People working is important for our future

[underneaththeash]

AIBU to think that we need to keep as many people working for as long as we can, or the country is going to be an a worse financial situation for longer than we're going to be already?
In the long run that means less money for social care, schools, hospitals, benefits, infrastructure. The more money the government borrows the longer it will take to pay it all back.

Companies obviously should put in place policies that keep people safe, such as social distancing where possible and everyone should work from home where possible. But I keep reading on threads that people should all be giving up work and staying at home with their children and that isn't good advice if we want to have some semblance of an economy - we have many months of fighting this pandemic to get through and if everyone voluntarily gives up work or takes 80% of their salary from the government we're absolutely screwed.

Even in Spain and Italy, people are allowed outside to go to work.

It’s work from home where you can, not give up work.

Cos dead people can work....

When will people wake up to the lies. This isnt mild, its doesnt just hit the old and the vulnerable.

The young and well will need intubating, when (not if) we run out of ventilators they will die too.

Agree. Too many people already treating the 'wfh' option as an opportunity for leisure time. This will all need paying for.

There is definetly a balance to be struck between keeping the economy moving, people's mental health and stopping unnecessary deaths from covid 19

There are so many hard choices.. I wouldn't want to be making those calls

I agree OP.

People should work until / unless there is a total lockdown
when only essential workers allowed out, or one person at a time a weekly shop

However, until then it should be go out to work, go straight home, stay home

We're still working in our house, DH from home, me in work (can't from home) with extra cleaning and space for everyone.

We're not doing anything beyond work and food shopping, no going out, visiting etc. No restaurants, haircuts, browsing clothes in shops. Its possible to be sensible and social distance and work at the same time.

I have to say I completely agree with you. This has been my view for the last couple of days. I don't think places should shut unless they really absolutely HAVE to. Everything can't just grind to a halt, or you're right, our economy WILL fold.

The economic impact is going to be so much worse than Coronavirus. Many times more people are going to get ill from mental health and physical issues that unemployment and sedentary life brings. So many people have lost jobs that give them a sense of being needed, not to mention money to pay for things. I think they will look back on this and realise they panicked. Cases are starting to drop in China now and Italy seems to be slowing down. If this thing disappears in a few months, the economic and social fallout from this brings about will be enormous.

Not to mention thr value of pension savings having plummeted. Getting old right now is not a good option either.

spectator.us/consider-costs-coronavirus/

I am firmly of the opinion that the modelling of projected deaths should include modelling of the expected deaths within 5-10 years of the financial consequences of actions.

It's all very well planning for who the virus might kill but ignoring who economic collapse might kill through delayed operations and medical care, poverty, increased war etc.

Hazlenutlatteplease

Batshit. This is the kind of hysteria that has led us to our current position. The reality is this is in almost all cases killing people who were going to be killed by the next bug to come along.

Of course there are exceptions, but that's true for normal seasonal flu etc.

I’m glad somebody is advocating keeping things going where possible. As panic increases and thing after another is cancelled, egged on by the holier than thou crowd who are gleefully talking about total lockdown, I’m much more worried about the economic fallout and general mental health than the virus.

@holyc0w it’s only slowing down in China and Italy because of extreme measures! You’re like the people who say Y2K was an unnecessary panic, failing to notice the work done by many, many experts to stop it.
@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland you are completely wrong. Healthy people and young people do die of this. And anyway, should we just let people die? Horrible.

Honestly, ‘overreaction’ people really wind me up. Do you really think governments across the works, from all sorts of cultures and political perspectives, would implement the same strategies if they weren’t necessary?

I agree, TBH. The recession which follows all this will be brutal.

Sorry, also OP, what you recommend is what is happening. A wide range of essential work is being supported by schools providing child care (at the same time as setting home study for everyone else) and those who can are being told to work from home. Many jobs can be done perfectly well in that way. Places the public go, like restaurants and shops, should close.

Yanbu, this whole thing is turning into a witch hunt.

I worked today as was identified as a key worker and am a single parent. The kids school seemed unhappy, questioned my kids etc, social media is hounding people to stay at home etc.

So tomorrow I'll be home with the kids and do the small amount of work I can do from home. Im healthy and I really need to go to work but cant cope with being hounded not to leave the home anymore. When the country goes bankrupt these people can thank themselves.

@cardibach I was not made welcome to leave my kids at school. Schools are turning kids away, even key worker kids. The economy is going to be fucked. The rich will always be ok, the poor less so.

Couldn’t agree more.

In a thread last week- it was advocated a person giving up these job and thereby losing their home preferential to sending their child to nursery. As a HCP (frontline) myself - I don’t agree with that at all. It needs to be about absolute risk reduction yes but that should not be at the cost of getting made homeless!

I agree OP. The economic repercussions are going to kill a hell of a lot more people than this virus.

It’s why I want to strangle people who scream and shout that everyone should be staying at home and criticise the government advice.

The government have to look at all the factors, including balancing the deaths due to isolation and poverty.

I don’t really understand those who don’t want to work any more - I’m so glad to still have a job. I’m assuming those that say that can survive just on their DH’s wage. But then you get those who come on here and complain that their DH is still working!!!

Bubbles too right about pensions. DH and I were planning on retiring later this year. "were".

We need a fundamental change in our economy anyway

Our economy is killing the planet, wealth and health inequality is growing all the time, social care is virtually none existent, and here we are effectively saying we can't afford to stop people dying

Money and the economy are not fundamental physical elements. They are man made concepts that are not working in a sensible way. If a vacuum cleaner didn't clean, we would redesign it. We need to do the same with the economy

midgebabe but this isn’t going to fix the economy? Billionaires may make a few less million; but the rich will still be fine and remain rich. The poor however are going to be absolutely shafted. The multi millionaires will trim their sails; fire some staff, and carry on. Supermarkets are already trying to get the government to legalise worse working conditions and allow less than minimum wage “for the good of the country”; what else is in our future?