It's come to this: rationing of emergency medical care.
The Wall Street Journal reports that at NYU Langone Health, Robert Femea gave ER front lines "sole discretion" for who is put on a ventilator. They also have permission to withhold futile incubation. In that decision-making loop the Ok, Boomer could be assessed as, crudely put, not a good bet for treating.
So goes another day in the coronavirus pandemic.
Andrew Cuomo becomes increasingly attractive as a presidential candidate.
His approval rating, depending on the latest presser, is around 90%. On CNN, his news-anchor brother Chris Cuomo brought up the possibility of Andrew as next U.S. president.
Among the many edges Cuomo has is that the public trusts him. That is so much so that he can make errors of judgment and is quickly forgiven.
Celebrity culture might be ending.
Folks are too scared about dying from the virus to give a damn what Ellen DeGeneres throws out there as guidance or supposed inspiration.
It's posited that celebrity culture began with Teddy Roosevelt's flamboyant daughter Alice. The Ok, Boomer might remember the catchy song associated with her "Alice Blue Gown.'
Instead of celebrities America is embracing those ordinary people who serve in necessary functions.
On social networks, there are lots of likes for and comments about the workers at Aldi. We cheer that they are receiving "hazard" pay for manning the grocery lines.
Tomorrow, April 1st, is THE DAY.
That's when many bills, including rent, are due.
As a public service, some corporations are letting it be known that they are open to negotiation. For example, when I called into my Bank of America Visa card about rewards (you bet, those can help out plenty with balances), the automated messaging was front loaded with this: The powers that be invite discussions about alternate ways to approach payment.
But there are businesses which might not be concerned about the branding implication of taking swift action against those not paying their bills on time. After GM shuttered the Lordstown, Ohio plant, evictions from apartments were routine. And the sheriff doesn't ring twice.
Not everyone is in a financial pickle - lessons learned.
There were individual catastrophes before The Time of Coronavirus. In 2003, I had lost my nest egg, business, and mind. Here is my book on that, including lessons learned, which can be downloaded free.
Not only did I resolve never again to live above my means. I embraced what's now called "radical frugality" or "minimalism." Then I referred to it as a "vow of poverty." In the front lines of that psychic (and behavioral) shift had been cognitive therapist, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, Amy Karnilowicz.
The results included going from six-figure debt to having a surplus of income at the end of most months and maintaining an investment portfolio.
Takeaway: Research how to live cheaply. It can be done, even in America. My most recent initiative has been to donate my automobile to Kars4Kids. That, according to Nerd Wallet, can save someone an average of $8,469 a year. I had been at that fork in the road: Buy a new car or figure out how to get from Points A to Points B, C, and D without a car.
Some can enjoy the pause and some bump up against the tipping point of despair.
On social networks, brandname lawyer Norm Pattis (he had defended Connecticut's Fotis Dulos) reflects that slowing down is not a bad thing. The courthouses are closed so he and other lawyers are not cranking out the usual lawyerly things like briefs and aren't appearing before a jury.
However, Pattis is self-employed. He is positioned to manage his financial everything. The self-employed have more wiggle room in hard times.
Lawyers employed by law firms aren't so fortunate. Recently Womble Bond Dickinson laid off junior lawyers. Reed Smith is slowing down cash distributions to partners.
Ironically, those lawyers losing jobs might find themselves scrambling for help, just like the former servers in restaurants and the clerks in department stores.
They should click into the Paul Weiss Coronavirus Relief Center, created by lawyers working pro bono. It simplifies the mazes for help.
Red tape can be daunting. It could also be the tipping point into despair.
On an individual basis, pitch in with helping those allergic to red tape to get the information and aid they need. Recently, readers who are gig workers have been asking me how to apply for unemployment. That's permitted by the CARES Act. Here is my public service post on that development for contract workers and the self-employed.
Allow ourselves to change.
The New York liberal in me is being forced to re-think values. Where I am living now (very affordably) is not a coronavirus hotspot. But an hour away is one. Governors, mayors, health officials, and medical personnel are deciding whether the hospitals here will be open for those from the hotspot.
This time my mindset is the conservative NIMYB. That is, not in my background. So far the cases of the virus and the deaths are low in this county. Allowing those from a hotspot to be treated here could be the game-changer.
"At my age," as the saying goes, I never expected to have to be "tested" so severely. After I bounced back in 2004 from my individual year in hell I assumed I was entitled to a smooth ride. HaHa.
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