I’ve never seen a more idiotic commentary than that by Pat Buchanan which appeared recently in the PDN.
In it, he argued that the potential of 60,000 American deaths from the coronavirus did not justify shutting down the nation’s economy.
First of all, his math is completely bogus.
The shutdowns are needed not because of the 60,000 deaths projected now, but because of the 1 or 2 million deaths that would have resulted from not shutting down.
And, of course, without the measures that were taken, the nation’s health care system would have broken down completely and the economy and society in general would have been decimated anyway.
Apply Buchanan’s logic to another situation: suppose he needs prolonged end-of-life care, does he believe his children, not wanting to damage their economic well-being, should let him suffer and die?
His logic seems to point that way.
The coronavirus presents horrible choices, all of them intensely painful.
Right-wing columnists, or presidents, screaming that it shouldn’t be that way don’t change reality.
Craig Whalley
Port Angeles