Lt. Gov Dan Patrick wants Grandparents to Sacrifice Lives for the Economy (West: house, campers)

[cBach]

Originally Posted by DPatel304

Nobody wants anyone to die, but sometimes we have to make a tough choice to keep the economy going even if it means risking lives.

That's not a choice that I would ever make. People are always more important than money. Period.

[DPatel304]

Originally Posted by cBach

That's not a choice that I would ever make. People are always more important than money. Period.

You already do make that choice though. People die every year from the flu, and some of those deaths could be prevented if we shut down the economy during flu season, but we don't because people (including myself) would rather choose the economy over saving lives (to an extent).

[cBach]

Originally Posted by DPatel304

You already do make that choice though. People die every year from the flu, and some of those deaths could be prevented if we shut down the economy during flu season, but we don't because people (including myself) would rather choose the economy over saving lives (to an extent).

No, I have no control over that. All I can do is elect people to government, if the person I voted for isn't there, there's nothing else I can do.

[DPatel304]

Originally Posted by cBach

No, I have no control over that. All I can do is elect people to government, if the person I voted for isn't there, there's nothing else I can do.

So you would support shutting down the economy ever year during flu season?

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by cBach

That's not a choice that I would ever make. People are always more important than money. Period.

The country WILL have to make that choice (ostensibly through its elected officials). After the load in medical care facilities has peaked or can at least be handled in a stable fashion, the question HAS to be asked, immediately, at that point, even if the level of virus circulation and fatalities are still quite high. Waiting for effective treatment or vaccine to get things moving again is not tenable.

[Jimmyp25]

I read the context and believe you fell for the typical mainstream media title tabloid click

[elan]

I remember hearing the interview live, I really didn't think badly of it. My spouse and I have had the same discussion. The initial lockdowns were to manage health care services, prevent overcrowding of hospitals and so on. But, after a few weeks we simply must re-open. I am certainly willing to stay in longer (health conditions) and let others get on with their businesses. It's going to suck, but it's the only solution.

[cBach]

If they lift restrictions then what's happening in NYC right now would be happening in all major Texas cities. There would be thousands getting COVID-19 each day in Houston/Dallas/SA/Austin and hundreds (mainly elderly) dying DAILY.

Is that what people want?

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by cBach

If they lift restrictions then what's happening in NYC right now would be happening in all major Texas cities. There would be thousands getting COVID-19 each day in Houston/Dallas/SA/Austin and hundreds (mainly elderly) dying DAILY.

Is that what people want?

In all likelihood, we will have to restart the economy before effective treatments and/or vaccine is available.

At that point, we WILL be making a judgement of the level of illness and fatalities that are worth reopening the economy.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

In all likelihood, we will have to restart the economy before effective treatments and/or vaccine is available.

At that point, we WILL be making a judgement of the level of illness and fatalities that are worth reopening the economy.

This disease spreads so fast that any sort of economic restart will cause wartime-style triage in hospitals until herd immunity kicks in (which most models estimate as 40-70% of the population having contracted the virus). “Flattening the curve”, as it’s come to be known, prolongs the pandemic so that resources can be spread out over time, which reduces the death rate from double digit percentages to around 1-3%, until it fades into the background of seasonal pathogens. It’s either 3-18 months of near total shutdowns with maybe small windows of reprieve or millions of deaths and wartime-style triage. There’s no middle ground.