The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared • Hacker News Board

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#121

Post by Lineup » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

fauigerzigerk wrote: post #81

rayiner wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Militaries are reliant on domestic production and labor. (Paying Chinese solider costs the government a fraction as much as an American soldier.) So instead of an exchange rate conversion, you should be doing a purchasing-power conversion. For these three countries, that means multiplying by 2x to 4x. Also, the US is particularly inefficient at capital spending. It costs us a billion dollars to build a mile of subway…

>So instead of an exchange rate conversion, you should be doing a purchasing-power conversion. For these three countries, that means multiplying by 3x or 4x. Where did you get those numbers from? According to the OECD the renminbi PPP rate is 4.198 whereas the the current exchange rate is 7. That's 1.67x not 3x. https://data.oecd.org/conversion/purchasing-power-parities-p...

Now equalize labor cost... tada!

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#122

Post by razorunreal » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:41 PM UTC

icegreentea2 wrote: post #22

vikramkr wrote: post #5

Over the past few years a series of American agencies have lost their reputation and world standing. The FAA with the 737 max, the CDC with the test, the FDA with testing regulation and hydroxychloroquine. Its important to have institutions that work, but we've spent years deliberately gutting them and undervaluing them. All that money spent on the military and homeland security, and in the end we were caught utterly…

I think you'd make a stronger argument by instead of making a military or other things argument, and just make a 'fund other things more' argument. The reason I think you should stay away from pointing fingers, especially at a relatively divisive issue like military or especially aircraft carrier funding is because then you shift a question of "should American be world leading in commercial air travel regulation, pan…

It seems very relevant because the military was apparently completely unprepared for biological warfare. Like in all their talk of terrorism they hadn't even considered the possibility. Sure, this virus wasn't an intentional attack, but it easily could have been. How much good do all those weapons do when a virus can bring the country to a halt?

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#123

Post by saddlerustle » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:44 PM UTC

vikramkr wrote: post #5

Over the past few years a series of American agencies have lost their reputation and world standing. The FAA with the 737 max, the CDC with the test, the FDA with testing regulation and hydroxychloroquine. Its important to have institutions that work, but we've spent years deliberately gutting them and undervaluing them. All that money spent on the military and homeland security, and in the end we were caught utterly…

Where's the gutting? The budgets of the FAA, the FDA and the CDC are all at or near all time highs.

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#124

Post by amanaplanacanal » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:46 PM UTC

C19is20 wrote: post #11

The article started off convincingly "On January 17th...", but i gave up after "....the world’s most trusted public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,...". If the sentence had've been "...the world’s most trusted public health agency, [in The United States (well, maybe)]", I would have perhaps considered reading more.

Just wondering what you would nominate for the worlds most trusted public health agency? Maybe the WHO?

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#125

Post by olivermarks » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:48 PM UTC

I can't take Buzzfeed 'news reporters' very seriously given the recent debacle with Zerohedge and subsequent plagiarism firing of Ryan Broderick. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/buzzfeed-reporter-who-go...

This CDC piece by Vergano & Hirji is more of an opinion and perception article than 'news reporting. I worry that click bait sites like 'Buzzfeed'(ridiculous name) are taken too seriously, especially when there is so much great well researched and argued material online that is often dismissed as 'conspiracy theories' etc etc

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#126

Post by fortran77 » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:48 PM UTC

o-__-o wrote: post #106

sethammons wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they are required by law...

I think ppl are starting to realize that running a country is hard work and not something that should be left to someone in their armchair behind a computer screen...

I'm not going to be at risk. There's a difference between "someone in their armchair behind a computer screen" and looking at reports issued by the Government saying "CPAP is dangerous for people in the area" and raising a question about why it's allowed in areas that are regulated by the Government, like commercial airline cabins.

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#127

Post by csours » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:49 PM UTC

ReticentVole wrote: post #102

ed-209 wrote: post #39

"Believing people without symptoms didn't spread the virus, the agency limited testing, discouraged masking..." This is false by Fauci's own account (see below interview) in which he states mask wearing was discouraged in order to secure availability for health workers. This is no small distinction as it raises questions about the importance of public trust/credibility during a health crisis. https://m.youtube.com/wa…

There are a minimal number of excess deaths now associated with COVID, so what is the problem? Allowing the community to acquire immunity naturally during Summer is a good way to minimise the spread of the virus come Winter. COVID severity seems heavily linked with Vitamin D levels, so lockdown during Summer would possibly have been counter-productive for the general population. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/cov…

Would you write this if your family was personally affected by a Covid death?

To directly answer your question, there are 3 reason to take Covid very seriously:

1. Saturation of healthcare resources. People who get sick with Covid are more likely to use hospital beds and resources, and for longer as well.

2. It is deadlier than other diseases such as the flu.

3. It is more contagious than the flu.

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#128

Post by pinkfoot » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:49 PM UTC

chiefalchemist wrote: post #91

icegreentea2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you'd make a stronger argument by instead of making a military or other things argument, and just make a 'fund other things more' argument. The reason I think you should stay away from pointing fingers, especially at a relatively divisive issue like military or especially aircraft carrier funding is because then you shift a question of "should American be world leading in commercial air travel regulation, pan…

At nearly three-quarters of a trillion, the DoD budget is difficult to ignore. It had bipartisan support. It has not made us any safer. It's not fingerpointing. It's simply a perfect example of a system and priorities gone sideways. It's a 700 billion gorilla that continues to bloat because saying otherwise is considered to be unAmerican, etc. The narrative of not talking openly about the DOD budget needs to change.

Chalmers Johnson and Robert Higgs were making the case as long ago as 2006 that the actual US defence budget was obfuscated and was over a trillion dollars.

They argue that if you add the budgets of the Department of Energy (nuclear research), the Department of Homeland Security, the defence-related programs of the the Department of State and international assistance programs (e.g. Israel, Egypt?), the Department of Veterans Affairs, NASA, the Department of the Treasury's military retirement costs (Military Retirement Fund) you can add 50% to the nominal defence budget.

[1] https://mondediplo.com/2008/02/05military

[2] https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=1941

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#129

Post by sutterbomb » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:50 PM UTC

mobilefriendly wrote: post #115

icegreentea2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you'd make a stronger argument by instead of making a military or other things argument, and just make a 'fund other things more' argument. The reason I think you should stay away from pointing fingers, especially at a relatively divisive issue like military or especially aircraft carrier funding is because then you shift a question of "should American be world leading in commercial air travel regulation, pan…

$35 billion is an EXTRAORDINARY amount of money. It's the economic output of Vermont, a state with 630,000 people.

the US is an EXTRAORDINARY large country. It has a population >500x greater than the state of Vermont, a state with 630,000 people.

Re: The CDC lost control of the coronavirus pandemic, then the agency disappeared

#130

Post by Covzire » Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 2:50 PM UTC

bjlorenzen wrote: post #118

ethanbond wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are divided on what the US military‘s role in the world should be and how much money it should take to uphold that role. Sitting atop the longest stretch of global stability (largely enforced/maintained by the US military), it’s very hard to think clearly about what variables we can or should fiddle with.

The globe might feel stable while sitting inside the US and reading domestic media sources, but it sure hasn’t been easy for the dozens of countries we’ve been invading/occupying for the past decades.

If we're making sweeping generalizations, then countries with stable benevolent governments who don't threaten their neighbors / the US and fund terrorism don't get invaded or occupied either. To be clear, I'm not saying every foreign policy action the US has undertaken in the last few decades has been superb.