Costs Must Be Weighed Against Benefits

[Michael Ejercito]

http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2020/12/09/costs-must-be-weighed-against-benefits-n2581198



Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams
|
Posted: Dec 09, 2020 12:01 AM
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not
necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Costs Must Be Weighed Against Benefits

Source: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Trending

Kevin McCullough
So WHY Not?
Wayne Allyn Root
Mr. President, Here Are Two Great American Heroes to Pardon
Lawrence Keane
When Beto's ‘Hell, Yes’ Meets Crenshaw's ‘F***, No’

Editor's Note: Walter Williams passed away last Wednesday. You can read
our tribute to him here.

One of the first lessons in an economics class is every action has a
cost. That is in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where
politicians virtually ignore cost and talk about benefits and free
stuff. If we look only at the benefits of an action, policy, or program,
then we will do anything because there is a benefit to any action,
policy, or program.

Think about one simple example. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration estimates that 36,096 Americans lost their lives in motor
vehicle traffic crashes in 2019. Virtually all those lives could have
been saved if we had a 5 mph speed limit. The huge benefit of a 5 mph
speed limit is that those 36,000-plus Americans would have been with us
instead of lost in highway carnage. Fortunately, we look at the costs of
having a 5 mph speed limit and rightly conclude that saving those
36,000-plus lives are not worth the costs and inconvenience. Most of us
find it too callous, when talking about life, to explicitly weigh costs
against benefits. We simply say that a 5 mph speed limit would be
impractical.

What about the benefits and costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic?
Much of the medical profession and politicians say that lockdowns,
social distancing, and mask-wearing are the solutions. CDC data on death
rates show if one is under 35, the chances of dying from COVID-19 is
much lower than that of being in a bicycle accident. Should we lock down
bicycles? Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard
University, biostatistician, and epidemiologist, Dr. Sunetra Gupta,
professor at Oxford University and an epidemiologist with expertise in
immunology, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University
Medical School, a physician and epidemiologist were the initiators of
the Great Barrington Declaration. More than 50,000 scientists and
doctors, as well as more than 682,000 ordinary people, have signed the
Great Barrington Declaration opposing a second COVID-19 lockdown because
they see it doing much more harm than good.
CARTOONS | Chip Bok
View Cartoon

Efforts to keep very young from getting COVID-19, given most will not
even realize they have it or will suffer only mild symptoms, may be
counterproductive in that it delays the point where a country has herd
immunity. According to the CDC, COVID-19 deaths in young people (from
babies to college students) are almost nonexistent. The first age group
to provide a substantial contribution to the death toll is 45-54 years,
who contribute nearly 5 percent of all coronavirus deaths. More than 80
percent of deaths occur in people aged 65 and over. That increases to
over 92 percent if the 55-64 age group is included.

Thus, only a tiny number of people under age 25 die of COVID-19. Yet,
schools have been closed, and tens of millions of schoolchildren have
been denied in-class instruction. Mandating that 5-year-olds wear masks
during their school day is beyond nonsense. Virtual learning can serve
as a substitute for in-class teaching but it has mixed results. Some
parents can provide their children with the necessary tools, perhaps
hire tutors, and take an active interest in what their children are
doing online. Other parents will not have the interest, ability, or the
time.
Recommended
Antifa and Proud Boys Brawled in DC. Here's What the Outcome Was.
Beth Baumann

Here is a lockdown question for you. Government authorities permit
groceries and pharmacies to remain open during lockdowns. They permitted
stores likes Walmart, Costco, and Sam's Club to remain open. However,
these stores sell items that are also sold in stores that were locked
down such as: Macy's, J.C. Penney, J. Crew Group, Neiman Marcus, and Bed
Bath & Beyond. The lack of equal treatment caused many employees to lose
their jobs and many formerly financially healthy retailers have filed
for bankruptcy.

As political satirist H. L. Mencken said, "The whole aim of practical
politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led
to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of
them imaginary." By the way, the best time to scare people, be wrong,
and persist in being wrong is when the costs of being wrong are borne by
others.

[Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD]

MichaelE wrote:

> http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2020/12/09/costs-must-be-weighed-against-benefits-n2581198
>
> Walter E. Williams
>

> Posted: Dec 09, 2020 12:01 AM
> The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not
> necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
> Costs Must Be Weighed Against Benefits
>
> Source: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
>

> Editor's Note: Walter Williams passed away last Wednesday. You can read
> our tribute to him here.

Hopefully not from COVID-19

> One of the first lessons in an economics class is every action has a
> cost. That is in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where
> politicians virtually ignore cost and talk about benefits and free
> stuff. If we look only at the benefits of an action, policy, or program,
> then we will do anything because there is a benefit to any action,
> policy, or program.
>
> Think about one simple example. The National Highway Traffic Safety
> Administration estimates that 36,096 Americans lost their lives in motor
> vehicle traffic crashes in 2019. Virtually all those lives could have
> been saved if we had a 5 mph speed limit. The huge benefit of a 5 mph
> speed limit is that those 36,000-plus Americans would have been with us
> instead of lost in highway carnage. Fortunately, we look at the costs of
> having a 5 mph speed limit and rightly conclude that saving those
> 36,000-plus lives are not worth the costs and inconvenience. Most of us
> find it too callous, when talking about life, to explicitly weigh costs
> against benefits. We simply say that a 5 mph speed limit would be
> impractical.

Actually, it is unlikely that the DUIs, which account for many traffic
deaths, would comply with a 5 mph speed limit since they aren't
complying with current speed limits.

> What about the benefits and costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic?
> Much of the medical profession and politicians say that lockdowns,
> social distancing, and mask-wearing are the solutions. CDC data on death
> rates show if one is under 35, the chances of dying from COVID-19 is
> much lower than that of being in a bicycle accident.

The problem here is that younger people spread COVID-19 to older folks
who are more likely to die from it.

Otoh, a person on a bicycle though more likely to die when colliding
with a car is less likely to kill those in the car.

> Should we lock down bicycles?

If the motivation is to prevent bicycle deaths, it makes more sense to
separate bicycle traffic from car traffic.

> Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard
> University, biostatistician, and epidemiologist, Dr. Sunetra Gupta,
> professor at Oxford University and an epidemiologist with expertise in
> immunology, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University
> Medical School, a physician and epidemiologist were the initiators of
> the Great Barrington Declaration. More than 50,000 scientists and
> doctors, as well as more than 682,000 ordinary people, have signed the
> Great Barrington Declaration opposing a second COVID-19 lockdown because
> they see it doing much more harm than good.

The only healthy way to stop this pandemic sooner rather than later,
especially in the worst-case scenario of the "cluster-5 mink
mutations" (Google it) rendering current vaccines ineffective, is for
us to redouble our efforts, including even while on-line, to rapidly (
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) find out who among us are
unwittingly contagious (i.e. pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in order
to http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12) for them to call their
doctor and self-quarantine per their doctor.

Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.

So how are you ?










...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,

HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis

[Michael Ejercito]

Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD wrote:
> MichaelE wrote:
>
>> http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2020/12/09/costs-must-be-weighed-against-benefits-n2581198
>>
>> Walter E. Williams
>>
>> Posted: Dec 09, 2020 12:01 AM
>> The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not
>> necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
>> Costs Must Be Weighed Against Benefits
>>
>> Source: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
>>
>> Editor's Note: Walter Williams passed away last Wednesday. You can read
>> our tribute to him here.
>
> Hopefully not from COVID-19

He did not.

Older peopler can, if they choose to do so, stay home.

The issue with lockdowns is that they, of course, impose severe
burdens on the general population, preventing them from having normal
activities. For lockdowns to work, there must be cooperation, and for
there to be cooperation, there must be trust in public health authorities.

I am wonderfully hungry!


Michael

[Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD]

MichaelE wrote:

Thankfully, http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 is an infinitely better
option for everyone including especially older people.

> The issue with lockdowns is that they, of course, impose severe
> burdens on the general population, preventing them from having normal
> activities. For lockdowns to work, there must be cooperation, and for
> there to be cooperation, there must be trust in public health authorities.

Lockdowns are not going to work in countries where the right to
peacefully assemble is lawfully protected.

While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

Laus DEO !

Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:

http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://bit.ly/HeartVAT
from around the heart