March 28, 2020 | Page 5 | Andy Arthur.org

I wish politicians would stop pretending that there is no cost to the Coronavirus shutdown to the economy and that all human life is indefinitely valuable
The costs of the Coronavirus shutdown are being born both today and tomorrow through immediate job losses and human suffering due to reductions in community events and services, borrowing from future generations, cuts to future government programs
Many of the costs of Coronavirus shutdown are unknown, and may lead to spill over effects such as deferred bridge and highway maintenance leading to emergency closures and bridge collapses in the out years or reduced performance in college due to High Schoolers loosing out on educational programs – just because people aren’t dying today doesn’t mean that won’t die tomorrow from loosely related effects
For sure, we should do everything that is possible but reasonable to slow the Coronavirus to help our hospital keep up with those who inevitably will get incredibly sick, but the key is reasonableness – it has weighted against economic and job losses causing human suffering – and losses of tax revenues leading to future government programs being cut
A fair evaluation of the pros and cons must be undertaken, we can’t only listen to the advice of the public health professionals and doctors but also compare and contrast it to advice given by both private sector and government economists
I am not endorsing President Trump’s position, but I think we can’t go blindly forward without seriously considering the spill over effects of the Coronavirus shutdown to civil society

It looks like with the warmer weather, it might be nice to hike up Platte Clove Road which is currently seasonally closed to motor vehicles.

As you can see, little snow remains — but I’m sure there is still some ice on the roads, packed by snowmobiles.

I have driven up Platte Clove Road, but never took the hike up it. Places to pull off the road when driving are limited, but if you hike up it this time of year, I don’t think they’ll be any traffic or anybody to stop you from taking as much time as you want observing Platte Clove.

One issue might be finding a place to park, but it looks like I could park somewheres on a side street in West Saugerties and hike the mile or so until you get to the closed portion of the road. Google Street Maps, and my past exploration of the town, suggests there are many legal places to park, even if it means a short hike until you start climbing.

Day: March 28, 2020

Heldebergs

Yellow

Coronavirus costs

Platte Next Weekend?