Quote:
Originally Posted by jfman
And if like the going away in the summer hypothesis in 2020 that doesn’t happen? It’s an increasing problem.
So in the same of keeping the economy open at all costs I presume you support higher taxation to support those unemployed by the virus and to put the NHS into position to cope with three to four surges a year?
|
That may well be true.
But a fully open economy (with inherent risks of sickness absence as there always is with people actually going to work) has a much better chance of supporting those who are unable to work whilst ill or to fund the improvements needed in the NHS to improve capacity and cope with the 3-4 waves of covid admissions we will probably get (though this is ever decreasing in terms of severity to expected cases this year compared to last and 2020) usually whenever there's a variant which has significant immune escape for our 2020 vaccines which take no account at all of the virus having since mutated (so the new vaccines which are coming are probably a game changer themselves).
Certainly more so than closing places or restricting the way they trade by reducing their capacity or making people uncomfortable by having to wear masks, check in, install spying apps on their phones etc. There is obviously a reduction in trade in these places when such measures are introduced, after all. And it is things like travel (fuel duty), pubs/restaurants (alcohol duty) and having fun which bring in tax and which if they were not open would make this task harder, not easier - or you would need to completely plan again where and how you taxed people to get the required income.
"support those unemployed by the virus"? I'm assuming here you mean people who are unable to work due to being permanently incapacitated, as opposed to those who the virus
response has meant their job no longer exists? In which case, what support do they need other than what incapacity benefits already exist?