Future recruiting for entry-level positions has been pushed back a year, at least, probably more. It's very likely some firms won't survive at all, and the entry-level generation will be starting their careers permanently 2-3 years behind. I have family members who've already closed their small businesses AND MOVE STATES to live with relatives. They're not sure whether they'll ever go back. To be honest, I'm a bit insulted that you think only you alone can understand the damage this has inflicted.

From my vantage point, we all know that. But saying we committed economic "suicide" is just ludicrous when you look at places like NYC, Italy, and Spain, which are essentially warzones due to slow interventions to shut things down. We had no choice -- the alternative would have been a suicide of even greater propositions.

But now that it's happened/happening, how do we move forward? How do we "re-open" (whatever that means) the economy? My view is that this will also be an opportunity, because a lot of our current economy didn't make much sense. There was a very interesting story on Bob Iger on the front page of the NY Times last night that noted how he's basically back running Disney and recognizes how much things will change when this is all over:

Mr. Iger is now intensely focused on remaking a company that will emerge, he believes, deeply changed by the crisis. The sketch he has drawn for associates offers a glimpse at the post-pandemic future: It’s a Disney with fewer employees, leading the new and uncertain business of how to gather people safely for entertainment.

I just wish we'd focus on what happens going forward: what do you think proactive steps should be? How do we manage the risk when we don't even know whether those who have antibodies can have the virus reactivated in them? How do we encourage folks to start participating in the economy who are worried about SARS-COV-2? How do we put a testing, tracing, and isolation system into place like the successful ones in Taiwan and South Korea. What industries, like cruise lines and amusement parks, are unlikely to re-open in the same way any time soon? Do we have to rethink our assumptions about international travel and international trade? Dependency on global supply chains and "just in time" delivery patterns? Etc.