U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

Recession is a semi-technical term that is often defined as a fall in GDP for two successive quarters.

I suspect the downvotes are due to a lack of critical engagement. Even the Holodomor link offers a litany of reasons that aren't just "socialism," and we've been interfering in Venezuela for decades, not limited to: harsh sanctions, coup attempts, cutting off access to foreign markets, blocking access to its own funds stored outside the country, and so on. In addition to all the hoarding of food and medicine inside the country. There's a lot going on, and "third world oil country with US-unfriendly foreign and domestic policy in a region dominated by US interference" certainly also hurts countries that don't have "socialism" to blame. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela

Regarding US government incompetence in benefits: Not everywhere has distributing benefits been so inefficient (see: Denmark or Germany, among others). It's almost like a decades-long program of cutting funding and introducing tons of red tape undermines public confidence in social spending. I'm sure that's unintentional!

Lack of strong unions is one contributing factor. Companies have all the power, and this situation is giving them even more power. No one dares risking losing their job in these conditions when so many others are already out of work and would take any paying job without complaint.

First of all, that number is clearly exaggerated. No current evidence supports the claim that a million people in the USA dying of covid is remotely plausible.

Now to the substance of your argument: this has little to do with capitalism. If most people are not working for a long period of time, in any society, even a non-capitalist one, then that society will rapidly become dramatically materially poorer.

We make choices to improve material conditions at possibly increased health risks all the time. Longevity is not the only metric for overall quality of life.

I would happily accept some increased risk of my own death for the lockdown to be over. Correctly navigating the tradeoff requires figuring out how much increased risk of death is acceptable, not asserting that it’s zero.

What has happened over the past few decades has been with companies:

1) A shift to JIT stock control and resource management 2) Shift towards paying dividends over building up reserves for rainy days 3) Valuing of companies with more weight upon public perception and perceived prospects over tangible assets on the books.

With many other factors that all, whilst small, add up to a market with companies driven by a way of working that is more volatile towards any unknown changes as less prepared by design to handle any rainy days periods.

This is also not just a company thing, but a personal thing with the shift in mentality to buy now pay later over save now, buy later. Mostly driven by low interest rates, which have been kept low as a way to manage currency value as a way to manage inflation. That along with any crash saw people with high interest rates as much larger and quicker to drive an economic crash with debts. Though mostly, to drive consumer spending so GDP looks good and the perception helps that countries credit rating. Making them able to borrow more for even less. Consumers with no incentive to save, buy more, borrow more, everything looks nice.

But of course there is more to it than that, but the whole drive towards lower interest rates has over the decades bestowed a culture more included to think short-term and deal with the long-term later and enjoy the sun. This has permeated in many forms and creates what I would call a false economy.

So after the moore's law of interest rates started to hit a limit as they could not shrink any lower, they invented QE, which worked and helped avoid reality of things catching up with the markets for many a time. But then even that can only go so far, so the new tool - negative interest rates.

This of course, all tricks to help balance the books and keep the whole financial system rolling ahead without it taking a reality audit and adjusting down instead of being over valued due to perception of constant growth.

But with a big rainy day that is global, things in any market would take a hit, how much of that depends as many companies will die, but how many of them will be due to the way they operate and not the `market snap`(sorry Marvel, I'm using it) we are experiencing.

If anything, whilst many jobs will be lost, more attention to local sourcing will be given and that will create not only jobs, but more stable jobs. At least to until the fashion of outsourcing comes back and we end up with Detroit mark2.

Also be new opportunities/jobs - certainly be a boom for many internet companies. Also see alas another nail in many a high street and with that, things will change, how much of that does transpire is unsure for certain. But certainly see more things local produced instead of imported, with that production has been slowly clustering globally and in some area's has become centered. So insourcing may well become a word used more than outsourcing when it comes to production and materials resources.

About the only thing I do know for sure, even after this - people will use more soap than before.