The coronavirus

DewieCox

I get eye rolls and called a sucker for being honest on my weekly certification. From my perspective, people are totally cool with taking advantage of the situation whether they need or not. 

mace1229

DewieCox said:

I get eye rolls and called a sucker for being honest on my weekly certification. From my perspective, people are totally cool with taking advantage of the situation whether they need or not. 

Not surprised, and that would be my guess too, just haven't seen any real data on it. 
I understand they wanted to get the money out asap and that's why the was almost no vetting, but there would have been a stipulation where if your income was still 75% or more of what it was last year, you'd have to repay the $600 bonus on your tax returns.

static111

mace1229 said:

static111 said:

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Saying we just need to wear masks is hilarious.  Americans won't wear masks.  Too fucking stupid.  
By.  Fucking.  Far.

Americans won’t do another shutdown either.

I am pissed off at Americans not wearing masks.  I agreed with the original shutdown.  We didn’t know much about the virus and it allowed hospitals to catch up.   

We learned this isn’t Ebola.  This isn’t the Spanish Flu.  This is a bad virus and should be taken seriously but I don’t think we should go to another full shutdown but somewhere near stage 2 or 3 if a shutdown was stage 1 and stage five was normal.

Just an opinion.  I go back and forth on this though.   

Health risks aside.  I don’t want another shutdown. That $600 unemployment boost helped but didn’t match what I make in an open economy.  My family had to subsidize with our savings. And of course now t extra benefits are gone.  Luckily I am back to work.  Even part time I am making more than the UE boost.  I know that my family won’t financially survive another shutdown...would we survive getting the virus with no long term effects? Hopefully.  It’s a bad situation to be in but another shutdown that doesn’t fully subsidize people isn’t worth it.

I'm curious for a study on the abuse of that unemployment boost. One example I know of this couple who had a booth in an antique shop, more for a hobby than income. When the store closed due to covid they applied for unemployment. Since they still had other income, they only qualified for the minimum $150 a week, but then automatically received the $600 bonus. Between the 2 of them they made $1500 a week in unemployment for an antique booth that probably only made them $1000 a month as extra income.
Its terrible because it drains the pool for people who really need the money, and it could have lasted longer if there was better vetting, or not slashed the budget for schools and other places to pay for it. I'd be interested in seeing how common that was, or if it was pretty rare. If I had to guess I would say there was hundreds of millions in abuse, but I don't have any data to back that up.

I’m sure there was some fraud most programs have that happen to some varying degree.  My guess is the dollar value is much less than the trillions the fed dumped into the market or the other corporate bailouts.  The program was better than nothing, but that doesn’t mean it was a good program.

OnWis97

static111 said:

mace1229 said:

static111 said:

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Saying we just need to wear masks is hilarious.  Americans won't wear masks.  Too fucking stupid.  
By.  Fucking.  Far.

Americans won’t do another shutdown either.

I am pissed off at Americans not wearing masks.  I agreed with the original shutdown.  We didn’t know much about the virus and it allowed hospitals to catch up.   

We learned this isn’t Ebola.  This isn’t the Spanish Flu.  This is a bad virus and should be taken seriously but I don’t think we should go to another full shutdown but somewhere near stage 2 or 3 if a shutdown was stage 1 and stage five was normal.

Just an opinion.  I go back and forth on this though.   

Health risks aside.  I don’t want another shutdown. That $600 unemployment boost helped but didn’t match what I make in an open economy.  My family had to subsidize with our savings. And of course now t extra benefits are gone.  Luckily I am back to work.  Even part time I am making more than the UE boost.  I know that my family won’t financially survive another shutdown...would we survive getting the virus with no long term effects? Hopefully.  It’s a bad situation to be in but another shutdown that doesn’t fully subsidize people isn’t worth it.

I'm curious for a study on the abuse of that unemployment boost. One example I know of this couple who had a booth in an antique shop, more for a hobby than income. When the store closed due to covid they applied for unemployment. Since they still had other income, they only qualified for the minimum $150 a week, but then automatically received the $600 bonus. Between the 2 of them they made $1500 a week in unemployment for an antique booth that probably only made them $1000 a month as extra income.
Its terrible because it drains the pool for people who really need the money, and it could have lasted longer if there was better vetting, or not slashed the budget for schools and other places to pay for it. I'd be interested in seeing how common that was, or if it was pretty rare. If I had to guess I would say there was hundreds of millions in abuse, but I don't have any data to back that up.

I’m sure there was some fraud most programs have that happen to some varying degree.  My guess is the dollar value is much less than the trillions the fed dumped into the market or the other corporate bailouts.  The program was better than nothing, but that doesn’t mean it was a good program.

Anecdotes tend to dominate this issue. "I know a cashier at a liquor store and this guy tried to buy vodka with food stamps." 

Traditionally, I used to* know that welfare (way back when it was called AFDC) averaged less than two years per household while being decried as a lifetime of dependency. 

Fudging benefits?  Yeah, most people do it, be it on their taxes or getting too much change back from the bank.  I personally don't (I have OCD that makes it totally not worth it).  But this is the kind of thing that upsets some people more.

josevolution

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

Ughh that does suck but I believe we are all doing that! At least us sane folks..

HughFreakingDillon

josevolution said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

Ughh that does suck but I believe we are all doing that! At least us sane folks..

i just didn't think that step was warranted where i am. cases are spiking a bit here, but we're still low. but trudeau is telling the whole country to sacrifice thanksgiving so we can have christmas, but painting the whole country with the same brush is a little dumb. 

josevolution

HughFreakingDillon said:

josevolution said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

Ughh that does suck but I believe we are all doing that! At least us sane folks..

i just didn't think that step was warranted where i am. cases are spiking a bit here, but we're still low. but trudeau is telling the whole country to sacrifice thanksgiving so we can have christmas, but painting the whole country with the same brush is a little dumb. 

Not sure how I feel but I think sacrificing one year of holidays is not going to affect us/my family per say , this Virus should of be taken totally seriously from the get go and now we have lost over 200 thousand Americans I still can’t believe I’m writing that number! 

HughFreakingDillon

josevolution said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

josevolution said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

Ughh that does suck but I believe we are all doing that! At least us sane folks..

i just didn't think that step was warranted where i am. cases are spiking a bit here, but we're still low. but trudeau is telling the whole country to sacrifice thanksgiving so we can have christmas, but painting the whole country with the same brush is a little dumb. 

Not sure how I feel but I think sacrificing one year of holidays is not going to affect us/my family per say , this Virus should of be taken totally seriously from the get go and now we have lost over 200 thousand Americans I still can’t believe I’m writing that number! 

yes, of course it should be taken seriously. and i honestly don't care that much about not seeing some of my family at T giving. i just don't necessarily agree AT THIS POINT that step is necessary for winnipeggers. 

mace1229

You guys don't even celebrate Thanksgiving in the right month, so no big deal.

HughFreakingDillon

mace1229 said:

You guys don't even celebrate Thanksgiving in the right month, so no big deal.

and we don't take an inexplicable extra day either. we really should get on that. 

mace1229

HughFreakingDillon said:

mace1229 said:

You guys don't even celebrate Thanksgiving in the right month, so no big deal.

and we don't take an inexplicable extra day either. we really should get on that. 

Its becoming a whole week thing now. Schools have such poor attendance those other 3 days its becoming more and more common to just close school the whole week. 

Halifax2TheMax

Swedish expert warns country going in ‘wrong direction’ as cases rise

By Adam Taylor

Sweden, where a shutdown-free pandemic response prompted a global debate, is seeing another wave of covid-19 cases, with the country’s state epidemiologist warning this week that it was heading in the “wrong direction” as winter approaches.

Sweden’s public health body recorded 554 new covid-19 cases Thursday — the highest since early July — and 417 on Friday, according to its online tracking tool, capping off what epidemiologist Anders Tegnell had warned would be a record week for new cases.

“It is slowly but surely going in the wrong direction in Sweden, even if the situation is not as serious as in other parts of Europe,” Tegnell said at a news briefing Thursday, according to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

Unlike many other nations, Sweden has pursued a policy for containing the virus that avoided strict government measures such as school or restaurant closures. The success or failure of that policy is still being debated far beyond Sweden’s borders, where most countries implemented some form of a lockdown.

HughFreakingDillon

i don't understand how countries like sweden are doing that when we don't even know yet if herd immunity will even work. sure, so far the cases of reinfection aren't clear and are rare so far, but we don't know enough yet. 

Meltdown99

mrussel1 said:

Meltdown99 said:

Canada's PM has said the 2nd wave is upon us.  Yet know shutdown?  kind of a free for all.  LOL.  Maybe the mask is all that was ever needed.

If mask is all we need,  then a second wave shouldn't happen. 

In Ontario, the spike seems to be in 3 places and sounds like they are happening among young people who participate in these large gatherings.  Where I live everyone wears a mask while indoors and the case count is really low, and we were the last region to enter stage 3 and the 1st to mandate masks...mask has worked here.

However, the province has ordered all strip clubs closed (I guess they are spreading it there) and bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol at 11 and close at 12.  But feel free Costco pack them in there...After all, only about 20% of what they sell is essential and the essential workers are being paid so well...

Kat

tish said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

I'm supposed to host my family of 30 immediate, nearby members. That is definitely more than BC's safe 6. 

Not sure what or when to tell them... I can't be the only one knowing this is a bad idea.

Sidebar- I already roasted a bird, made soup, and offered my Mom a drop off plate. If I hide the turkey in my delicious stuffing I can get a bit of protein in my tall, lanky, growing girl. Mmm l-tryptophan.

I would honestly say that this year's event can happen on zoom or something because if I hosted an event during a pandemic and ANY of my family became ill and/or died, I could not live with myself. Stay safe everyone, I love you.

Stay safe, Tish.

josevolution

Kat said:

tish said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

I'm supposed to host my family of 30 immediate, nearby members. That is definitely more than BC's safe 6. 

Not sure what or when to tell them... I can't be the only one knowing this is a bad idea.

Sidebar- I already roasted a bird, made soup, and offered my Mom a drop off plate. If I hide the turkey in my delicious stuffing I can get a bit of protein in my tall, lanky, growing girl. Mmm l-tryptophan.

I would honestly say that this year's event can happen on zoom or something because if I hosted an event during a pandemic and ANY of my family became ill and/or died, I could not live with myself. Stay safe everyone, I love you.

Stay safe, Tish.

👍

Lerxst1992

Spiritual_Chaos said:

So is Sweden the only (western) country that doesn't have and never have had a forced (or even sternly recommended) facemask usage?

Open your borders to American and Indian tourists, then we’ll talk.

Lerxst1992

bootlegger10 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Saying we just need to wear masks is hilarious.  Americans won't wear masks.  Too fucking stupid.  
By.  Fucking.  Far.

Americans won’t do another shutdown either.

I am pissed off at Americans not wearing masks.  I agreed with the original shutdown.  We didn’t know much about the virus and it allowed hospitals to catch up.   

We learned this isn’t Ebola.  This isn’t the Spanish Flu.  This is a bad virus and should be taken seriously but I don’t think we should go to another full shutdown but somewhere near stage 2 or 3 if a shutdown was stage 1 and stage five was normal.

Just an opinion.  I go back and forth on this though.   

The US is on pace for about 60% of the Spanish Flu deaths in a full year. Could be even much closer based on current projections . That’s with excessive precautions that were not taken in 1918, such as no Pearl Jam concerts, no attendance at sporting events, minimal  indoor restaurants, airplanes, cinemas and other entertainment, enforcing social distancing requirements, large scale employers allowing working from home, etc. Take away these precautions, and I’ll bet you covid deaths would have exceeded the one year Spanish flu totals.

Spunkie

josevolution said:

Kat said:

tish said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

my family is considering not having thanksgiving. just an outdoor gathering around a fire having dogs and smores. sigh. oh well. 

I'm supposed to host my family of 30 immediate, nearby members. That is definitely more than BC's safe 6. 

Not sure what or when to tell them... I can't be the only one knowing this is a bad idea.

Sidebar- I already roasted a bird, made soup, and offered my Mom a drop off plate. If I hide the turkey in my delicious stuffing I can get a bit of protein in my tall, lanky, growing girl. Mmm l-tryptophan.

I would honestly say that this year's event can happen on zoom or something because if I hosted an event during a pandemic and ANY of my family became ill and/or died, I could not live with myself. Stay safe everyone, I love you.

Stay safe, Tish.

👍

I agree. I spoke about it not being a good idea and others had similar thoughts. 

tbergs

Yay MN! Such responsible and upstanding people out there. I guess they're hoping the hoax ends in another month or so.

https://m.startribune.com/covid-19-surveys-halted-in-minn-amid-racism-intimidation/572535141/