Coronavirus outbreak declared global emergency

[Jim]

I was hoping we would all ride this out and life would go on as usual, but I'm not so sure anymore.

My Sister-N-Law just got the call. She's been with the company over 30 years, worked her way up the ladder and thought she had a pretty secure job. But tourism is a thing of the past, planes are not flying, and all the hotels are closed. There's nothing for her to do and the company she worked for is probably finished.

Given the huge amount of debt that banks are carrying, (both consumer and business alike) I expect bank failures will be next. American Airlines alone owns 34 billion! We've been watching oil companies selling oil at a fraction of what it cost them to acquire it, all in an effort to prolong their survival. This crash in oil prices is going to wipe out countless oil companies, and each of these companies has a bank somewhere that will have to eat the massive loans they provide back in the early fracking days. Consumers that live on credit cards are all about to default. Can't pay for that 70K truck or your mortgage without a job, right?

I'd like to wake up tomorrow and find this is all a bad dream, but I'm afraid this is only the beginning of some real bad times ahead.

Alternate opinions?

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

In the short term, it will be a rough ride for many folks. Longer term, I see a good rebound. That doesn't help someone like your SIL, @Jim, but I think the future is brighter than It looks right now.

Without getting into partisan politics, let's just say our federal government was woefully unprepared and very slow to respond. Now, it is trying to play catch-up. Kinda like having a fast race car, but being a lap down because your pit crew didn't think you'd need a tire change and they can't find the jack or lug wrench.

I feel bad for those in tight financial situations; this could be devastating. The fact is, that this correction was long overdue, though it has been exacerbated by the health emergency. Still, I think many of the financial fundamentals remain in place and are relatively strong. It will take a while, but the economy will eventually recover. The strong businesses will survive, others will fail. That's sad, but it has always worked out that way.

And, then, there are those who have been, or will be, caught up in the health aspects of this pandemic. For those families, this will be devastating. They will need our support in order to get their lives back to a relative normal, however. We need to take care of one another as we battle back. We're all in this together and as I recall from my Army service, it is important that no one is left behind!

TJ

 

[Akdare]

My BIL was laid off, too...he’s an executive chef...luckily he’d already signed a contract to be the executive chef at Lake Lodge in Yellowstone starting April 2. He did it last year, too.

 

[Buly]

This toilet paper calculator lets you know how long your bathroom stash will last
For those who are stuck inside and running low on essential supplies
TP Calculator

Who would have thunk it?

 

[Jim]

Got word from some friends on the force to expect Macon County (where I live) to be under a "shelter in place" by Thursday. Aside from being a rather eerie message, I don't think things around here will change much. Nobody is going much of anywhere anyway.

 

[Jim]

 

[CoreyinWP]

From 2015

The next outbreak? We're not ready

 

[Neal]

I just read an article somewhere where Gates mentioned whether or not we'll learn from this one. Found it:

[Edit: Link removed as it no longer works]

 

[Jim]

I just read an article somewhere where Gates mentioned whether or not we'll learn from this one. Found it:

I'm getting a "page not found" error @Neal

 

[Neal]

Me too, it must have been removed for whatever reason.