Panic has arrived in Mesquite.
We only have two grocery stores, Smith’s (a Kroger store) and Walmart, and they are packed with anxious and testy shoppers. Shelves have been stripped of all manner of goods, not just toilet paper. “1 per customer” signs have appeared all over the Smith’s store, and apply to milk, meat, cases of bottled water, etc. In the paper goods aisle, when there is any product available, the buyer can take “1 item: take your pick of Kleenex, toilet paper, or paper towels”.’
Tempers are flaring, as aisles are being blocked by too many shopping carts, being pushed around by demented old fogies who can’t hear or see that good. Any day now I’m expecting to hear of a brawl between cane-wielding 80-year-olds, fighting over the last pack of Depends.
As part of a nationwide effort by Kroger and Walmart to prioritize the needs of the elderly, early store hours are offered to senior citizens only. That may work fine in Los Angeles, but every person in Mesquite is an old fart like me. Realistically, every parking space in town should be reserved for our ancient, but active, population.
(Speaking of our decrepit peers here in town, the rush on grocery stores could be, partially, a result of that age group’s resistance to change. The goods in demand right now can be acquired on-line with a little patience. However, many old folks have resisted modern technological advances: some households do not have computers or cellphones. In fact, it has been a badge of pride for some individuals. So, not only are they not informed as quickly as others, but their only recourse for obtaining necessities in a crisis like this is to troop down to the grocery store and stand in long lines…exactly what epidemiologists recommend that that senior citizens don’t do.)
The massive, local discount liquor store has closed, for some reason. So, now we know that this coronavirus is serious stuff… What’s really a shame is that those Mormons from Utah, who patronize Lee’s Liquor here in Nevada, will have to stay in-state and drink lemonade or tea…to get high…before services at the Temple.
The marijuana dispensary is open, though. It has been deemed “essential” by the State of Nevada. (Gee, how the times have changed!)
Anyway, we’re coping. Social activity is limited, although we are going to eat dinner at a neighbor’s home this Saturday night, and I’m going golfing on Sunday for the first time in a couple of years. (If I get a hole-in-one, while observing my social-distancing, I’ll just high-five myself.)
Our Sun City community center has closed, and so we have no gym, swimming pools, card games, craft rooms, and such. Outdoor activities such as tennis, pickle ball, bocce, and golf are…at your own risk.
Homeowners in our H.O.A. are allowed two community-wide “garage sale” dates per year, and it’s usually quite a social event, visiting driveways in the various subdivisions and chatting with residents. One is still scheduled the day after tomorrow (March 21), but I’m thinkin’ that it will be a bust: no one wants to be sorting through stuff that other people have touched.
We’re just expected to sit a home, watching the young tumbleweeds grow…I guess. We’re hoping for a beautiful Spring.
All of the restaurants in town are closed, as are the three hotel/casinos (i.e. the city’s biggest employers). The economy here, as in many other communities, is tanking. The Nevada state coffers, which depend upon casino income, will be bone dry in a couple of weeks. (Damn…we moved here because the state doesn’t have an income tax; I’ll bet that changes!)
Word out of Washington D.C. is that some hastily-printed greenbacks will be forthcoming to ease the pain. Charlie and I have agreed that, if we get a check, we will pass it along to some other schmo who needs it worse than we do. As the saying goes, “Pay it forward”.
It is amazing that, one month ago, the economy was humming along, jobs were available to those who wanted to work, and store shelves were stocked with everything a person could want or need. Thirty days later and, Kaboom!, it’s a whole new world. What a delicate balance there is between prosperity and poverty!
Who knew?
Well, certainly not our elected officials. This calamity has caught everyone, of both political parties, with their pants down, and it is very discouraging when one realizes how unprepared we are, as a Nation, to respond to something like a pandemic.
(By the way, this current catastrophe can only encourage our many Muslim enemies to strongly consider biological warfare, because it is so easily spread. Who needs nuclear-tipped missiles when a couple of doofuses with Ebola can be flown into our country in Economy class from Damascus? Maybe the Trump Administration should drop the military’s wet dream project, “Space Force”, and put the money into defensive supplies like face masks, ventilators, portable hospitals, and vaccines?)
Speaking of changing the way we think about things, this panic/pandemic will probably permanently change our economy in many ways going forward.
Been to a drive-in movie facility lately? Used a telephone book? Shopped at a mall?
These are relics of yesteryear that are going, going…almost gone because of technology. Macy’s is closing hundreds of stores, and this pandemic only hastened its demise; let’s face it, Amazon Prime killed Macy’s, along with all the other general merchandise department stores. They’re still out there, but hemorrhaging cash. Eventually, Internet buying will wipe out Walmart, too. Big box stores are dinosaurs, soon to be extinct.
Walk-in movie theaters are in Intensive Care, anyway, and this pandemic will kill them; all motion pictures will be streamed in the future. The good news: movie munchies, like a bag of popcorn, won’t cost you $10.
Education doesn’t have to take place in crowded buildings. There was a movement before the pandemic toward “university on-line” learning, due to the high cost of college; I think that will be fast-forwarded because of this catastrophe, as people realize how effective virtual learning can be.
That may also be the future of lower education: more kids sitting in front of computer screens, not playing games, but learning important shit. Don’t laugh. It’s coming.
I think that this vulnerability we are experiencing relating to dissemination of dangerous viruses via close contact may impact events which encourage crowding; i.e. sporting events, conventions, bars and nightclubs, Spring Break, etc. Some people may permanently shy away from such things, and move toward watching the excitement on TV or other streaming device. Why put yourself at risk to being mugged, bombed, trampled, or infected? Someone else can attend…not me.
The cruise industry has likely been mortally wounded by this pandemic, which has demonstrated how isolated and at-risk the passengers can be. Charlie and I have taken at least two dozen cruises, but those days are over. The economic damage that the pandemic has done to the highly-leveraged cruise industry may be insurmountable, anyway. Expect a lot of bankruptcy news in the coming weeks. Expected bailout efforts from Uncle Trump may be a waste of taxpayer dollars, particularly if cruise demand dries up.
(BTW, has anyone noticed besides me…there has been a significant drought of standard issue “bad news” lately on local TV; why is that? I’m talking about robberies, murders, rapes and general mayhem. Could it be that fewer idiots are out doing stupid things after midnight? Like going to nightclubs, bars, hanging out in dimly-lit neighborhoods where criminals prowl. Of course, the birth rate will probably spike, as young people will have fewer things to do.)
This pandemic is probably the impetus/excuse we’ve needed for many years to rid our Nation of in-person voting. There is no reason that this can’t be done by mail (Charlie and I have used the “absentee ballot” function for many years) or on-line. It will cost less, it will be easier for people to vote, results will come in faster, and there will be less opportunity for nefarious politicians to suppress the vote of opponents. We should shift over this year, as we’ll probably still be under Covid-19 quarantine.
I mentioned the other day “thinning the herd”, and how it seems such a callous reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. We are human beings, and the idea of allowing a segment of society to suffer, particularly our elderly blood-kin, is abhorrent.
I pity those poor health professionals in Italy, where hospital beds and ventilators are in such short supply that doctors are having to triage incoming patients at the door; i.e. deciding right there which ones will live (receive care) or die, based upon logistics. It is a horrible responsibility to place on any human being, having the responsibility to “thin the herd” on the spot. The doctors over there are experiencing mental stress that will be with them forever, like the Post Traumatic Stress suffered by battlefield soldiers.
Herd-thinning is something that happens automatically in economics. Businesses that can’t make it go bust. Potential businesses that can’t project a realistic profit don’t get started. Big companies buy out competitors, lay off employees, take advantage of economies of scale, and put the squeeze on suppliers (i.e. demand discounts). Businesses that can’t respond quickly to changes in the marketplace go bye-bye. Smart people create products that make existing ones obsolete.
Business is dog-eat-dog; nothing is guaranteed.
This super-recession that we are entering into right now is going to knock out a lot of businesses that were operating right on the edge. It is a horrible thought, that millions of Americans who work for small, local businesses are going to suffer. Something like half of the employment in the U.S. supports small businesses. Big business will suffer too, as there will be less consumption. And, the housing industry will go into another slump; it always happens in a recession. Pulte Homes, the big mover-shaker in this community, will have to downsize their expectations.
Now is probably the time for our elected officials to get together with “futurists” (i.e. experts at discerning trends) to take advantage of this calamity and push us toward desirable societal outcomes that would have normally taken us decades to reach. I’m wondering what guys like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos would recommend, not so much what Senators McConnell and Pelosi have in mind. We need to be bold, not business-as-usual. As I say, use this situation to take a large leap forward in imagination.
And, not to belabor a tired issue, this global pandemic makes one realize how connected people are in this day in age: i.e. some guy in China gets a virus, and two months later the disease affects everyone in the world. And, the only way the problem can be tackled is by all human beings working together, in their own ways, to defeat the beast.
The government is not going to stifle this virus; human beings are.
Humanity faces a similar, invisible threat from global warming. We are all part of the problem, in that we all contribute, via our lifestyle decisions, to the greenhouse gas load on the atmosphere. It is not up to government to remedy this slow-motion disaster-in-the-making, although it would help if our government would acknowledge it and provide leadership. In the end, it will be people who change their lifestyles, on their own volition, to chip away at the problem. Very much like fighting the pandemic, one person at a time, making responsible decisions to protect other human beings.
I think these two problems have some commonality, and maybe, as a result of this Come-to-Jesus moment, the gravity will spur our society (and elected officials) to take a bold approach.
We need a new Cabinet position: Secretary of BIG THINKING.
Political hacks need not apply.