What is Worse than COVID-19? A Government in Complete Control Over Your Daily Life.
Since our last COVID-19 article, the number of confirmed cases in the United States (US)has increased from 1,670 to 245,175 and the number of deaths attributed (in some part) to COVID-19 has spiked from 40 to 6,059. All of this sounds terrible, except that the mortality rate has fallen from 3.4% to 2.4%. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci still holds that the actual mortality rate for COVID-19 is likely closer to 1%, when accounting for people who contract the virus without ever knowing it was COVID-19.
Moreover, there has been little revision to the mortality rates with older people, who have other medical issues, being the most susceptible to succumbing to COVID-19.
For people under the age of 54, according to CDC data, the upper limit estimate for the COVID-19 mortality rate is less than 1%. People under 54 make up roughly 70% of the US population.
People between 55 and 74, who make up roughly 23% of the US population, have an upper limit estimate for the COVID-19 mortality rate between 2.6% and 4.9%.
People over 75, making up roughly 7% of the US population, are most at risk seeing upper limit estimated mortality rates between 10.5% and 27.3% (27.3% is associated with people over 85).
Further, consider the makeup of our economy as outlined by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
People 54 and under make up roughly 75.1% of the labor force.
People between 55 and 74 make up roughly 23% of the labor force.
People 75 and older make up roughly 1.9% of the labor force.
Our government has, in essence, closed the economy to protect the population from the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, the government has acknowledged that 80% of people infected by COVID-19 will have symptoms so mild that they will not know that they were infected.
There are members of our society that are at a much higher risk from COVID-19; people with pre-existing cardiovascular issues, diabetes, respiratory disease, or hypertension and/or people 75 and older should minimize their exposure to others. As previously noted, however, those at most risk make up ~7% of our population and ~1.9% of our labor force.
Would it not be more efficient to propose that those most at risk self-isolate or quarantine, as we go through this crisis? Is it really necessary to shutter the economy? Do we, as a people, really want to cede this much power to the government? Where, in a moment of crisis, the government can suspend the economy, can confine you to your home, can take legal action against you if you disobey. How much of our liberty do we want to erode in the name of notional safety?
In less than a month, State governments have begun to issue stay at home orders, some States have criminalized leaving your home, public gatherings have been banned, public parks have been closed, schools have been closed for the school year, and we have simply gone along. Is that really a power we want vested in our governments?
