Wednesday, March 11, 2020

4561 The Virus Brothers



You are not alone, Mr. President. I would have fallen asleep, too.

Coronavirus Czar Mike Pence held a news conference with a bunch of nattily dressed Health Insurance CEOs.  The President attended.  At first, he looked bored.  No mirrors for him to look in? No crowds to cheer.

Then, he fell asleep.  You know… like “Sleepy Joe Biden.” Or Ronald Reagan.

The object here was to assure Americans fearful of the coronavirus that they’d get tested.  Eventually. If they wanted to.  And that the CEOs had been strong armed out of banning coverage for pre-existing conditions, big copays and surprise billing.

Who, us? asked the executives.  Then they kissed the president’s rump loud enough for him to hear as he awakened from his sweet dream.  And they left the room.  No doubt to return to their offices to think up new ways to screw you.

Nice try, Pence.  Nice try, trump -- who, by the way, had not been tested at the time of the midday photo op.  And who had been exposed to Senators who’d been exposed to the virus.  Uh, oh.  But don’t worry. He’s too strong, he says, to get sick. Healthy as a horse, doncha know.
Former healthy as a horse horse named Frank.
There was a great outpouring of sympathy for the people most at risk. People with “underlying conditions” like old age, for example.

If you’re wondering why there are so many varying numbers when affliction-totals are announced, the answer is simple.  Some of the results are held by private labs, others by state health departments and other entities.  By the time they get to the Centers for Disease Control, they’re outdated. En route, they are corrupted.

Bottom line, no one knows how many actual cases and no one knows how many recover (the overwhelming majority) and how many who don’t.

But there are things we do know.
1.    Early testing is imperative.  And we’re not doing enough of that.
2.    Isolating cases works. We’re not doing that, either.  School districts are shutting down here and there.  But only after the fact. (Kudos to Scarsdale, NY which shut down before it had to and to various upscale districts and private schools on New York’s Long Island.)
3.    Concern about cost over coverage is a “thing.” trump and pence tried to allay fears of that today.  Results to be determined.

The administration wants --bigly-- to avoid a coronavirus recession. That’s nothing more than an election day ploy.  trump’s only positive is that he’s been able to maintain the air supply in the Dow Jones Industrial Bubble.  This is used to convince the ignorant and the blind that the economy is doing great.  It isn’t.  But the market will eventually recover for the sliver of the population that owns equities or “products” the values of which are equity-based.

This is a wind machine. It’s used to create fake storms in movies and on television. This is a wind machine and it’s what the administration is using to keep the stock bubble from bursting. The stock downturn this week was saved by one of these and the “buy on the dip” amen chorus which is full of hot soup, to coin a phrase.

I’m Wes Richards my opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ® 
Any Questions? Write wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2020




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