The Coronavirus Pandemic Demonstrates the Failures of Capitalism

[Admiral Yi]

My thinking is that the ideal world the author has in mind when critiquing capitalism is living at mom and dad's with a decent allowance.

[mongers]

Teen Vogue is excellent.

I'd have loved that as a pre-teenager, as it was I had to read my mothers 'cosmopolitans' .

[celedhring]

The most searched words in the online Spanish dictionary of the Real Academia de la Lengua, during the past 15 days:

- Pandemia
- Cuarentena
- Ir
- Confinar/Confinamiento

[Admiral Yi]

Ir, as in to go?

[fromtia]

My thinking is that the ideal world the author has in mind when critiquing capitalism is living at mom and dad's with a decent allowance.

I visit my Mum and Dad for two weeks in May usually, every year. Not this year obviously. It's amazing. My mum cooks constantly and despite the fact that I'm 50, my dad constantly presses cash into my hand whenever I leave the house. He gives my girlfriend and my son the same treatment. he wasn't like this when I was young.

[Josquius]

It's the 2008 crisis all over again.
That also showed the fatal flaws in our setup being so unbalanced towards capitalism.
But look where we are. Embracing politicians who are trying to push things even further in the wrong direction. Even as many grasp some kernals of truth cunning media manipulation convinces them they mean the complete opposite of what they actually do.
This is the most depressing thing about it all. It really is 90 years ago all over again.

As to working remotely. As I said in the other thread this is remote workings big test and I really do think it came too early. This was already a fast growing trend. But being thrown into it suddenly like this, including many workers who really don't have the culture of doing it.... Even amongst those of us who can normally work from home productivity is down. I've heard plenty of stories from others of just putting YouTube on their work computer and playing PlayStation a day.

[Admiral Yi]

Your analysis is very superficial.  The '08 crisis and the current crisis are similar only to the extent that they both call for government intervention.  Past that there are basically no similiarities.

[Josquius]

Your analysis is very superficial.  The '08 crisis and the current crisis are similar only to the extent that they both call for government intervention.  Past that there are basically no similiarities.

I was referring to peoples reaction and saying this shows the failures of the system. Obviously the crises themselves are different, that should go without saying.

[Sheilbh]

Listening to a podcast and the economics professor who was speaking on it made a point which strikes as more boradly relevant about the issue of measuring productivity in a services economy, when there is no product. So we measure the economy in prices paid and quantities which doesn't really work for services in general so hasn't been a great measure for the last 20-30 years.

But this crisis gives a really good example of it because the nurses and doctors and carers etc are quite a large part of the workforce - they are core examples of a service economy as are most other key workers" (and our economy in the UK is 4/5 services. Numerically nurses and carers are probably becoming less productive because they're having to spend more time per patient for patient throughput, which probably isn't accurate and we need to maybe rethink how we measure the productivity and output of a service economy rather than continuing to apply the approach for manufacturing which doesn't quite read across.

[Sheilbh]

Just to follow up on measuring GDP with services like healthcare - and possibly a US specific slant. In the Q1 GDP figures the biggest single decline is healthcare. Presumably this is because electives and other outpatient care has been cancelled and also this pandemic is one that hospitalises people for a long while. It seems very perverse that at this point the area that's showing the biggest drop in product/output is healthcare.

[merithyn]

Just to follow up on measuring GDP with services like healthcare - and possibly a US specific slant. In the Q1 GDP figures the biggest single decline is healthcare. Presumably this is because electives and other outpatient care has been cancelled and also this pandemic is one that hospitalises people for a long while. It seems very perverse that at this point the area that's showing the biggest drop in product/output is healthcare.

My health insurance company is spending hundreds of hours trying to find ways to support our providers who are nearly all struggling. Hospitals, doctors' offices, etc. are all flailing financially right now. If they go under, our company will likely falter as well. This entire system that so many fucking idiots have put so much faith in is going to fall around our ears, and people are going to die simply because doctors aren't going to have the space to take care of them.

Maybe this is what's needed. Burn it all to the ground so that something new and fresh can come out of the ashes. I just wish so many people didn't have to die in the process.

[crazy canuck]

One of the benefits of the universal medical system is that private doctors in their own clinical settings can shift fairly seamlessly into other areas that need their assistance and so they can still provide services they can bill for although admittedly some will make less because the work being done is at a lower per hour code than the services they would normally perform.

[HisMajestyBOB]

One of the benefits of the universal medical system is that private doctors in their own clinical settings can shift fairly seamlessly into other areas that need their assistance and so they can still provide services they can bill for although admittedly some will make less because the work being done is at a lower per hour code than the services they would normally perform.

But how does that help the wealthy?

[crazy canuck]

One of the benefits of the universal medical system is that private doctors in their own clinical settings can shift fairly seamlessly into other areas that need their assistance and so they can still provide services they can bill for although admittedly some will make less because the work being done is at a lower per hour code than the services they would normally perform.

But how does that help the wealthy?

It is a failing I fully acknowledge.  But joking aside, doctors here earn more than enough to put them within the top 1% in Canada by a wide margin.

[HisMajestyBOB]

One of the benefits of the universal medical system is that private doctors in their own clinical settings can shift fairly seamlessly into other areas that need their assistance and so they can still provide services they can bill for although admittedly some will make less because the work being done is at a lower per hour code than the services they would normally perform.

But how does that help the wealthy?

It is a failing I fully acknowledge.  But joking aside, doctors here earn more than enough to put them within the top 1% in Canada by a wide margin.

Not the doctors. The CEOs and boards of directors. You know, job creators. Without them we wouldn't have any hospitals at all.