Suppose we assume that unchecked Covid-19 killed 1% of US residents, about 3 million people?
The average US airline compensation for deaths is about $170,000. Assume that average was paid for by the US in some way, the cost would be about $0.5tn.
Supposedly the loss to the US economy is $16tn.
Question: "Would a hyper-rational economist support letting 3 million people in the US die, preserving the economy throughout the pandemic, much as that Texas lieutenant governor suggested?"
[Note: to prevent the H/C system from collapsing, the sick and infected would be denied hospital care and left to recover or die at home, or on the streets, rather like the situation in Brazil.]
Barbaric, yes. Uncivilized, yes. But a lower net loss to the economy, with the added benefit of scraping the vulnerable and elderly off the planet, saving on social safety net payments. Genghis Khan might like this. So might an AI or similar algorithm.
Re: Germany compounding the stupid mistake of entering WWI w/the (possibly) unnecessary 1918 spring offensives. Will Rogers quote seems appropriate: “If stupidity got us into this mess why can’t stupidity get us out?”
I would also suggest that the allies may not have gone along with the “we quit” approach. Isn’t that what the Russians tried before Brest-Litovsk?
Assuming a non nuke war does not take into account the almost certain possibility of nukes in the hands of non-state actors. The need for "launch on warning" for our ground based MM3's scares the hell out of me. I advocate getting rid of the MM3's.
Lithgow: "Laugh while you can, monkey boy"
For a future podcast:
Suppose we assume that unchecked Covid-19 killed 1% of US residents, about 3 million people?
The average US airline compensation for deaths is about $170,000. Assume that average was paid for by the US in some way, the cost would be about $0.5tn.
Supposedly the loss to the US economy is $16tn.
Question: "Would a hyper-rational economist support letting 3 million people in the US die, preserving the economy throughout the pandemic, much as that Texas lieutenant governor suggested?"
[Note: to prevent the H/C system from collapsing, the sick and infected would be denied hospital care and left to recover or die at home, or on the streets, rather like the situation in Brazil.]
Barbaric, yes. Uncivilized, yes. But a lower net loss to the economy, with the added benefit of scraping the vulnerable and elderly off the planet, saving on social safety net payments. Genghis Khan might like this. So might an AI or similar algorithm.
Re: Germany compounding the stupid mistake of entering WWI w/the (possibly) unnecessary 1918 spring offensives. Will Rogers quote seems appropriate: “If stupidity got us into this mess why can’t stupidity get us out?”
I would also suggest that the allies may not have gone along with the “we quit” approach. Isn’t that what the Russians tried before Brest-Litovsk?
Re: War with China
Assuming a non nuke war does not take into account the almost certain possibility of nukes in the hands of non-state actors. The need for "launch on warning" for our ground based MM3's scares the hell out of me. I advocate getting rid of the MM3's.