Monday, March 23, 2020

Coronavirus predictions

A year and a half or two years from now, when the coronavirus has done its damage and faded into America's recent memory, both the Right and the Left will claim victory each by pointing to the extreme views of the other. "You said it would kill five million people!" the Right will say to the Left.
"You said it was a flu!" the Left will say to the Right.
The moderates will have won, but not in a way that means anything; "I don't know" isn't much of a battle cry. 
The nut jobs—the preppers, the conspiracy buffs, will maintain their usual sideshow status and not matter at all.

2 comments:

  1. So basicly nothing will change? I think the economic fallout could be a game changer in many respects.

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    1. You're right. There will be changes, some good ones, perhaps. People have been forced to use technology they previously didn't trust but may come to after a period of being forced to use it. Google Hangouts instead of flying to Chicago for a company meeting, that kind of thing. Grocery delivery services. The economy has been hit hard but the fundamental structure is solid and it will, I think, bounce back to around where it was, though there will be an unacceptable amount of pain to too many good people. Air pollution has decreased markedly in many regions due to fewer car and truck trips. Imagine if there were a long-term decrease of even ten percent of such things, as more people work from home three days a week. About all I can say for certain is that things like this are impossible to predict!

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