But the politicians aren't dumb, they know it's no-lose for them to do whatever lock downs measures they like. When the numbers do drop, they can claim that's the reason and you'll have little if any data to prove otherwise. If numbers don't drop for some reason, they can just claim the sheeple didn't follow the rules enough. Clever.
If they screw up the economy so badly people start losing their homes and going hungry they might find they can lose, whatever happens to the death rate from COVID-19.
I don't know. With your higher minimum wage, etc. it seems Australia has for a long time trying to attract a slightly better kind of international investment, but then again, Ive never been to Australia. But to me it seems like a really nice place, kind of how California used to be decades ago, before it turned into the battleground it is now.
The world has changed, sigificantly. We have to adapt to it and be better world citizens. Better safe than sorry.
The problem is, money rules now, over voters, Our leaders have very quietly set up a "rules based trading system" that has actually made the kinds of safety and policy behaviors we now need from governments arguably illegal for those governments to step in and do, unless its the very bare minimum regulation. Even in "emergencies" the rules are very explicit. Especially when it comes to things that might be construed as having "protectionist" motives. Any kind of social assistance or governments helping people is likely prohibited.
(Although this may have changed somewhat, because its so insanely stupid, only time and some legal challenges, will tell.)
But those legal challenges woud only happen somewhere else, (than the US)
(Unless they are pre-rigged, then they are likely to happen here)
I mean proceedings in the WTO. Like, a few years ago Australia was brought into trade court over tobacco labeling rules.
The United States of today would never have enacted the tobacco rules we did in the 70s and 80s.
Because we want to be able to sell dog food as meat. (maybe not literally but you get the idea, the current owners of this franchise are much more pro business than they let on. All of them.)
So that means we're fucked, because my guess is, seeing more of these epidemics in the future they will clamp down hard so that companies investments will not be diminunated by global pandemics. That will mean the worst kinds of health policies.
Factories that were built to support a pre-coronavirus level of staffing? They would rather move to some Third World country, than change how they operate.
I guess we'll see.