Millionaire Mindset: The Quarantine Quandary

Returning to Sri Lanka with my wife and son on a repatriation flight, there was one question that needed to be answered regarding our mandatory 14-day quarantine. Should we quarantine ourselves at a fancy hotel or at the government facility? The decision was a straightforward one for me but caused raised eyebrows in certain quarters.

It was a choice between being locked up in a hotel room (and paying half a million rupees for the supposed privilege) or being constrained at a government facility for free. Are we under the delusion that, by opting for the hotel, we would get to spend time with a superior cross-section of the citizenry and avail of the facilities at the property? Not from what I have heard: You would simply be constrained to your hotel room for 14 days. I might pay that kind of money when the hotel is fully operational and I have full access to the facilities, and even then only if I am in a generous mood. But not otherwise.

So, who would pay for a facility that is clearly not worth that kind of money? I have heard that there are people who opt for the hotel because something that they need to pay for would be superior to something that is free. But - although it seems obvious to them – one needs to ask whether this is really the case, or is it merely an example of how human psychology works? There are two interesting economic realities that are at play here:

1. The snob effect: Preference for goods because they are different from those commonly preferred, and;

2. The common law of business balance: Low price of a good indicates that the producer may have compromised quality.

Based on my assessment of the situation, there are broadly two kinds of people who pay for the hotel ’privilege’: (a) Those whose false sense of superiority doesn’t permit them to cohabit in the same residential facilities as ordinary Sri

Lankans, and (b) Those who possess more money than common sense.

I am writing this piece from the seclusion of an open quarantine camp in Vavuniya, a town that I have never had the privilege of visiting before. The camp is surrounded by forests; on our morning walk, we got to see a little bit of wildlife and lots of birds. It is like living in a wilderness resort. The camp is run like clockwork by the Sri Lankan Air Force. The meals are healthy, tasty and served on time. They are served in packets, not on silver salvers. But that is not a major issue for me. Or even for my wife and son!

Since arriving here, I have had the opportunity to interact (masks on, social distance maintained!) with some other ordinary Sri Lankans like me. These are mostly migrant employees who have returned on the same flight as I did. Such interaction would have been impossible in a hotel.

There are some who believe that returnees who can afford the hotel facility should use that instead of utilising Government resources. Instead, I would suggest that you choose whichever you prefer: the 5-star prison or the Government camp. If you want to assuage your guilt about taking advantage of the Government despite having the resources to pay, make a voluntary financial contribution to the Government. Which is precisely what I intend to do.