When bureaucrats and politicians consider what policy option will best serve the people, they must ask this question: "What will happen if we choose this policy?"
Disease experts were consulted when the coronavirus became an epidemic. They said, "Shut down everything." Were child and family experts asked what would happen if everything was locked down? Were business and economics experts asked the question? Were environmentalists asked? Or was the decision knee-jerk, with too many unintended consequences?
In March of 2020 the government of Kenya restricted travel as a pandemic measure. Tourism was wiped out (9% of their economy) and lots of jobs were lost. Poor and hungry locals are killing giraffes to survive.
About a hundred million people around the world were pushed back into extreme poverty by measures taken to deal with the pandemic. That's real human suffering. And even the environment will suffer. People must survive before they can work on preserving their natural environment.
Studies will be done to analyze whether massive lockdowns were the best strategy to preserve life and mitigate suffering. Maybe some things (like schools) should have been left open. Hopefully something has been learned for the next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment