COVID-19/corona virus mega thread/prepping thread

[MillCreek]

Fairly certain it's their union/commie labor practices that cause it.

Postage is still fixed rate, way low.  But labor costs are skyrocketing due to high demand.  Any work over 40 hours incurs overtime pay, and hiring additional postal workers incurs additional costs not factored into the postal rates.

This is what you get when everything is subsidized.

If I recall correctly, the USPS has some unusual Congressional requirements in terms of prefunding pensions and this really impacts their bottom line.  Ah, I found it: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-04-04/congress-not-amazon-messed-up-the-u-s-postal-service

[Hawkmoon]

The inside skinny on why we don't have enough masks for healthcare workers:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-the-worlds-richest-country-ran-out-of-a-75-cent-face-mask/ar-BB11GgLi

My take-away from the article:

Few in the protective equipment industry are surprised by the shortages, because they’ve been predicted for years. In 2005, the George W. Bush administration called for the coordination of domestic production and stockpiling of protective gear in preparation for pandemic influenza. In 2006, Congress approved funds to add protective gear to a national strategic stockpile — among other things, the stockpile collected 52 million surgical face masks and 104 million N95 respirator masks.

But about 100 million masks in the stockpile were deployed in 2009 in the fight against the H1N1 flu pandemic, and the government never bothered to replace them. This month, Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, testified that there are only about 40 million masks in the stockpile — around 1 percent of the projected national need.

So the .gov gave out most of the stockpiled masks in 2009, and "the government" never bothered to replace them. And who was the head of "the government" from 2009 until January of 2017? Hint: it wasn't Orangemen. But he's supposed to have known -- and corrected -- what his predecessor failed to do for SEVEN YEARS.

[MechAg94]

The inside skinny on why we don't have enough masks for healthcare workers:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-the-worlds-richest-country-ran-out-of-a-75-cent-face-mask/ar-BB11GgLi

My take-away from the article:

So the .gov gave out most of the stockpiled masks in 2009, and "the government" never bothered to replace them. And who was the head of "the government" from 2009 until January of 2017? Hint: it wasn't Orangemen. But he's supposed to have known -- and corrected -- what his predecessor failed to do for SEVEN YEARS.

Sounds like replacing the stockpile was never funded. 

Also, did they distribute the 40 million masks they still had?

Seems like there ought to be a better way to handle that than a govt warehouse of stuff. 

[MillCreek]

^^^Having done it professionally in various governmental and corporate settings, I have to say that emergency/disaster preparedness really takes hind tit when it comes to funding.  If you prepare and stock up and the crisis never happens, everyone says you wasted the money that could have been used for other things and this is why taxes are so high or corporate earnings are down.  If the crisis happens and you weren't stocked and prepared for it, everyone says you are an idiot for not being able to persuade the decision makers to spend the money.

[Ben]

^^^Having done it professionally in various governmental and corporate settings, I have to say that emergency/disaster preparedness really takes hind tit when it comes to funding.  If you prepare and stock up and the crisis never happens, everyone says you wasted the money that could have been used for other things and this is why taxes are so high or corporate earnings are down.  If the crisis happens and you weren't stocked and prepared for it, everyone says you are an idiot for not being able to persuade the decision makers to spend the money.

Yup. I did the emergency and disaster preparedness for my region at work. I just talked to one of my old coworkers last week and she told me that at inventory last year, they just dumped all the supplies because they were taking up too much space.  I recall there were a ton of respirators in the mix. They gave that duty to an O-3, so I'm sure he'll take a hit in his FITREP now with the virus, even though somebody above him said to dump them.

[charby]

Minnesota just went to Shelter in Place starting Friday at 11:59pm. Bars and Restaurants to remain closed until May 1.

They are figuring that at least 2 million MN residents will get Covid-19, it will peak in 14 weeks and 11 weeks from now all ICU beds will be filled. They are scrambling to create more ICU beds.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/gov-walz-announces-shelter-in-place-order-for-minnesota

[DittoHead]

On the pork packed financial assistance bill:

A $1,200 payment for each adult, and $500 per child, in households that earn up to $75,000 per year for individuals or $150,000 for couples. The assistance phases out for people who earn more. Democratic aides in the Senate said on Wednesday that eligible Americans with direct-deposit bank account information on file with the Internal Revenue Service — about 70 million people — should see their payments arrive within a few weeks of the bill being signed into law. Those who did not have such information on file and would instead be mailed a check will need to wait up to four months to receive one, the aides said.

That's a LONG time for the people who actually need it.
Seems like a good opportunity for the payday/title loan companies.  

[Ben]

Idaho just announced a 21 day statewide lockdown.

[MechAg94]

On the pork packed financial assistance bill:That's a LONG time for the people who actually need it.
Seems like a good opportunity for the payday/title loan companies.  

The Rush substitute was also saying that is may only apply if you make less than $75K.  Between 75K and 100K, you might get a check, but will have to pay it back.  Over $100K you get nothing. 

[sumpnz]

The Rush substitute was also saying that is may only apply if you make less than $75K.  Between 75K and 100K, you might get a check, but will have to pay it back.  Over $100K you get nothing. 

That's for single filers.  Married joint filers get double that for thresholds.

[charby]

Idaho just announced a 21 day statewide lockdown.

Are you gnashing your teeth and throwing stuff yet?

[WLJ]

Oh for *expletive deleted*s sake 

COVID-19 is a gendered crisis
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2020/03/25/women-hardest-hit-australian-senator-wants-to-remind-us-all-that-covid-19-is-a-gendered-crisis/

[cordex]

Oh for *expletive deleted*s sake 

COVID-19 is a gendered crisis
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2020/03/25/women-hardest-hit-australian-senator-wants-to-remind-us-all-that-covid-19-is-a-gendered-crisis/

Isn't it disproportionately killing men?

[Ben]

Are you gnashing your teeth and throwing stuff yet?

Doesn't affect me. Uncle Sam deposits my pension in my bank every month and all the places I go to anyway, grocery, farm store, gun store are exempt as essential services. The rest of the time I play on my farm, fish in my pond, and take pictures of geese crapping on my house. Maybe I'll throw something at the geese.

[WLJ]

And more

It gets even worse in the comments if you can believe that

America's Response to the Coronavirus Is a Natural Consequence of White Supremacy
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/americas-response-to-the-coronavirus-is-a-natural-conse-1842377080

[Doggy Daddy]

Doesn't affect me. Uncle Sam deposits my pension in my bank every month and all the places I go to anyway, grocery, farm store, gun store are exempt as essential services. The rest of the time I play on my farm, fish in my pond, and take pictures of geese crapping on my house. Maybe I'll throw something at the geese.

And Steve?  We all want need to know how the hobo is handling all this.

[WLJ]

Isn't it disproportionately killing men?

yes

[Ben]

And Steve?  We all want need to know how the hobo is handling all this.

He's more concerned about the geese than the virus. 

Somehow the little bastard caught a snow goose and ate it last week, while I never got a shot off. Steve-1, Ben-0.

[Hawkmoon]

^^^Having done it professionally in various governmental and corporate settings, I have to say that emergency/disaster preparedness really takes hind tit when it comes to funding.  If you prepare and stock up and the crisis never happens, everyone says you wasted the money that could have been used for other things and this is why taxes are so high or corporate earnings are down.  If the crisis happens and you weren't stocked and prepared for it, everyone says you are an idiot for not being able to persuade the decision makers to spend the money.

^^^ Exactly. Catch-22. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Kind of like the snow plowing budget for towns in the snow belt. Have a mild winter or two so you don't spend every last penny, and next year the bean counters reduce the snow plowing budget. Then along comes a severe (i.e. normal) winter, the budget has been spent by mid-February and there's another blizzard in the forecast, and everyone wants to know why there's no money left to plow the streets.

[charby]

I'm listening to the press conference from the mayor of Mason City, IA.

We have a regional hospital here, they just admitted that there is only 38 respirators at that hospital. Kind of shocking to me it was that low for a regional hospital.

[Ben]

On the pork packed financial assistance bill:That's a LONG time for the people who actually need it.
Seems like a good opportunity for the payday/title loan companies.  

I guess I'm on the 4 month list. Up until this year, I've always had to send them a check, so never did the electronic bank info thing. This year my CPA got me money back, and the feds sent me a paper check, so I assume the IRS doesn't have my bank info.

Doesn't bother me, but I can sure see how it could adversely affect some. Seems to me that a lot of people without bank info on file will often be those poorer people without a bank account anyway that the dems are always going on about, so it's interesting that they let that slip through. I recall several tenants I had over the years that never had bank accounts and always paid me with cash or money orders. I'm guessing there are a lot of working poor like that.

[WLJ]

Looks like Bernie is holding things up

Bernie Sanders said Wednesday afternoon he might torpedo the Senate's compromise stimulus package unless Republican senators dropped their objections about what they called a "massive drafting error" related to unemployment benefits, in the latest twist to a process that has been marked by delays and last-minute hurdles.

The concern from Sens. Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott, R-S.C., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., is that the current version of the bill could pay workers more in unemployment benefits than they're currently making, by sticking a $600 per week payment on top of ordinary benefits that are calculated as a percentage of income. This could disrupt the labor market further, the lawmakers warn.

Coronavirus bill hits hurdles as Sanders threatens to stall package over bid to change unemployment aid
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-threatens-to-stall-coronavirus-package-over-gop-bid-to-change-unemployment-aid

[Ben]

Looks like Bernie is holding things up

Coronavirus bill hits hurdles as Sanders threatens to stall package over bid to change unemployment aid
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-threatens-to-stall-coronavirus-package-over-gop-bid-to-change-unemployment-aid

Yeah, he apparently wants people to get bigger unemployment checks than they do checks from their work. Jackass.

[WLJ]

Yeah, he apparently wants people to get bigger unemployment checks than they do checks from their work. Jackass.

It's a feature not a bug

[Ben]

Isn't it disproportionately killing men?

I saw by a two to one margin. That's pretty significant.