More Lessons From The Pandemic

Continuing on the theme from last week’s column, here are some more thoughts and observations from the pandemic.

Unfortunately, I’m not surprised at just how little grasp of economics and finances people have. I don’t consider myself a financial genius or an expert on economics, but I do have a pretty good amount of common sense and I realize that nothing in life is free.

There is always a cost associated with everything in life and you can only print “funny money” for so long until the entire economy collapses. People want to “shelter down” in their homes and have the government continue to send them money indefinitely.

They don’t realize (or don’t care) that the government is funded by people who work and pay taxes. These trillions of dollars in stimulus packages are being funded by our children and grandchildren in the form of future tax payments.

I understand that these are extreme times and the government forced the economy to come to a screeching halt and we have to help people now. I’m not talking about that. What I’m saying is that we cannot stay in our own “shelter” forever — regardless of what some experts think.

There has to be a point where we say enough is enough. And, by watching the news about protests around the country, a lot of people are there and ready to get back to work.

Which brings me to another point; some people think they are more important than others. No shock there, but the sad point is that they don’t care to flaunt it. The mayor of Chicago was literally yelling at people for not practicing social distancing and then was caught having her hair done (in direct violation of her own rules).

When asked, she said she represented the city and had to look good for the cameras. What would have been real leadership is to not have her hair done and let people know she was following the rules like everyone else. But, real leadership is hard to find these days. And the rules don’t apply to everyone.

And, think about this one. Everyone is being told to stay home and not go out without a mask. And a lot of people are very adamant about it and spew hatred at anyone not following the guidelines.

But, unless these people have a pantry the size of Nancy Pelosi, they have to either go out to get groceries or someone delivers it to them. What about the people who are serving them? Is the life of the server less important than those served?

As we go forward, we need to acknowledge a few things. The elderly and immuno-compromised need to take special actions to protect themselves. The rest of us need to serve them and take care of ourselves but go on with life.

And, most importantly, we need to understand that no one leaves this life alive. If nothing else, this crisis should lead us to a renewed relationship with God and acknowledge that He alone is in control. And, without God, there is no real purpose.