Unemployment April 2020, Abnormal not 'new normal'

Hard lockdown and hysteria caused the 17.7% unemployment rate
June 9, 2020

Philippines unemployment rate jumped high from 5.3% in January 2020 to 17.7% in April 2020. Palakpakan, clap the hard lockdown. People wanted to be employed, Government said they should be unemployed, anyway government has helicopter money and cash freebies naman. Bow.

(All images here I got from the web)

Some of the resorts, hotels, big restos in the provinces are already bankrupt, shut down. The rest are dying and bordering on bankruptcy too. They need many tourists and visitors, locals especially and government, IATF guys especially PNP and LGUs make this more difficult, more costly and bureaucratic. The new purpose of government is to penalize businesses then legislate huge spending and borrowings to "stimulate" business. Lousy.

From this report, a person took two weeks to get LGU health certificate, then days or weeks to get PNP travel pass. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/741253/health-certificates-travel-passes-now-required-at-airports/story/

This could be another reason why government should cut the number of personnel. Some or many of them are not exactly useful, so they must "do something"... Something to further slow down the economy.

To survive bankruptcy, it is not so much what businesses should do. They know their field. Rather, it is what government should NOT do. Too much bawal bawal, lots of restrictions.

In private businesses, big and small, it's automatic, no brainer, that when the business is in crisis bordering on bankruptcy, let go of some workers and officers, remove entire division, and/or everyone accepts no salaries and allowances for 1 or 2 months. Until things normalize and the company survives bankruptcy. Far out this will happen in govt. The personnel and officials might even expand.

Those "hundreds of thousands" of lives saved in the PH by hard lockdown as peddled by the IATF and its member agencies are fictional and delusional. The GDP growth contraction at -0.2% in Q1 2020, the unemployment rate of 17.7% in April, the economic damages are real and factual.

Would people estimate how much misery and deaths were caused by the lockdowns on patients who needed regular diagnostics and check-up but non-Covid clinics, laboratories, doctors, financial support are not available? People in current depression because their life savings to out up a nice resto or bar or boutique hotel are now bankrupt.
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It's abnormal, not lousy "new normal"

June 19, 2020

This pandemic started with natural human fear of the unknown (Fotu). Then the socialists and authoritarians jumped in and expanded the hysteria. Socialists believe that many corporations, multimillionaires and billionaires are evil, so seeing many of them going bankrupt or poorer by the billions give them happiness.

Authoritarians hate individual freedom so closing all public parks, beaches, pools, malls, churches, etc.  give them happiness. Authoritarians by nature are hypocrites and always double talk. Take the BLM, Antifa rallies and protests in the US by tens of thousands, bonus of looting, stealing, burning. No social distance, hardly masks but ok with some city Mayors so long as public parks, churches, etc are closed to avoid crowd gathering together.

(this photo from https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/06/images-worldwide-protest-movement/612811/)

Socialists, explicit and implicit, are rejoicing that formerly huge corporations like airlines, hotel chains, fast food chains, are on massive financial bleeding and reduced to begging for state bail out money otherwise they will go bankrupt. This will weaken the corporate sector while strengthening the State and its powers. Money is no problem for the state because they can borrow or just print money by the billions and call it as QE or MMT or Econ Stimulus.

So from natural and spontaneous Fotu to deliberate, planned prolonged lockdown and massive restrictions on human mobility and entrepreneurship. The socialists and authoritarians, from politicians to NGOs, consultants and media, they are winning. A very successful political grab, simply by prolonging the hysteria and endlessly announcing and sharing 2nd wave, 3rd wave, nth wave. Keep scaring the public, forever if possible.

We should not call this as "new normal" or "better normal." This is abnormal. Thousands of consumers coming together benefit from huge bargains, Sales in malls and Dept stores. Thousands or millions of passengers benefit from budget airlines that pack people in tight seats but cheap air fares, also in mass transit like trains, and so on. But these are now prohibited or will soon be prohibited. Mass transit are cheap Bec people are packed tight. Beautiful resorts and parks in the provinces are seen by many people Bec of cheap airlines that pack people inside.

The consumers, passengers, entrepreneurs are the big losers of these abnormal policies and prohibitions. Invented by the socialists and authoritarians.

NYT headline "Trump trying to spread Covid-19" because he will hold a political rally. But no headlines like "BLM, Antifa trying to spread Covid-19" with their daily or nightly rallies and protests.

Similar to the city Mayors of Seattle, Minneapolis, NYC, DC, Chicago, LA, etc. Huge protest rallies, no social distance are ok. But churches and parks are not ok and should be closed.

Meanwhile, I like these two stories: 

(1) Tear Down this Plexiglass! 
Tony with readersAnthony Gill   June 17, 2020
https://www.aier.org/article/tear-down-this-plexiglass/

I pray that masks are not the new normal. I implore our leaders to understand that the lack of trust in society is what prevents poor neighborhoods and cities from flourishing. Work to banish mistrust, not spread it further.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, who challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to eradicate another major symbol of fear and mistrust in the world, I urge us to tear down this plexiglass. 

(2) Americans Should Never Again Comply With Pandemic Lockdown Orders
By John Daniel Davidson  JUNE 18, 2020 
https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/18/americans-should-never-again-comply-with-pandemic-lockdown-orders/

BLM Rallies Are Safe, Trump Rallies Are Not? 
The starkest contradiction of all might be the reactions to President Trump’s rally planned for Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Local health officials are warning it could become a disastrous “super spreader” event—a term media outlets like The New York Times have been eager to repeat under headlines warning, “Trump’s rally in Tulsa Could Spread Virus,” using language they would never use to describe any of the large-scale protests, rallies, and riots nationwide…

Public officials in Tulsa have also adopted this double standard. The mayor and a cadre of other officials have publicly implored Trump not to go ahead with the rally, citing concerns about COVID-19. But these same officials dared not say a word against recent BLM rallies held in the city and suburbs, including a large one that got out of control and spilled onto a busy highway, where several protesters were injured.