Ive been talking to neighbors and a few of my coffeeclutch compatriots about the pandemic. Were just a bunch of regular guys. Theres not an MD or PhD in the crowd. The best we might do would be a Distinguished Scholar or two from the School of Hard Knocks. Thats about it.

But we know something about running a successful business or a farm. Weve been around, seen a lot and know a lot about small town America. Of an older generation, we may have accrued a fair share of wisdom. And now were trying to make sense out of what we see happening in the country and exploring common sense steps that could help set things straight.

We know we're at war with a virus, an enemy so small we cant see it, or swat it or step on it. We dont even know where it is. Its just out there, somewhere, floating in the air. And best we can do is stay home, wash our hands, avoid other people and hope this thing misses us.

Were held captive. And while we sit, and stew and suffer through the quarantine, we watch our economy begin to dissolve before our eyes. And thats more frightening than the virus. Ill take my chances with the virus, and Im an at-risk senior citizen. I see the virus as relatively short-term menace the possible collapse of the country as an unmitigated disaster.

Most of my wise men conclude we simply cant just sit and wait and hope, prisoners in an inescapable lockdown. Weve got to get real. In a war, no matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid casualties. In an effort to save the few, we cannot ignore the many the country itself. Safeguarding the health of our economy is as important as protecting the health of our people. Its the engine that gives us the financial strength to endure the calamities of the present, to recover in smart order and to return to the prosperity of yesterday. The economy is the lifes blood of the nation.

The so-called stimulus money doesnt stimulate recovery. It helps to reduce loss. The government seems to be in a haphazard spending frenzy. The Democrats gleefully add pork to every bill. And more astronomical spending is forecasted in the future. Im uncertain as to its effect on the virus. But I do know the spending of trillions of dollars now can lead to a crippling inflation tomorrow.

The challenge now is preventing the cure from becoming worse than the disease. The stimulus money will not do the job. Its like using a Band-Aid to cover a hurt. We cant bankrupt the country. Its time to get our businesses back on line put our people back to work, give the country a much-needed tonic. It will show were on our way back. It will build confidence, boost morale and get us back into to our American can do spirit.

Certainly, it can be a gradual process. Different areas of the country require different plans of action. But right now, we seem out of balance. Early models projecting the progress and the fatality rates of the virus have been markedly overblown. The models included many assumptions (best guesses) that have been proven wrong. Wall Street Journal reports, Projections based on modeling the course of the virus are shifting as more information becomes available. The good news is that conditions in most of the country are less dire than early models predicted. Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, opines that about 98% of the people who get the virus will recover. We cant operate out of hysteria. The use of hydroxychlorquine and other developing medicines will further reduce the impact and longevity of the disease. This requires that the edicts of government based on the early models be updated and the quarantine relaxed.

Well beat the virus. But in doing so, we cant afford to decimate our industrial/business base. Certainly there are risks in moving back to a normal business environment even when its done in stages. The virus could hang on for a while, even though there is mounting evidence that such simple tasks as washing hands, maintaining distance, wearing masks and employing new medicine cuts the risk. My assumption is that our giant corporations and the shops along Main Street will find new ways of doing business once their doors open up. Theyre good at that. Theyll do it in ways that offer protection to their employees and to the rest of us. And the county will avoid bankruptcy and the dreaded inflation. Yes, there will be casualties our casualties of war. But they will be in balance with the needs of our country as a whole. It will survive. Our millions will be back to work. Our businesses will prosper. Our savings and investments will stay whole. And as a nation, well be stronger than ever before. What weve learned in the battle will make it so.

But we cant afford to dither. We must demand that politicians to push politics aside, that they look to the needs of the country, not to those of the party. We must act and turn the lights back on while theres still time.

Thats how it seems to us, some of the regular guys, the little people who hope the big people in Washington and in the governors mansions do the job and do it right. Our job is to keep watch, let them know what we think, make sure they know were tired of the constant sniping and politics that puts the rest of us in danger greater than that of the virus. Well remember who did what and why and come November, well do what we think right.

Dick Magee is a resident of Klinger Lake and a frequent columnist for the Journals Viewpoints page.

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Dick Magee: Time to turn on the lights - Sturgis Journal