• yogthos@lemmygrad.ml
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    3 years ago

    Right, 20% of all US currency was printed during past couple of years and now inflation is close to 7%. Meanwhile, wages are remaining flat and minimal wage pays nowhere close to the cost of living. I expect the fallout from the omicron wave is going to be more severe than any of the past waves.

    At the start of the pandemic there were at least some attempts at containment. As ham-fisted as they may have been, it was better than doing nothing. Now, there’s no will from the government or the public to take any action. However, case counts are already making other waves look flat, and Delaware was just forced to issue state of emergency because hospitals are getting overrun.

    The real surge is likely to hit after a week or two since everybody just went to visit friends and family for the holidays. These people will come back and infect their communities, and it takes around a week or two before symptoms get bad enough to require hospitalization. This means we can expect a huge wave towards the end of January.

    At that point there’s likely going to be need for mass shutdowns and that will lead to market panic. This is likely to be the start of the deferred financial crisis. It’s not really clear what the strategy is going to be at that point. Printing even more money will obviously make inflation even worse, but there aren’t any other readily available solutions either.

      • yogthos@lemmygrad.ml
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        3 years ago

        There is an indication that omicron is less deadly, but it’s still a dangerous virus that’s much worse than regular flu. The idea that viruses get more mild over time is based on the fact that milder versions have a better chance to spread thus outcompeting more serious ones. However, this is more of a rule of thumb than anything. Lots of viruses are very infectious and deadly.

        It’s also worth noting that death rate isn’t the only relevant metric. Numbers of hospitalizations and long term disabilities are just as important. Omicron is currently overwhelming healthcare systems in US and Canada because a lot more people end up in the hospital due to how many overall infections are happening. I’m in Ontario, and we just announced a slew of restrictions because our healthcare system can’t keep up.

        Once the initial pandemic is over, then the question is going to be how many people developed long term problems. This will again put more stress on healthcare and social services, as well as impact people’s ability to work.

        • pimento@lemmygrad.ml
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          3 years ago

          If the main capitalist countries destroy themselves through pure incompetence, I appreciate that. It gives a lot of opportunities for legitimate protest and organizing.

          • yogthos@lemmygrad.ml
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            3 years ago

            Yeah, I think we’re headed towards the irreversible collapse of the global capitalist system at this point. The pandemic has shaken its foundations to the core, and now climate change is unfolding at a faster rate than anyone expected. I don’t see how capitalism can survive a disaster on such a scale.