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COVID-19 Has Blown Away the Myth About 'First' and 'Third' World Competence:
One of the planet's – and Africa's – deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19.
For as long as any of us remember, everyone "knew" that "First World" countries – in effect, Western Europe and North America – were much better at providing their citizens with a good life than the poor and incapable states of the "Third World". "First World" has become shorthand for competence, sophistication and the highest political and economic standards.
[...] So we should have expected the state-of-the-art health systems of the "First World", spurred on by their aware and empowered citizens, to handle COVID-19 with relative ease, leaving the rest of the planet to endure the horror of buckling health systems and mass graves.
We have seen precisely the opposite.
[...] [Britain and the US] have ignored the threat. When they were forced to act, they sent mixed signals to citizens which encouraged many to act in ways which spread the infection. Neither did anything like the testing needed to control the virus. Both failed to equip their hospitals and health workers with the equipment they needed, triggering many avoidable deaths.
The failure was political. The US is the only rich country with no national health system. An attempt by former president Barack Obama to extend affordable care was watered down by right-wing resistance, then further gutted by the current president and his party. Britain's much-loved National Health Service has been weakened by spending cuts. Both governments failed to fight the virus in time because they had other priorities.
And yet, in Britain, the government's popularity ratings are sky high and it is expected to win the next election comfortably. The US president is behind in the polls but the contest is close enough to make his re-election a real possibility. Can there be anything more typically "Third World" than citizens supporting a government whose actions cost thousands of lives?
(Score: 3, Informative) by fustakrakich on Monday May 18 2020, @03:12PM (7 children)
They were supposed to freeze all the financial markets. Instead, Wall Street is now tapping a bottomless well courtesy the fed, and without congress nosing around.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday May 18 2020, @03:46PM (4 children)
I think freezing all the financial markets might have been nearly as bad as what they did. I don't think there *are* any simple answers that don't cause problems worse than they solve. There are ways of ameliorating things, but they aren't simple, and don't make for good sound bites.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Monday May 18 2020, @03:51PM (3 children)
Yes, you freeze all personal debt, rents, mortgage, etc. The fed should feed payroll and pensions, not Wall Street coffers. Nobody seems to wonder why the financial markets are doing so well in a "collapsed" economy.
This is a heist, of the worst kind
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday May 18 2020, @03:55PM (1 child)
never let a disaster go to waste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday May 18 2020, @04:11PM
Sometimes you have to create one. Like so many others this one is man made, through this so-called "incompetence"
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:14PM
Pretty sure the system is working as intended. Isn't it pretty clear that Trump cares more about the health of the economy [smbc-comics.com] than the health of the general population? The far-right commentators he likes have definitely been arguing for that preference explicitly.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 3, Funny) by FatPhil on Monday May 18 2020, @08:55PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:12PM
The FED isn't exactly set up to distribute money to the little people. Doing so was completely impossible when it was first designed. It might be possible now, but lots of people would be rightfully skeptical about the amount of extra bureaucracy the FED would need to do it.
Not saying that what they're doing now is the best possible solution. Just that it's all they're in a position to do, and keeping Wall Street afloat is probably a net positive.
Besides, I'm pretty sure Congress is completely happy not to be "nosing around". If they did that, they'd have to go on record supporting or opposing individual actions. Letting the FED do whatever they want without accountability definitely helps Congress itself avoid accountability.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?