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Is The Cost Of Lockdown Too High?

American public conversation about Covid-19 has become haunted by prominent voices who propose “sacrificing the old and weak at the altar of the global economy”. Republican officials, conservative economists, unqualified pundits and even the 73-year-old president of the United States (who has since changed his view) have suggested that the economic pain caused by lockdowns to protect the vulnerable might be too great.

However, positing this problem, anywhere in the world, as a trade-off between the economic interests of the young and the lifespan of the old is a terrible error. The global economic depression unleashed by the deaths of millions is beyond imagining. Trade would grind to a half because of mourning, fear of infection, society-wide trauma and social unrest. And, of course, even healthy children can die from Covid-19.

Saying that it is morally unacceptable to trade lives for GDP is missing the point. Setting aside the act that policymakers frequently do put a price on human life (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which decides which drugs and medical procedures to fund, says we should be spending no more than £30,000 to add one year of perfect health to one person), these high-sounding pronouncements ignore the fact that economic downturns cost lives.

The choice politicians are making is not between saving lives and economic growth, but between sacrificing lives now (visibly) and sacrificing them in the future (less visibly).

When economies shrink, poverty, violent crime and suicide rise and life expectancy declines. The Depression proved as much. Moreover, life expectancy among some deprived groups had, pre-pandemic, stalled in the UK, and gone backwards in America. If the UK’s GDP falls more than 6.4% per person as a result of the lockdown, more years of life will be lost than saved.

Currently, however, it looks more likely that we will get a deep, short recession, not a lengthy one and if businesses can struggle through, consumer demand and investment will rebound, without a significant impact on life expectancy. Possibly, but by some estimates GDP will be down 15% this quarter; the longer the lockdown – and the signs are that it could last until June – the deeper this slump could get. That’s why testing is key.

A team at Oxford University think that 50% of the UK population may already have been infected. If true, suppression measures could probably be safely relaxed. Data is crucial, because for now there are too many unknowns. But we will arrive at a time when the cost of containment measures, in terms of human welfare and even of fatalities, outweighs the cost of the virus. Refusing to face this grim calculation is not an act of high-mindedness, but of dereliction.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“A free lunch is only found in mousetraps.”

John Capuzzi

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“Ever since I started to get recognition I’ve picked out certain fans and reverse-stalked them.”

Jim Carey

The Great Toilet-Roll Shortage

We all know who’s to blame for the great toilet-roll shortage: irrational hoarders and greedy panic buyers. Or are they?

Actually, we don’t need to assume that most consumers are greedy or irrational to understand why shelves are emptying. It’s all to do with supply chains.

The toiletpaper industry is split into two, largely separate, markets: commercial and consumer. Consumers are not making more trips to the bathroom, but are doing so more often at home than elsewhere due to lockdowns.

That means the average household will use 40% more toilet paper than usual if all its members are staying at home. That’s a huge leap in demand for a product whose supply chain is predicated on the assumption that demand is essentially constant.

So if you’re wondering where all the toilet roll went, mystery solved – it’s at the office. Couldn’t industrial processes and supply chains change to solve the problem? Perhaps, but then we’ll face the same problem in reverse once people head back to work again. Knowing this, we can at least stop looking down on the “idiocy” of our fellow shoppers.

Even a modest, reasonable amount of stocking up by millions of people in preparation for staying at home would be enough to deplete many store shelves of everyday items.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL SENIOR HEALTH AND FITNESS DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streetwise Customer

I hope that you and your family are well.

I don’t have to tell you that the Coronavirus outbreak has changed everything, and nowhere more so than in the world of sports betting. With almost all our regular ‘go to’ profit makers like European football, horse racing and golf on hold, you might be excused for thinking that the opportunity to make a lucrative extra income from sports betting was gone – at least for now.

That’s what we thought until we heard from a guy called Craig Russell and how
he was…

Making an extra £150-£250 a week exploiting the ‘invisible’ betting opportunities exposed by the Coronavirus mayhem.

You see Craig isn’t your typical sports bettor. Long before anyone had heard of coronavirus, he was shunning the sort of events most of us bet on in favour of little-known sports, events and fixtures taking place in obscure locations.

Why did he concentrate on those?

Because he figured that the less ‘pro’s’ there were looking at these obscure markets, and the more time he spent studying them, the greater edge he’d have over the competition.

Obvious when you think about it.

So why this message?

Because it seems like now is the perfect time to bring this to a wider audience…but not much wider!

You see, in conjunction with Craig we’ve put together a totally unique service which is tailor-made for the times we find ourselves in. But there will only be 100 places available. Ever.

For full details on what’s involved and why the limit, take a LOOK NOW .If an extra couple of hundred pounds tax-free income would be worthwhile to you right now, I’d urge you to get in touch without delay. These places are really going to go fast.

For full details CLICK HERE

Very Best Wishes,

John Harrison
Streetwise Publications

P.S Almost forgot…you can get started with this for just £9.95. I’m pretty sure that makes it our cheapest service ever. Why? Well take a look now and all will be revealed.

www.streetwisenews.com/LP

Five Year Old Logic

I was talking to a friend last night who told me about one of those excruciatingly embarrassing incidents that all parents have to endure at some point. I think it’s the law.

He was at the supermarket check-out, and his 5-year-old daughter was watching carefully as the woman on the till scanned through their shopping.

Something was clearly puzzling his daughter as she watched the woman repeating the same task over and over as they chatted. Eventually, she could hold her curiosity no longer:

“Do you like your job?” she asked.

“No…not really,” said the woman, “…it’s a bit boring.”

There was a pause as the father became increasingly uneasy as he watched the cogs whirring in his daughters brain. The pause was short-lived…

“Does it pay a lot of money?” said the girl.

The woman on the checkout conceded that it did not.

By now, the father was all set to leave the store without his shopping rather than find out what was about to come next. But he didn’t get the chance. The daughter’s next question came all too quickly for that…

“Didn’t you try very hard at school?” she asked.

That story made me both wince at the embarrassment and laugh out loud, but there’s something else there as well. You see, here was a five-year-old who was desperately trying to understand why anyone would do a job that didn’t provide either satisfaction, or a lot of money.

And yet, there are vast swathes of the adult population who not only don’t question the logic of doing that, but also make it their life for year after year after year.

This is a short chapter, but it’s probably one of the most important. In all likelihood, nobody reading this book will still be alive and kicking 60 years from now. Many of us have a lot less time than that.

Why would any of us spend even one of those years doing a job which gave us neither satisfaction, nor the money to pursue a fulfilling life away from work? And isn’t it logical to strive for both?

You may not have ‘tried very hard at school’. A five-year-old wouldn’t know it ~ and you wouldn’t want to tell them ~ but it doesn’t matter. It’s no excuse. What matters is what you do from here on in – how you make the most of the hand you’ve been dealt, and played thus far.

If you find yourself working for poor wages in a job that gives you no satisfaction, surely you owe it to yourself to put at least one of those things right, and preferably both. At the risk of offending those with deep convictions, I believe the only second chances are in the here and now. And that means you need to do something positive now ~ today.

You can do it. Anyone can. But nothing can change until you take action.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Dear Streetwise Customer

I hope that you and your family are well.

That’s what we thought until we heard from a guy called Craig Russell and how he was…

Making an extra £150-£250 a week exploiting the ‘invisible’ betting opportunities exposed by the Coronavirus mayhem.

Why did he concentrate on those?

Because he figured that the less ‘pro’s’ there were looking at these obscure markets, and the more time he spent studying them, the greater edge he’d have over the competition.

Obvious when you think about it.

So why this message?

Because it seems like now is the perfect time to bring this to a wider audience…but not much wider!

You see, in conjunction with Craig we’ve put together a totally unique service which is tailor-made for the times we find ourselves in. But there will only be 100 places available. Ever.

For full details on what’s involved and why the limit, take a LOOK NOW.

If an extra couple of hundred pounds tax-free income would be worthwhile to you right now, I’d urge you to get in touch without delay. These places are really going to go fast.

For full details CLICK HERE

Very Best Wishes,

John Harrison
Streetwise Publications

P.S Almost forgot…you can get started with this for just £9.95. I’m pretty sure that makes it our cheapest service ever. Why? Well take a look now and all will be revealed.

www.streetwisenews.com/LP

Beware The Moaning Minority

I recently read about a soap opera fan who won a competition organised by the supermarket chain, Tesco. The prize, valued at £10,000, was a two week, all-expenses-paid trip to Australia to meet the cast of Neighbours, for herself, her husband and two children.

She went on the trip, but when she got back, complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the trip wasn’t worth £10,000. She argued that she could have bought it cheaper. In a rare display of good sense the ASA rejected her claim, but it doesn’t alter the fact that she had the brass neck to make it in the first place.

You will probably have one of two reactions to that story. If you don’t run a business dealing with the general public, you’ll be incredulous. If you do run a business that deals with the public, you’ll be shaking your head at the audacity of it, but you won’t be surprised.

When I first started my company, one of the most difficult things I had to come to terms with was customers ~ or rather, how far their behaviour sometimes deviated from what I expected and understood. It was something that cost me a lot of money.

Our first product as a publishing business was a major success by just about every meaningful criterion. But my perception at the time – because I didn’t know what I’m about to tell you – was that it was a dismal failure. You see the only people I ever seemed to hear from were people who didn’t like it, wanted their money back – or both. Over a period of about 18 months, I developed a growing belief that people hated both the product and us.

Because of this, I held back from offering these people anything else. My own warped sense of reality was that the only reason everyone else hadn’t complained was because they’d forgotten who’d sold them the product. And by offering them something else, I was about to remind them!

Anyway, after about 18 months or so, I decided to throw caution to the wind (or at least a little caution) and offer the people who’d bought our first product, a new publication we’d been working on. I wasn’t brave enough to mail them all, but sent out about 1,000 letters – just to test the water. I braced myself for the fall-out…and it came in the form of 300 orders. That’s right a 30% response ~ and this at a time when 3% was considered excellent.

You see, what I hadn’t realised, is that some people will always complain, no matter what. Tesco found this with their competition. And the ones with a propensity to complain are almost infinitely more vociferous than the ones who have no such propensity. For the most part, happy customers are content to be…happy. They don’t generally feel the need to shout about it. As a result you have to be very cautious about what you read into the autonomous and unsolicited feedback you get from customers.

The true picture was that the majority of people who bought that first product from us, loved it. It was only when we offered them something else – and gave them the opportunity to vote with their wallets – that this became readily apparent.

There’s a very influential old saying, variously attributed to department store moguls like Marshall Field in the United States and Harry Selfridge in the UK:

“The customer is always right.”

It has an awful lot to answer for. Whilst it’s vital to listen to, and react to what your collective customers are saying, if you pay too much heed to the opinions and demands of a disproportionately vociferous dissatisfied minority, you do no favours to your bank balance, and none for the satisfied majority either.

My gut reaction all those years ago was that we shouldn’t offer another product. My guess is that someone at Tesco may have said something like: “Well if that’s how competition winners react, sod ‘em, we won’t do it again,” when they heard about the complaint.

In both cases, that would be the wrong decision…

No matter what you’re selling (or even giving away!) some people will always be dissatisfied. And you will hear from them. Others will be thrilled, but you will hear from very few of those. Get this clear in your mind, and put systems in place to get the true collective picture, and the way forward for your business becomes all the clearer.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Hello,

My name is Michael White, and what I’d like to share with you now is a
total game-changer. With your permission, over the next few minutes I’ll
explain a money-loophole that could be your ticket to the laziest and
fastest retirement imaginable.

Please let me first put your mind at rest about a few things…

There’s no limit to the number of times you can use this under one person’s name. You could use this secret regularly…

. You DON’T need to already have a bank account with a
particular bank or building society.

. You DON’T need to have been mis-sold a pension or investment.

. You DON’T need to buy shares of a specific company or bank.

. You DON’T have to pay this money back- it’s NOT a loan. It’s
YOUR money, free and clear.

. You DON’T have to own a home, and you can use the money for
ANYTHING you like.

. You DON’T need a credit rating or be at any particular earnings
level or be on benefit.

. You DON’T need a computer or any technical know-how. You
could even place a call instead of make a few clicks if you don’t
have a computer.

NOBODY else knows this secret because I discovered it – through
the application of an ancient code. I will share it with you HERE for
legitimate reasons I’ll explain in a moment. And I guarantee you’ll
be stunned at how this powerful secret could force the banking
system into letting you retire early…

Take A Look HERE

Very Best Wishes,

Now Is The Time To Buy!!!

A deadly virus is spreading across the world at an accelerating rate. Shops, restaurants and pubs have closed down. No one is allowed out of their house and the economy is collapsing.

There are moments when it feels like the apocalypse. The world is ending and we are all doomed. Investors may feel the same way. Amid the carnage on the stockmarket one small category has done well – space stocks.

It is almost as if people have decided to give up on this planet and try a different one instead. Space exploration is a small sector, of course, but there are definite signs of life.

The only pure quoted space stock is Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which aims to offer the first tourist trips into space. True, its shares have been volatile. They tripled at the start of this year, then crashed even before any of us realised Covid-19 would spread beyond China.

In the last month however, they bounced by 50%. There are also a couple of space exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track a broad range of spacerelated companies. The aptly named Kensho Final Frontiers Fund is up from less than $160 to more than $185 at the time of writing. The Procure Space ETF – with the cute ticker UFO – is up by a similar amount.

Other private firms are forging ahead too. Blue Origin, controlled by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has, slightly surprisingly, been designated an “essential” company by the US government and allowed to keep operating.

And of course there’s Tesla founder Elon Musk’s Space-X, which is pressing on with plans for a new rocket capable of going to both the Moon and Mars. There are two main reasons why space companies have soared above the carnage on the stockmarket and in the wider economy.

First of all, all the terrible news about collapsing demand, closed factories and rapidly rising unemployment doesn’t make any difference to them. They didn’t have much in the way of sales anyway.

They were devoting their resources to making products that might be fantastically valuable, but not for another five or six years. A six-month shutdown is not terribly relevant one way or another. And next, 50 years after men first landed on the Moon, a genuine “space economy” is starting to emerge with real revenues.

It includes tourism, communications, mining and transport. It is getting big enough to be included in US GDP calculations and in the numbers of many other countries as well. In the US, it is estimated at $158bn, making it by far the global leader.