By: Dale Dieleman

Dale Dieleman — Mon, 11 May 2020 15:54:57 +0000

It’s Time to Get Back to Work
As we know, around the middle of March, 2020 Governor Newsom issued a statement that, due to the Coronavirus scare, he was banning all gatherings of 250 or more people. That quickly became 50 and then 10. The duration was going to be “two weeks to slow the spread” but that has turned into two months with no end in sight.
Folks are willing to sacrifice for the good of others but those 30 million or so who have recently lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus restrictions have the right to ask, “How much longer are we to wait until we can go back to work?” It is interesting to note that those who are first to encourage these folks to “just hang in there” are themselves still employed and are receiving a steady income.
Is it right for us to tell someone that their type of employment is non-essential? Is it right for us to tell someone who wants to work that they will be subject to fines and possible arrest if they do?
I strongly opposed the shutdown on the grounds that it is immoral to forbid any fellow citizen to provide for their family unless we as a society agree to fully compensate them for their lost wages. True, some are getting unemployment but many have yet to receive a dime.
Being two months into this recent health scare we have been getting actual numbers for some time now. We can see from that data that the original Coronavirus model’s dire prediction of massive deaths, thank God, has not happened. Some are quick to say that this is because of the government mandated lockdowns but consider this. Both Sweden and Michigan have a population of approximately 10 million. Sweden did not lockdown like Michigan did, yet, as of the writing of this article, Michigan has reported 4,551 Coronavirus related deaths while Sweden has reported 3,225. Every death is extremely tragic but few are reporting that even Michigan’s current death rate is less that 1/20th of 1% of their total population.
The data is also showing that those most vulnerable to the Coronavirus are the elderly with pre-existing conditions. As a society we can show special care and consideration for them as they take special precaution to protect their health but the younger less vulnerable should be allowed to get back to work. That needs to happen NOW!

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By: Dale Dieleman