Posts Made By: James Brown

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

" I feel compelled to restate my opinion that anyone who will not take the simple measures of masks, distancing, work from home if possible, and getting vaccinated is a real problem." 
I think that's the crux of the issue. Ca is opening with those elements in place. The Texas AG sues to PREVENT those measures from occurring. DeSantis isn't far behind in doing the same. The presence of the variants is cause for caution, to say the least.
That said, I disagree with your take on the meaning if the analysis. Spread and death are more evident under GOP leadership during the prime time of a known pandemic. Abbott initially learned from his mistake in reopening too early and now he behaves as if the pandemic never happened. It's also evident that DeSantis had a concerted effort to block covid stats from being realized. S Dakota reportedly did the same...

Ok, I don't think we'll reach an agreement on policy, but hopefully we can agree that actual public policy should be rooted in the full consideration of potentially conflicting public health and economic concerns.   

Studies by public health scientists, like the one we are talking about, understandably examine only the public health side of the equation.

Jim

Originally Posted by James Brown

Ok, I don't think we'll reach an agreement on policy, but hopefully we can agree that actual public policy should be rooted in the full consideration of potentially conflicting public health and economic concerns.   

Studies by public health scientists, like the one we are talking about, understandably examine only the public health side of the equation.

Jim

p.s.  I understand that this tricky balancing act means that a policy decision might cause some to die, to benefit the economy.  Similarly, another policy decision might save some lives at the cost of businesses, livelihoods,  suicide, drug abuse and decreased general welfare.  Any policy taken to extremes has the potential to cause enormous unintended consequences.   For example a "protect the economy at all costs" policy could overwhelm the health care system, and ruin the economy.  To my knowledge, the governors of all 50 states have avoided overwhelming the health care systems in their jurisdictions.

Jim

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"The governors of all 50 states have avoided overwhelming the health care systems in their jurisdictions."
Well, if you characterize makeshift tents in parking lots and covid rooms in hospital gift shops  and covid patients treated on gurneys in hallways as an underwhelmed hospital system, then I guess you're correct...

We sure did not have that in CO.  Did you have patients in gift shops in CA?

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Yup: https://abc7.com/coronavirus-in-la-county-cases-california-covid/9178752/

LA County, California.

I'm curious if anyone in the press or any public health experts politicized this occurrence and blamed this travesty on the Democratic governor or mayor?  I wouldn't.  LA lacks adequate hospital beds given it's population and that would be the case even if it were run by Republicans.  Big cities are poorly equipped to deal with pandemics.

This occurrence in California does give us some insight and context to the attack headlines blaming R governors for their policy decisions that started this thread.

Jim

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/new-cases-50-states/idaho

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

15 states had 10% increases in their covid cases last week....

Led by true-blue D controlled Michigan.  Why are you picking on Idaho instead of the real offenders?    I'm guessing that the party of the Gov. is your main concern, not who is doing well and who is doing less well.  Not really guessing.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Led by true-blue D controlled Michigan.  Why are you picking on Idaho instead of the real D-controlled offenders?  

Or D Connecticut...

Originally Posted by James Brown

Or D Connecticut...

Perhaps the worst of all 50 states.  Who is in charge there?

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

I think the point is the Republican governors had a heads up by witnessing what was happening in New York and California BEFORE it hit their states. And what did they do? Texas: Abbott did apologize for his major screw up but so what, the damage was and is being done. DeSantis in Florida and the shenanigans with the covid stats borders on the criminal. Other Republican states reflected the same behavior, more or less. And again, that's when they could have seen it coming by the events in New York and Los Angeles.

My point is not that every governor played it right.  My point is that based upon the deaths/M metric, there is no indication that D governors have done any better than R governors.  D governors are blue and R are red:

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

Gov. Whitmer is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Totals went down, she opened things back up, and now cases are rising. Like Fauchi said, don't spike the ball on the five yard line. Wait until you cross the goal line. All in all, she's done a good job here to keep Michiganders safe.

BTW- My BIL went to the ER yesterday for his foot and spent to whole day in a wheelchair waiting for a ER bed to open up. He got that today about 10am and still don't know if he'll be admitted. Seems the ER is really busy.

Hi Jim:

Hope you understand that I'm not really picking on Michigan.  NJ is doing much worse...  I'm not really picking on any state - all are between a rock and a hard place. 

I am trying to convince Rod that his irrationally partisan theme of the week (that R governed states are a disaster, compared to D governed states) is not supported by the data.  

I applaud Whitmer for cautiously opening up business in MI.  My main recent point in these two threads, (other than checking Rod) is that public policy has to be a balancing act between economic concerns and public health concerns.  Faucci has a great point, but he is mandated by his role and training to weigh public health concerns only.  The governors have to also consider the economic concerns.  Not an easy job.

I like the way our D governor has handled things in CO.  I suspect that the N and S Dakotan's like the way the Dakota R governors have handled their states, even though they clearly weigh economic concerns over public health concerns more than my governor does.  It shows in the respective deaths/M, although I have not read of the SD Governor's constituents calling for her head...  IMO The agility of the states to act independently is a good thing about our union.

Jim