The greatest theft of our time remains the constant transfer of wealth from the young to the old. Almost every government policy in Western countries has exacerbated this — the most significant being low interest rate settings (which has facilitated massive government debt, and represents the old borrowing from the young, as well those not yet born). Property taxes (or lack thereof) and education costs are bit players in the swindle.
But is the reaction to COVID-19 yet another example of this?
There’s no doubt a lot of people will tragically die as a result of the flu-like virus. Many will perish by the time a vaccine or viral treatments are functional.
But also consider this: lots of people die every day and we don’t do anything about it. By imposing massive restrictions on business and movement, we’re essentially spending resources to prevent one cohort (old people) from dying. Those aged over 65 have around an 8% fatality rate from COVID-19; if you’re under 40, it’s almost 0%.
Just to clarify: people dying is not a good thing, old or young. But, the better question is will more people die as a result of resources being devoted to COVID-19 than to other diseases which are already killing people?
So far, around 3000 people have died from COVID-19. However, in 2017, more than 800,000 kids aged under five died from lower respiratory infections. Another 600,000 young kids died from diarrheal diseases; more than 350,000 died from malaria; and shockingly, 145,000 died from nutritional deficiencies. Those are figures from just one year.
In short, we let poor kids die and no one seems to care. But when an 80-year-old dies on a cruise ship, it’s a global emergency.
The world has limited resources to save lives. The question is which lives should we be saving?
Adam Schwab is a company director, angel investor and author of Pigs at the Trough: Lessons from Australia’s Decade of Corporate Greed.
As the radius of exposure increases, the race is on to get a vaccine developed, mass produced and distributed. The priority for vaccination will then not be the aged, but the exposed. Priorities will certainly send the first vaccines to the hospital doctors, nurses, orderlies, ambos etc. Than as supplies allow, other exposed workers such as teachers, police, customs, immigration and so on will have a commanding priority. The fact that children congregate in schools gives them a priority too. Only when immunity has become widespread and the disease has become endemic, will the aged be able to claim any such priority.
There is constant pressure on Customs/AQIS officers to have each year’s “new, improved” ‘flu shot (provided free) but the take-up barely makes 50%.
Adam Schwab? Isn’t he the bloke who owns Luxury Escapes that does it’s best to attract old people to spend all their hard earned money on cruises and other places overseas so they’ve a better chance of catching the COVID-19 virus while lining his already well-lined pockets? Perhaps he’ll now donate all money spent by 65+ year olds with Luxury Escapes to young kids charities. That’ll be nice young Adam!
Rufus is demonstrating the politics of envy. Old or young folks are free to spend their hard earned as they like on lattes or holidays. If service providers make a buck out of them, good luck. Its how the world works and raises others out of poverty.
That sounds like the raison d’etre of gun runners & smack dealers.
If you can make a quid it matters not how?
Seriously?
Essential points well made.
Just the one minor dispute – education costs are becoming more than a ‘bit player’ in the defrauding of the young, particularly when you couple those costs with wage and salary stagnation, and wage theft.
A very good episode of “Front Running”, yesdee, on the station that shall not be named, on this very subject.
Dr Michael Hudson and Ozzie Professor Steve Keen, were 2 of the 3 on the couch, with Keen able to bring the Ozzie ‘perspective’ to a comparison with the Yank ‘leadership’ in the field.
Did not bode at all well, on any front.
100% agree, Adam, and I am 68 years old. We place too much emphasis on some people dying in certain ways, and no where near enough on other people dying in other ways.
The answer here is simple. 5 year olds don’t vote.
Nor were great majority of kids the statistics referred to Australian (or even NZ) citizens. Is Adam so angelic that he believes in One World Government? Luxury Escapes for all!