It is manifest that retailers in many parts of the world, owners of airlines, restaurants, bars, shops, are pressing governments to open up the economy even though it will cause disease, death and disability.
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They are short sighted in their advocacy, after all we see the benefits of strong action in Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia in stopping the outbreak and opening normally.
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The economic recovery depends on eliminating the virus. Opening partway then closing, opening and closing will bankrupt business. Business owners are misled in thinking opening with the virus will benefit them. Entire branches of the economy are being destroyed.
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BUT Why are retailers advocating for the deaths of their clients and employees? Lives should be before profits.
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AND Why are political leaders listening to them? Who do they represent? In a world of special interests and regulatory capture people are dying because of financial interests influencing government policy.
necsi.edu/corporations-a…
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necsi.edu/corporations-a…
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And the interests of the poor shopkeeper is not the narrative here. it is the aggregated multinational business owner that is the player that has the ear and power over the government.
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When will citizens take back their support of government turncoats who pretend they are serving the public but are serving financial interests.
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Why else are they not transparent about their decision making? If they were advocates of the public good they would not be afraid of saying what they are doing and why.
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Note: In some places business leaders took the lead in advocating for stopping the outbreak. Why the values of those individuals and groups were different than in other places we need to ask, But that it is true is manifest.
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For business owners who are short sighted and are making a mistake about where their interests really lie, I would provide the answers that clarify.
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But that they don’t care about others requires a different kind of soul searching for individuals, for the society that has promoted such values, and for our understanding of the system that is putting those financial interests ahead of those of its people.
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And to those who claim that the economy is what enables people to live, that is a promotional falsehood. Of course there are economic destructions that would be harmful, but there is no analysis that shows on the time scale and impact that is relevant to this discussion.
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If they claim it, they have to show it.
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And asking for societal help to get past hard times is reasonable. Asking to profit during this time is not.
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