Not a great start to the week

Good morning

The re-preamble: Given what’s going on in the world due to the coronavirus outbreak, I’m sending out a daily newsletter to help keep things in perspective. The news, for the most part, isn’t pretty, and I think it’s important that we all understand what’s going on so that we can make better decisions as to how to deal with it in our lives.

A new week...

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The government’s still struggling to get it together.

Things seemed to calm down a bit on Friday as big stimulus packages seemed primed to pass the Senate and head for the president’s desk. Well, things have taken a turn, and we’re still waiting to see what the next step in the response will be. 

As of Sunday evening, they were still hashing things out. Meanwhile, things aren’t getting any better. The virus now seems to be affecting younger people more severely, and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is now predicting a Q2 GDP drop of 50%, with 30% unemployment.

And on top of all that, apparently, some Senators thought that they should go out and shield their investment portfolios before the market crashed with some good, old-fashioned insider trading. Oh, and one of those Senators — Kelly Loeffler of Georgia — is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. 

Remember Ron Paul?

A lot of people thought he was a good choice for president back in 2012, as he wanted to “audit the Fed.” Well, his son, Rand Paul, the non-McConnell Senator from Kentucky, has contracted coronavirus — after going out of his way to delay government relief packages. Obviously, this isn’t good, and apparently, was using the Senate gym with many other lawmakers who have, subsequently, been exposed.

Oh, and back to Ron for a second. Take a peek at this March 16 blog post entitled “The Coronavirus Hoax” to get a sense of why we’re probably a long way from a resolution in this whole crisis. A lot of people (still) aren’t taking it seriously.

Is there anything you can do?

This is the question we’re all asking ourselves. And unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the answer is “not really.” Unless you can sew masks or create medical equipment in your garage, the best thing you can do is to reach out to your neighbors, friends, and family and make sure they have what they need.

If you have something to spare, give it up. I’ve heard that tattoo artists are taking their gloves and masks and dropping them off at local hospitals, for instance. If you have an elderly neighbor who needs to go to the store, go for them, and leave the bag outside. The best thing we can do, for now, is to stay away from each other.

It’s a strange, unprecedented time. The entire country is going to be quarantined to their homes, for the most part, and everyone’s going to take the hit. So if you want to find ways to help, do so safely and securely. 

I wish I had something more concrete and actionable, but for now, keep your eyes open for opportunities to help your neighbors.

Sam