It is that sensible, nuanced, business impact, non science based approach that gives me reason to suspect that UK will still be struggling with COVID at the next election (2024) whilst it is a distant past memory in more advanced parts of the world - Thailand, NZ, China etc ->
X : Who do you think should receive the vaccine first?
Me : Gosh, that's a terribly difficult question. I can only answer the easy one.
X : Which is?
Me : Who should be last. It should always be the political leadership of a country that are last. You always put the people first.
X : Good leaders in the military make sure their troops are fed before they eat.
Me : Yep. Who gets the vaccine first is going to tell us an awful lot about the society we think we live in ...
The most desperate thing about the US is if you talk to ordinary citzens, even those on the republican side then you quickly discover it's a socialist country in denial. US citizens actually do believe in care for others, an ethics of care, a national health service etc.
I had spent decades travelling to and visiting the US and I had always thought the society was just very right wing and transactional. It took me ages to realise that whilst the politics (both Rep and Dem) are shades of right, the people in general aren't. It's very bizarre.
X : If you travelled so much and it was quick to discover, why did you take so long?
Me : Because I didn't listen, I just assumed. Hell, I spent six years believing everyone learnt how to map at business school. I hadn't done an MBA, so I had to create my own way of mapping ...
X : Are you expecting a return to Austerity in UK?
Me : After the largesse, the preferred contract schemes, the eye watering contracts ... well. I'm not expecting the wealthiest to pay for this - that would be very One Nation - but I am expecting the poorest will be asked to pay.
... I would like to be pleasantly surprised, a wealth tax maybe,excess profit tax? I'm just not expecting that. I'd guess we will hear lots of stuff about responsibility, mucking in, getting the economy going and the usual victims to be landed the bill through service cuts etc.
ah ... "restraint" ... that seems to be the new choice word. It's a pity such restraint, or even some basic challenge wasn't put in place when gifting some of these generous contracts - bbc.com/news/business-…
X : Thoughts on Trump?
Me : The claims of fraud, foreign Government interference, cheating, people being lied to, law suits etc etc?
X : Yes.
Me : Heard it all before over brexit. Biden should just get on with the job, he has the mandate. The public has spoken.
X : What about the electoral college?
Me : To overturn a public decision? That's a dangerous path. That would be like a Government going "We asked you to make a choice but we've decided not to enact it" ... or "best out of three?" ... don't mess around with democracy like that.
X : You think Trump should stand down?
Me : He lost. He clearly lost. You can dress it up in "integrity" all you want but you simply undermine public trust in the system. Yes, he should stand down, he should have stood down some time ago.
"one rule for him and his friends and another rule for everyone else" - bbc.com/news/uk-politi… ... heaven help us ... Cummings, Contracts, International Law and now bullying. We do need to retain some resemblance of public trust i.e. we need to give some value to integrity ...
... I do understand that for a collective (i.e. the Conservative party) there is a real need to have some form of success / of being right in order to maintain that sense of belonging and safety within the party but there are wider issues at stake.
X : Do you not think this Gov has integrity?
Me : It doesn't matter whether it has or not, it only matters whether it is seen to have or not. At this moment in time, the political Gov, accidental or not, seems to be emphasising a message of "it's ok to be a sociopath" ...