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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe spectre of a national collapse looms over America as this virus runs rampant, unimpeded
America has a terrible, horrific problem in that it cant seem to find the ways to bring this virus under control.https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/08/07/the-specter-of-a-national-collapse-looms-over-america-as-this-virus-runs-rampant-unimpeded/
A national collapse? Could such a catastrophe happen in and to America? You better believe lt because it, most certainly, could. That is, if the leadership of this country, from the White House to governors of states, dont get their act together. Moreover, if they keep allowing millions of Americans to ignore the CDC guidelines. In effect, America is at war with Covid-19, and, right now, this virus is winning, hands down. The economy is on life support because of this pandemic and this government, which has no clue how to get back to nearly normal. It is spending trillions to prop up Americas beaten and battered businesses and people. How bad is this situation? Well, we keep hearing that America is 4% of the worlds population and has nearly 25% of the worlds Covid-19 cases. That is incomprehensible, something is terribly, radically wrong. Most other countries, except Brazil and a few others, have this virus under control. In America, it is spinning out of control.
Why is the situation in America so much worse, so much more dangerous than these other counties? I can best describe it with these five letters; T-R-U-M-P. No other country has a leader who is so grossly incompetent and has no plan of any kind to respond to this crisis. He has, almost single-handedly, caused the massive escalation of this virus that we are currently experiencing. Think about how many Americans would be alive today if we had had a different president. If America keeps racing down this road to disaster here are some of the things that will happen: The economy will tank, the job market will dry up, the stock market will go into a free fall, destroying Americans savings, and bankrupting big and small businesses. The American bank will be emptied. This will happen as this government continues to spend many trillions of dollars to combat the virus threat, with little revenue coming in. How much longer can hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel keep up this torrid pace in treating greater and greater numbers of Covid-19 patients? How much longer before many of them are burned out? What then?
Right now this country, because of reckless, irresponsible Americans who are defying CDC guidelines, cant break free of the grip that this virus has on it. Some governors are mandating masks and social distancing, others refuse to force people to do so. If we had a country in which these governors, the White House, and the people were on the same page, and were all working in unison to eliminate this virus, we would see a massive recovery. America has been digging itself into a deep hole from which it will be almost impossible to climb out. As the old saying goes, when you find yourself in a very deep hole, the first thing you must do is to stop digging. America cant seem to stop. The Senate Republicans watched as the Cares Act, which had provided several trillion dollars to Americans, expire. Democrats had sent them appropriate legislation to extend the funding over 2 months ago and they didnt act on it. All Republicans had to do was to agree with Democrats to extend the current plan for, say 6 months, and that would have given them time to create a new one.
When the Cares Act expired, the provision that covered a moratorium on evictions ended and now there are some 40 million Americans who could lose their apartments or other living facilities at any time, with many becoming homeless. That would be more than tragic. But does that cause Republicans to have great concern for their fellow Americans, and motivate them to spring into action and burn the midnight oil to work out a new stimulus plan? No, they were not the least bit concerned and then went home on a 3-day weekend. And this workaholic president decided that he needed to play a little golf. So while America is burning these Nero-like politicians are fiddling around. You better believe Russia and China are closely watching what is happening to America and are, no doubt, ecstatic about it. To see America get weaker and weaker and, possibly, have a national collapse, would fulfill their wildest dreams. They would begin to fly over this country like hungry vultures. How much longer can America and its people stave off a national collapse? Who knows?
Right now America is its own worst enemy. It is, in effect, cutting its own throat, stabbing itself in the back, digging itself into a deep hole. America has a terrible, horrific problem in that it cant seem to find the ways to bring this virus under control. Now, when someone needs to come up with a solution to such a problem the first thing that must be done is to determine its root cause, the underlying factor(s) that caused it. The big problem is with rogue, anti-CDC guidelines Americans. They currently are the root cause of this problem. I see them as being the equivalent of those radical protesters who loot and damage businesses. And, as such, some of them need to be arrested for doing great damage to other people. We can rightfully blame Trump because he failed to act when he first learned of this threat and then did a miserable job of managing the response. Thats for sure. But, lets just push him out of the way and begin to pull together to stop the escalation.
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lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)it will evaporate. In a day.
I'm not in the market. But it will hurt everyone, regardless.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)I hear it is just a bubble right now. It's about when, not if.
So far, it's a chessboard for the wealthy and corporations and not an indicator of much else.
NickB79
(19,253 posts)All starting in the upper 300's.
We bought our move in ready 5-BR house, built in 1968, on 1.5 acres 10 yr ago for $210K. Now it's valued at 400K.
It's all a huge housing bubble that's gonna pop.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)Many of the expensive condos in NY are just investment tools and just change hands for profit with nobody living in them.
Meanwhile, I heard that Ben Carson, (one of Trump's inept agency destruction tools) wants to cut $7-billion dollars from the HUD budget which relates to housing vouchers and low-income housing. Instead, the budget should be increased and action should be taken to circumvent increasing homelessness.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have a severe and growing low-income housing shortage with few new starts on any construction.
The inequity is so gross now that it is demonstrating itself in many ways. Soylent Green, here we come, I guess.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Ive been eyeballing property around me recently in hopes of finding a bargain, but prices have held steady during the pandemic.
Its worth noting that home values lagged substantially behind the stock market during the bush recession. It wasnt until about 3-4 years after the bottom fell out of the stock market that housing prices hit their bottom.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)NickB79
(19,253 posts)And establish a local group of like-minded families you can rely on for help when times get tough.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)About 250,000 cycling clowns have descended on a town to show that they are certainly not real patriots, i.e., if patriot means due concern for the safety of your fellow Americans and doing your part to fight the "enemy" that is devastating the country right now.
No, these are self-centered, inconsiderate individuals who put themselves first and really don't care about bringing back the virus to their home towns and assisting its spread.
They may be damn fools and addled brain lugs on noisy machines playing macho man, but they are by no means dedicated patriots no matter what empty words ride out of their gaping COVID-19 holes.
That many people as potential vectors may make the projected models predictions of about 300,000 deaths in the US by December an gross underestimate.
Thanks you big, bad detriments to the country. Maybe you will get to play, "TAKE THE TUBE!" and RIP.
luv2fly
(2,475 posts)I hope? I can't imagine how we dig out of this even if Biden wins as all the covidiot, mask-hating asshats will continue to be who they are. I do hope he has good people already working on what they and we all are going to do, it's going to be a monumental task.