[bad_user]

While I'm a proponent of restrictions, your argument doesn't make much sense.

It's irrelevant if the economy is human-made or a natural phenomenon, because it is nevertheless what keeps us fed and with a roof over our heads.

There are indications that this depression is as bad as the Great Depression and might be even worse. It is true that there is no food shortage right now, but we might have one, at least from where I'm from, esp due to drought, which affected crops all over Europe. And guess what, during the Great Depression people starved to death.

So if the restrictions continue, I sure hope there's a better plan in place other than taxing the living shit out of the middle class that still have jobs and pay their taxes. Because we all know that the money required to keep the unemployed from starving will not come from the rich.

[Barrin92]

Food shortages would be the results of lack of agricultural output and disruption of supply chains, which by and large is not happening. (At least to no degree that would put you at risk of serious shortages in Europe)

Non-essential workers don't influence a food shortage. If those workers stay home their income may be hurt for a while, but in contrast to 1918 we have a social security system. Nobody's going to starve.

edit: For reference, Greece suffered from 18-25% unemployment for the last ten years. The economic effects of the pandemic will have bad consequences, but it's not an existential issue, it just sucks and will destroy some wealth.

[Izkata]

> and disruption of supply chains, which by and large is not happening. (At least to no degree that would put you at risk of serious shortages in Europe)

It's starting in the US.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/16/meat-proc...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/business/tyson-foods-nyt-ad/i...

[ryb73]

> If those workers stay home their income may be hurt for a while, but in contrast to 1918 we have a social security system.

Depends where you are.

[boudin]

It depends if you see the economy as a source of a result. I don't think the current system was built to feed people. It is the end result of centuries of political decisions, individual actions, wars, trade agreements, etc... It's more an image of the balance of power rather than a tool thought from head to toes to run our socities. So either we think that actually nothing changed in the environment and we can keep the system as it is or we consider that all the changes that have been stressing this system (covid-19, climate change) required some adaptation so that the system stay somewhat balanced.

I think it's where this becomes quite problematic, re-balancing this requires people with a huge amount of power (the wealthiest part of our society) to accept being less powerful. That's where we've been stuck for years now. What we're seeing now is how this system should have changed before we were in this emergency situation because it clearly can't handle actual emergencies.

[bad_user]

> "I don't think the current system was built to feed people"

And yet it does feed people, billions of us. Even more so we have less extreme poverty and fewer people suffering from malnutrition than any other time in human history, with poverty plummeting since 1960 at least.

The current system wasn't built indeed, it was evolved, in tune with the industrial revolution. And it works. In the 19th century over 80% of the world population was living in extreme poverty.

The progress has been immense, both technological and social, in only one century, a blink of an eye in the context of human history. Any such discussion should acknowledge this.

> "...rather than a tool thought from head to toes to run our socities"

Yeah, you know what economic system was designed like that? Communism. So I'm skeptical of any such claims.

[orbifold]

Well you also can’t eat money. So at a certain point there just will not be any stuff to buy if the shutdown continues and people just get checks in the mail. That is magical thinking.

[culturestate]

There is a reachable middle ground between "everyone stays home all the time" and "everyone goes back to work, consequences be damned." It requires close coordination between governments, widely available testing with quick turnarounds, and a mutual understanding that this is a serious situation and we all need to contribute by doing things like wearing a mask, being mindful of personal hygiene, and accommodating those who need space.

The real unknown is whether we have the political and social will to get there.

[the-dude]

What has a drought to do with the current COVID induced crisis?