I turned 65 last fall. In September I got a persistent dry cough that I took with me on a Mediterranean cruise in Oct. On my return the persistent cough and congestion annoyed me enough that I saw my GP, who said it was viral and couldn’t be treated with antibiotics, and said it would just have to “run its course”. In late Nov. I went on a trip to NYC where exposure to the elements caused me to develop flu-like symptoms that actually cost me a day of touristic activities.
In early 2020 I revisited my GP for the still naggingly persistent cough. At this time he reduced my prescription for hypertension and wrote me another one for a Z-pak and a statin, which combination finally knocked out the cough.
Since Feb. 2020 I’ve come to the conclusion that during my 2019 Italian sojourn I contracted coronavirus. I believe while overseas on that cruise I caught it, went through the 2-week incubation period after which it appeared full-blown during the Nov. 2019 domestic travel to New York. Since that wasn’t an election year and the world’s population hadn’t become hysterically obsessed over contagion fears, I think my natural immune system beat back the deadly effects of the virus and I recovered just like millions of others who do every year from the seasonal flu.
Onto the economic impact: right now in the lives of 2 immediate family members, I am their sole support and economic lifeline. Because of the nature of my work I was able to shift from locked-down business environment to working-from-home without missing a beat. Thanks to my unique positioning I did not get laid off or furloughed (although my company did impose a 10% across-the-board pay cut for the remainder of 2020). Still there’s a disconnect talking to people who are out of a job but treating the lockdown, longterm implications of millions out of work (and the small businesses that have already gone under) and prolonged house arrest (binge watching their favorite sitcom, accessorizing their custom-made facemasks, comparison shopping for hand sanitizers, increased online shopping and having it delivered to your door) as an extended session of summer camp, as fun. They insist the lockdowns (with the stimulus checks and unemployment benefits perpetually arriving in the mail) must be extended “until it’s safe to congregate in public places again”.
It’s a vicious tautology that swallows and regurgitates itself that people like myself who are still employed cannot break through to the obvious underlying denouement: when the unemployment bennies run out, when the stimulus checks stop coming, as the jobless go deeper and deeper into debt until they hit the gambler’s ruin of “I have no new money coming in, the company that used to employ me has gone out of business and I can’t pay my bills anymore”, eventually will find themselves in long lines with 10’s of millions other jobless competing for what few openings are left.
What does one do when one can’t pay the unavoidable bills (rent/mortgage, groceries, fuel, insurance, utilities) anymore and the job market has flattened?