An obvious fix for the pandemic.

[dontmissthese]

Mostly restrict oldies to home quarantine after first establishing an efficient

home delivery system for essentials. 

Let all the young ones just go for it and get the economy rolling again.

Some will die but the flu also kills at about the same rate and it's usually

people with a pre-existing condition which makes them vulnerable so what

COVID-19 doesn't get the flu will.

For the most part it will be a mild case of the flu and we having been living

this way since the Spanish Flu pandemic.

The most vulnerable group ( oldies ) will be protected until a vaccine is developed.

We would have to FaceTime our relatives. A small price to pay for the good of mostly all.

Any oldies caught outdoors without an 'effective' face mask will be stripped of excursion rights.

The alternative is sending our country broke.

If put to a vote then most oldies ( including me ) would vote yes.

[myoclon1cjerk]

The government won't have the funds to invest in infrastructure.

[tasfleur]

"But silly when faced with the global health and economic crisis we have ahead"

Cheering each other up, when we can, and being able to sometimes give a smile in the face of adversity,  as well as encouraging each other to go on is a great gift people can give each other at this time.

You should try it, it might help you too ... 

[tasfleur]

This is a song over forty people (quilters) sang in our house before the corona virus started.   We won't be able to gather again until it is all over and the all clear sounds.

Everyone in the whole world could sing it in their own key;   it's in every language and so very meaningful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnlJjcpqtgk

[bright.ton42]

A lovely song Tas, meaningful words.

Can be a hard ask when people are scared, bewildered  and lonely and therefore quick to light a fuse, but something certainly to aim for. 

[ecar3483]

It's a lovely song, Tas.

Thanks for sharing it. 🙂

I couldn't help but think that the background pictures reminded me of Scotland, except for the blue sky, that is, ha ha...

I went on a road trip with some fellow Aussies, some years back, to Edinburgh.

It rained, almost from the moment we crossed the border, and then without letting up for the next three days, until we crossed back into England.

But it didn't dampen their enthusiasm, ha ha...

🙂

[bright.ton42]

---

Cheering each other up, when we can, and being able to sometimes give a smile in the face of adversity,  as well as encouraging each other to go on is a great gift people can give each other at this time.

---

Reminds me of the Great Wars not that I was  born , but the humour that prevailed to alleviate the despair, particularly with language. .

Not comparing it with these times either  but just citing it as a time of great hardship and darkness for many. .

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/comedy-in-the-trenches

Twisting words in the German vernacular to create slanguage helped soldiers regain a sense of community, but it wasn’t only the Aussie diggers who played with words – French soldiers did the same thing.

“In both Australian and French trench journals, dark stories of war co-existed with cartoons, jokes and puns,” says Professor Duché, who is based in the School of Languages and Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts.

“Humour in trench journals was used as a safety valve, an outlet for these soldiers stuck in the trenches and scared.

Words are so important.

[chameleon54]

---

@rogespeed wrote:

---

@chameleon54 wrote:

As '' out there " as the OP's post is, it is highly likely to be the outcome regardless. It wont be stated by politicians or made obvious, it will just happen.

Most older people I know ( 70 + ) are already voluntarily isolating. I suspect most will keep isolating voluntarily until the virus no longer poses a threat. Governments around the world will start to remove restrictions in the months ahead as the train crash of economic oblivion that is heading our way becomes obvious to the public.

So what you will see is younger people out and about with some getting the virus and building herd immunity while the senior citizens self isolate at home.

We still don't have vaccines for SARS and MERS, two similar and most recent virus to COVID 19 and we cant all simply stay locked in our houses for years waiting in the hope that a vaccine will be developed for COVID 19.

The collateral loss of life from depression, loneliness, suicide, lack of regular medical care for other conditions ( as people are too afraid to attend medical clinics ) , domestic violence, rise in obesity and general mental health decline will be worse than the virus itself if this goes on for many months. Not to mention the collapse of our economic systems which will exacerbate the decline in mental health and suicide as well as causing threats to food stability. 

The threat to food stability is already happening as weedicide and fertiliser production and distribution have already been effected by international production and transport disruptions, as has transport and down stream processing of food products. Australian Wheat prices have currently spiked to near record levels as a result of looming world shortages being factored into international markets.

---

Some sectors of the Australian economy is actually booming ie mining , as for the rest is a matter of adapting to the new realities and getting on with trading ie making availability of goods and services easier for consumers-in-local-isolation to access , rather than sitting on hands for govt subsistence support and waiting for pandemic to subside assuming that everything should be the same

Seize the moment and prosper !  

Your comments suggest you are thinking local while the real problems are global. Sure Australia will probably come out of this better than many other countries, but our futures are deeply tied to the global economy. 

I just cant see mining booming in the next few years. China has been our biggest raw materials customer and their economy has been smashed by the virus. Couple this with other countries trying to re-engage with manufacturing in order to sure up supply chains and China's dominance may slip quite a bit. 

The other problem is with mass unemployment internationally, and rapidly rising global debt to bail out economies, global consumers are going to have their heads pulled in for a very long time. No new refrigerators or shiny cars. They will make do with what they have got. This will put a significant break on mining exports. The only proviso is that some international governments may go on a public construction boom to try to kick start their economies.

I suspect we have not even seen the tip of the economic iceberg that is coming our way. Things are likely to get a whole lot worse before they get better.and it will be a slow stagnation that sets in.

[chameleon54]

---

@myoclon1cjerk wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Morrison, Cormann and Frydenberg have already discussed raising the GST. It's a perfect scenario to "sell" it to the public.
What will be interesting is how the government’s going to recoup all that money. Will the general public bear the brunt while business gets an armchair ride,like what happened in the U.S during the GFC?

---

GST currently goes to the states, not the federal government. That doesnt mean they cant change it, but I suspect it would not be easy to get through Parliment.. 

[tasfleur]

I don't know the whole story and I may not have it quite right .. but I remember reading somwhere not too long ago about enemies (during the second world war) at Christmas time coming out of their bunkers and trenches to have a game of football together and forgetting about shooting at each other for the duration.

I do hope it's a true story.

[tasfleur]

Ecar, did you notice that all those sheep at the beginning of the video had their long tails .. it really made me smile ...