Personal Economics 101

But is it really bad as it seems? While there seems to be an uptick in cases reported, and some hospitals are at capacity -- because most of them scaled back after the January peak -- are more people dying, as the media is reporting?  No. Not at levels seen in January 2021. Data from the CDC and other sources say not. 

Recent reports of hospitals once again being overwhelmed or stressed because of Covid-19 cases are somewhat suspicious. Data from the CDC as of Aug 7 show that this should not be the case. But the devil is in the details.  Only 9 percent of hospitals are under high or extreme stress, according to NPR.  While hospitalizations have been rising in recent weeks, they are no where near the level of last winter. (CDC Data). Many hospitals trimmed staff and costs this year in an effort to remain profitable, according to the Wall Street Journal.  The mainstream media are not painting an honest or accurate picture of what's going on. 

 After months of soaring case numbers, the U.S. is beginning to show some signs that the latest surge is slowing. New cases have dropped significantly in the last week, falling to a seven-day average of about 194,000 on Wednesday from about 246,000 a week earlier — a roughly 20 percent dip. Across the country, 30 states are reporting sustained declines in cases, and no states with low case counts are reporting rises. It’s a striking difference from mid-December, when nearly every state was seeing record numbers of new infections. Even hospitalizations are starting to decline. While these indicators are positive, it’s still too early to know if the U.S. has definitively turned a corner, or if it’s simply plateauing before another spike. The biggest wild cards are the new, faster-spreading variants, which are finding footholds across the country, even as the vaccination campaign is moving more slowly than anticipated. According to the numbers reported below, the mortality rate is below 1

Biden proposes Covid relief, plus a lot more President-elect Joe Biden began laying out his economic agenda last night, saying he would ask Congress for $1.9T in immediate relief to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The plan includes $1,400-per-person direct payments to most households, a $400-a-week unemployment insurance supplement through September, as well as funds for Covid testing, vaccine distribution and state and local governments. The proposal is the first phase of a two-part strategy, with a broader program to be unveiled in subsequent weeks focused on infrastructure and climate change. Not only is further fiscal aid on the table, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell doubled down on the monetary side as weekly jobless benefit claims rose to their highest level since last August. "Now is not the time to be talking about exit" from easy money policies, he said in a webcast with Princeton University, pledging to give plenty of notice before scaling back the central bank's bo

The new covid-19 relief package contains approximately $900 billion of programs for individuals and businesses. It includes renewal of many programs created in the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the Employee Retention Tax Credit, direct payments to individuals, unemployment insurance expansion, and more. Read the full story  here . 

The Danish study on the effectiveness of masks – or lack thereof – in protecting us from COVID-19 was just published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine . Researchers in Denmark reported on Wednesday that surgical masks did not protect the wearers against infection with the coronavirus in a large randomized clinical trial. But the findings conflict with those from a number of other studies, experts said, and is not likely to alter public health recommendations in the United States. The study , published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, did not contradict growing evidence that masks can prevent transmission of the virus from wearer to others. But the conclusion is at odds with the view that masks also protect the wearers — a position endorsed just last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Critics were quick to note the study’s limitations, among them that the design depended heavily on participants reporting their own test results and behavior, at a time w

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act , Public Law 116-136. The CARES Act protects borrowers with Federally-backed mortgage loans who are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 national emergency. The CARES Act provides multiple protections on your VA-guaranteed loan if you experience financial hardship directly or indirectly caused by the COVID-19 emergency, regardless of your loan’s default status. These protections include: A defined forbearance period of up to 180 days, with the possibility for extending it for another 180 days A foreclosure and eviction moratorium for 60 days starting March 18, 2020 Instructions on how mortgage servicers are to report to the credit agencies. For example, borrowers who have requested the COVID-19 Forbearance option are not considered to be delinquent for purposes of credit reporting. A forbearance is a defined time period of one month or longer during which your mortgag

Americans are deeply divided over the reopening of the country, and like most everything else these days, it’s political. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) breaks down why. “Liberals emphasize the dangers of an open society, shaming those who want to go back to work. Conservatives argue the opposite. Red states are steadily reopening, while most blue states lag,” he writes. “House Democrats believe it isn’t safe for lawmakers to go back to work, while the Republican-controlled Senate is back in session.” One explanation advanced is that liberals will do, say, and desire the opposite of whatever President Trump believes, he says. There’s also the geographic breakdown—the urban vs. rural divide, although this is not as black and white as it seems. And finally, the economic devastation of the shutdown may be felt less by the left-leaning and college-educated who are more likely to be able to work from home, while less educated, working-class

I'm not talking about the "unmasking" of Gen. Flynn, whatever that means. (It has to do with intelligence gathering methods .) Here, let's look at the issue of wearing a mask, any mask, for the purpose of "protection" against the Covid-19 virus. First, when I did a general Google search for face masks, the top 20 articles were either CDC, FDA, or other common agencies with articles on how to wear a mask, or where to buy one. I was more interested if face masks where worth the bother, based on empirical data. So I did a search on Google Scholar for some scientific papers, and the conclusion was: They (most cloth masks) are not very effective, are not worn or used properly, instill a false sense of security, but are better than nothing. So I choose not to wear one unless I'm forced to, and then I may fight back. Hear that, Costco? I'm not coming to your store. But -- if you choose to wear a mask, please do so. But do it correctly. Covid-19: W

To those calling it selfish and reckless to open: You want a shutdown but expect your garbage to be picked up. You expect stores to be open with food and supplies. You expect farmers, packers and pickers to generate the supplies. You expect truck drivers to deliver them. You expect Amazon to ship your packages while you sit at home. You expect the driver to leave it on your doorstep. You expect your phone, cable and internet to work, and power to stay on. You expect your mail to show up, rain or shine. You expect doctors and nurses to be available, although many have been furloughed. The entire premise of shelter in place is based on the the idea that "others" must risk their health so you can protect yours. There is nothing virtuous about ordering your Amazon packages and making trip after trip to the store while claiming we need to stay shut down. And the new thing now is mask shaming, and roaming "deputies" spying on their fellow citizens to "encou

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Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Cheers Oil Futures Price Plunge, Then Deletes Tweet : “You absolutely love to see it,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, responding to a tweet on the unprecedented crude oil price drop resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Sixty percent of Democrats blame Trump for the coronavirus: Poll : A majority of Democrats blame President Trump for the nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus , according to a new poll. A total of 60% of Democrats reported that Trump is more to blame than China and the World Health Organization for the pandemic, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey. Seventy-one percent of Republicans said they do not blame Trump. NYC Mayor Shocked To Hear Newly Released “Empty The Jails” Inmates Commit New Crimes :  The “empty the jails” initiative has really been picking up steam in cities around the country. This is particularly true of New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio authorized the release of roughly 1,500