Pandemics, Unemployment, & the American Spirit

It’s been really difficult coming up with something to write over the last few months.  Not only have I been busy fielding phone calls 24/7 every time the government came up with a new plan to help support the American people, but it’s also been hard to jump onto the cheerleading bandwagon.  Every post I’ve seen for the past few months tells us all to stay strong, hang in there, we’ll get through this, etc.  Those are all “givens” (if you recall your geometry lessons).  Recent posts have all been about how to follow the CDC guidelines on how to re-open your business.  so we now have a checklist, and a huge amount of added costs that no one can afford to pay to re-open business, which may or may not end up being closed again, depending on county numbers out of our control.  So what can we do?

One of the finest lessons I learned in school was that we had to learn from the past.  Our current state of affairs has us trying to erase our past, perhaps instead we should learn from it and move on, but that’s another topic for another day.  In this instance, pandemics, unemployment and the American spirit, we’ve already been here.

In 1918 the Spanish flu epidemic hit infecting approximately 500 million people worldwide – in a world with a population of about 1.8 billion people.  That epidemic took out around 50 million people worldwide – 675,000 in the United States.  Today’s numbers of Covid-19 are 14.5 million worldwide infected with 606,000 dead and numbers growing daily and in the United States, 3.83 million infected with 143,000 dead with numbers growing daily, with the world’s population set at 7.8 billion people.  The solution in 1918 is the same solution we have today – wear masks, don’t socialize, clean, and sanitize everything you come into contact with.  Is it a perfect solution? No.  Is it annoying, uncomfortable, irritating, sometimes difficult to breathe through? Yes.  It’s also temporary.  Today we have air conditioning, shorts and tank tops (where appropriate), and other amenities to make ourselves more comfortable.  I can’t say it’s great conducting business by Zoom; it isn’t always productive, but hey the human race is certainly adaptable if it’s anything.  If the American people in 1918, wearing multiple layers of clothing, in similar temperatures that we have today,  with no AC or other ways to be comfortable (imagine restricted breathing through a mask AND a corset/girdle).  So, popular or not, and yes even back in 1918 people argued over wearing a mask, be considerate of others, and don a mask.  Be creative in your mask choice – there’s a lot of different ones out there.  Don’t be boring in your mask choice – let it be a representation of you.  If you like Mickey Mouse, wear a MM mask – I have one if you need one.

Artwork by J. Huggett

It’s all about being you.

You can still follow the rules, even if they chafe, and still be you.  Now moving on to our glorious unemployment rates.

Yes, we’ve been here too.  AND we’ve come back, which WILL happen again.   So in 1933, our unemployment rate hit 24.9% due to the Great Depression – the  period 1929 through 1939 during which the US suffered an economic downturn unlike any other.  If we look at the actual numbers for the last 20 years, our unemployment rate has been below 5% for the years 2000, 2005-2007, 2015-2019.  That’s only 7 out of 20 years.  To break it down further, The unemployment rate was below 7% between 2000 and 2007, and 2013 – 2019.  It was above 7% for 2008 – 2012. Our current unemployment rate is at 11.1%  It’s not great. We all know that once we get control or at least a better understanding of Covid-19, our unemployment situation will rectify itself and our economy will bounce back.  Until that time, we’re in a time of trials and testing.  It’s going to take patience, cooperation, and the true spirit of community working together to get us through this.  We did it in the 30’s we can darn well do it again.

So this is the last of my cheerleading and I’m stepping off my soapbox.  Please, let’s all work together (from 6 feet apart) during these trying times to help each other through.  Wear a mask when you are going into places of business or encountering other people.  Wash frequently.  And remember, we’ve already done this once.  We can do it again – and hopefully, we won’t have to do it in the future.  We are a strong and resilient people.  Help those you can, give strength to those in need, and reach out when you need help.  We’re all here for each other.

Lastly, if you happen to know single parents, healthcare workers with school-age children, and happen to understand California Core education and can lend a hand through Zoom meetings with their kids, I’m certain they would appreciate all the help they can get.

Barring any emergencies, my next blog post will be about business basics.