Curmudgeon Mr. Groovy Meets the Coronavirus

Mar 20, 2020

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I haven’t been watching the news, but I have no doubt that our government’s response to the coronavirus has been nothing short of a ham-fisted joke. I mean, c’mon. We haven’t won a war decisively since 1945, our public schools pump out the most costly educated dunces the world has ever seen, and our national debt now exceeds twenty-three trillion dollars.

And a government with this track record is going to handle a deadly new virus with aplomb? Give me a break.

But here’s a twist for you. Maybe our government isn’t as inept as I suppose. Right now, 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. This, in turn, means that because of the coronavirus, our government now has to figure out how to save 258 million Americans from financial oblivion. And it has to figure it out in a couple of weeks.

What if our paycheck-to-paycheck numbers were reversed, however? What if 78 percent of Americans had a six-month emergency fund? Do you think our government’s response to the coronavirus might be a tad better if it only needed to save 73 million Americans from financial oblivion rather than 258 million Americans?

It is no doubt soothing to blame our coronavirus woes on a butthead president and all those butthead governors and mayors, but truth be told, our government largely sucks because we largely suck. A people who can’t manage their lives themselves cannot reasonably expect a government to manage their lives for them. A government can only do so much wet-nursing.

Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s my curmudgeon spiel for the week. Peace.

coronavirus living paycheck to paycheck

Comments

24 responses to “Curmudgeon Mr. Groovy Meets the Coronavirus”

Sydney
July 7, 2020
That’s the deal here; our govt sucks because we suck. In Florida, people have stormed out and you can see where the infection rate is headed.
Reply
Colorado
March 26, 2020
If governments are so dumb, can you explain how our Democratic friends Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea were able to handle their coronavirus infections and vastly reduce them without nuking their economies?
Can you explain why big business such as airlines had no business reserves and ran hat-in-hand to the government for bailouts? Should big business have had a few less lattes?
Also can you please explain how big business could have had the foresight to realize that all their profit friendly outsourcing of masks, equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturing was a strategic vulnerability for the USA and made sure to have an adequate strategic reserve? I mean,too bad the fire departments are aren’t privatized, all that wasteful equipment sitting around most of the time.
I realize this is a pointed comment but i really am curious about how you rationalize your viewpoints in view of the above data points. Thank you.
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 26, 2020
  Hey, Colorado. How do you know the Taiwanese, Singaporean, and South Korean governments have handled the coronavirus well? Is it because the same flawed media that pushed the Russian collusion story says so? Now it could very well be that the above governments have handled the coronavirus with spectacular aplomb. It also could very well be that they’re only doing a good job because the citizens they govern are by and large culturally and financially strong. In other words, if the citizens of Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea were as culturally and financially weak as ours, the governments of Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea wouldn’t appear nearly as wise and efficient. I don’t believe government (whether here or abroad) is generally inept because it employs a lot of dumb and nefarious people. I think it’s generally inept because it has inherent flaws. Think conscripted clientele, managing other people’s money, hard-to-fire employees, and the legal right to sell favors and buy votes. And these inherent flaws are magnified when the governed are culturally and financially weak. I would thus caution you not to put too much faith in our government. I would also caution you not to put too much faith in our news media. When it comes to news in this country–regardless of the source–it’s far better to “consider but verify” than assume it’s the gospel truth.
  Thanks for stopping by, Colorado. I really appreciate the push back. And you’re absolutely right about big business. It’s just as foolish and irresponsible as the typical American. Cheers, my friend.
  Reply
  1. Colorado
    March 26, 2020
    Thanks for stepping up to answer. My husband was just in Taiwan last fall and we have friends there. My daughter speaks halfway decent Chinese. (We are not Asian). What they tell us is not different from what the news services are telling us. I do not think they have been brainwashed. I think what they did was have a government that took the possibility of a pandemic seriously and had the expertise, skill set, and will to swing into action without hesitation. Hopefully this is something we will learn. It was not rocket science. It was standard-issue public health guided by the science and modeling of epidemiology.
    I don’t we how we get away from government. Where humans are, we create systems of governance. So I don’t think anyone can seriously consider that we all live like lone wolves. That’s just not what humans do. Given that (if you are with me still), to me it makes sense that we strive for the very best government, filled with the top experts in given fields and dedicated to seeking out systems for areas where markets simply fail (police services, fire services, roads, pandemic planning lol). No business is going to plan and have reserves for a black swan event like a pandemic (except maybe 3M, I heard a story that says they had mask making equipment in reserve and are firing it up-but that’s their business!). Airlines had no backup plans. They privatized all their profits (shareholders and executives) but when they take losses, we pay.
    I’m not sure when we lost our way, and why, but I hope we learn some lessons.
    Stay well. Peace.
    Reply
    1. Mr. Groovy
      March 27, 2020
      How dare you reply to my reply with cogent and well-reasoned arguments! Don’t you know that common decency dictates that a commenter must comment in such a way that doesn’t tarnish the blogger’s esteem and intellect?
      Haha! All kidding aside, I don’t think our views on government differ by a wide margin. I think government, because of its inherent flaws, is generally dumb. But it also on occasion, gets things right, and it certainly is necessary–regardless of how regularly inept it is. And I think you agree with this. Consider this portion of your reply:
      “Airlines had no backup plans. They privatized all their profits (shareholders and executives) but when they take losses, we pay.”
      And why are corporate profits privatized but corporate losses socialized? Dumb government.
      You got a very fertile mind, Colorado, and I really appreciate you using it to challenge my views. It isn’t fun, but it’s the only way I’ll become a better blogger, thinker, and person. And in a future post, I will try to address your points. Doing it in a reply isn’t practical. Addressing your points, if I can at all, will just require too many words. I hope you understand.
      In the meantime, Colorado, I hope you and yours remain safe as well. Peace.
      Reply
jerry
March 22, 2020
Not Nice Mr. Groovy calling Mr.President a butthead,you make an excellent point Sir but i feel it so very unnecessary to even come close to being vulgar in your language.
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  I hear ya, my friend. But every once in awhile the Evil Mr. Groovy breaks out.
  Reply
shannon@RetiresGreat
March 21, 2020
Couldn’t agree more with you Mr G!
The Presidential Address on Saturday morning was heartening and the first time the government is showing real leadership.
As you pointed out, the second part of the issue are all those people living paycheck-to-paycheck who will be devastated. Even so, they seem to have enough money to hoard all the toilet paper!
These next weeks and months will be most interesting.
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  LOL! Mrs. Groovy has been nonplussed by the stock market nosedive but is totally unnerved by the toilet paper shortage. We have 36 rolls on hand and every day she’s still going by the supermarkets and dollar stores in search of more.
  Reply
  1. Mrs Groovy
    March 25, 2020
    And I have alerts set up! Let’s see how unnerved you are when your bowels are in an uproar and our neighbor’s fallen leaves become your new best friends.
    Reply
Laurie Blank
March 21, 2020
YESSSSS. It’s time to take responsibility for our own actions…….
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Wouldn’t it be nice if rugged individualism (i.e., not dependent on coerced charity) weren’t a fringe attitude?
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Josh
March 21, 2020
Here’s my curmudgeion insights:
This is a worst nightmare situation (health pandemic and economic recession {depression?} at once), I hoped never would come to any economy/nation.
I think good can come out of it (i.e. less emphasis on professional sports, spending more time as a family instead of temporal distractions, going to college for a degree in basket weaving) but I hope this doesn’t kill what innovation (and the incentive for risk-taking to harness that innovation) we have in the self-employment/small business sector.
If this goes on too long, only people employed by the government and big business will be earning a steady paycheck. Unemployment benefits and stimulus checks only go so far, especially if you already have zero savings and lots of bills.
Even then, people need to be working so the states and federal tax coffers can be replenished to at least partially fund these safety nets.
Will this event bring back a spirit of self-reliance like Thoreau, et al. wrote about?
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Nailed it, Josh. This is a severe wake-up call. If you’re foolish enough to spend $100K on a frivolous bachelor’s degree and $600K on a three-bedroom house, you deserve to be steamrolled by whatever economic crisis comes along.
  Reply
William R Moss, CPA
March 21, 2020
Totally agree. Many couples have significant debt.
Husband and wife each drive late model leased cars, credit card debt, mortgage. Why would we expect the United States government to be run without mounting debt?
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Thank you. Debt seriously mars one’s ability to handle a financial crisis. And we seem to have a financial crisis every five to ten years. So when will Americans learn?
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John Foster
March 21, 2020
If you have time to whine online, you have time to help. Mr. Groovy – go down to your local hospital and volunteer to help, or do something else similarly productive, instead of whining and carping online. The government can’t come to your house and wipe your ass this time. It’s time for all Americans to put aside our political differences and work together to get through this. Help yourself, your family, and your community if you can. I repeat – this is NOT the time for whining and complaining online. It’s not helpful.
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Hey, John. I disagree. If I were complaining about the NCAA tournament being canceled and not being able to marinate my liver at my favorite watering hole–yeah, that would be whining. But is pointing out that far too Americans are too culturally and financially weak to handle a crisis and this puts too much pressure on an already flawed government an example of “whining”?
  Reply
Brad Kingsley, CFP® | Fee-Only Financial Planning
March 21, 2020
Great point. Living so close to the (financial) edge has always been dangerous but is now becoming more clearly exposed.
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” -Warren Buffett
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”
  Haha! How true. A lot of skinny-dippers out there now.
  Reply
Frogdancer Jones
March 20, 2020
Short but pithy.
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1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Thank you, FD. I’m blushing.
  Reply
steveari
March 20, 2020
Hey, we mopped up in Grenada, you can’t forget that! But you’ve got a point, we do resemble our government or vice versa, it is made up of the people just like us, full of flaws. In a better world the government wouldn’t face many big problems because we would handle our own without outside help, mostly.
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  March 25, 2020
  Ooops! I totally forgot about Grenada. Yeah, we decisively won that one.
  Reply

Curmudgeon Mr. Groovy Meets the Coronavirus

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24 responses to “Curmudgeon Mr. Groovy Meets the Coronavirus”

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