More reasons to be cheerful: It looks like the Aussie semi-lockdown is actually working. Being a remote island is working in our favour; closing the borders just in the nick of time has saved us from a large outbreak of coronavirus, at least for the time being. Most cases of the illness have been restricted to those in contact with foreign travellers. 'Community' cases, those found spreading akin to the common cold, are rare. Compared to Britain and the United States of Don'tGiveaFuckGodwillsaveus we're laughing.
That's not to say the virus won't spread, but we've got time on our hands to get some ventilators, masks, testing kits and dig some mass grave pits. We're still in a 'soft' lockdown rather like the Dutch model (see link below.)
My own mental health is solid after a wobble last Monday. I've spent a lot of time on my own and inside my head during my life. I've got books, TV, music and my imagination. I can take as much exercise as I want, or none at all. I cook a healthy vegetarian meal every other day; no point cooking daily for one adult and a teenager who listlessly fidgets with her dinner. It's not prison (yet.)
I've got into a routine of doing two or three useful things a day and leaving the rest; procrastination is useful when every day is mañana. I’m busy doing nothing, working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do. I feel less stressed than usual, because I don’t have to work. Schools are off on holiday. Life is bearable.
From the micro to the macro: I’m still concerned with the government’s handling of the economy. It’s being met with favour amongst the financial commentariat; but most economists believe in maintaining the status quo. The size of the debt we are incurring is up to $320 billion and counting. Why are many of us being gifted decent pocket money when we've got nothing to spend it on? We're only meant to be shopping for essentials; are we expected to spend $500 a week at our supermarkets? Incidentally, did you know that Woolworths is 70% owned by American investors? No new goods are coming in from China, and we're sulking with them at the moment anyway for some reason.
My simple answer is: the economy runs on us buying stuff we don't need. Ironically, the overweight, hypertensive and tobacco addicted are being felled by Covid-19, but the economy needs them addicted to sugar, smokes and booze to keep it running. When we get out of our bedrooms, Canberra hopes our wallets will be so stuffed we'll splurge on anything and everything to keep the capitalist pyramid scheme from collapsing.
Foreigners here without a permanent visa get no financial aid, unless they're from New Zealand because Anzac spirit hey. Our Prime Minister has told everyone else to bugger off home sharpish. However, not all foreign residents are 19 year old kids who can bunk up with mum and dad. Some are in their thirties and have kids here with Aussie partners. They've paid taxes for years. Where are they meant to go?
Why did the government allow these foreign nationals to come here in the first place? It's not as if they're not xenophobes, ask the dudes on Manus Island. Once again, it's the economy stupid. They provide huge fees for our educational institutions, while simultaneously accepting low paid jobs Aussies don't want to do. Full employment leads to inflation as workers can demand higher wages. Five percent true blue Aussie unemployment does the economy no harm, especially as they put their dole straight back into the economy. Now that foreigners have no wage and the universities are closed, their lack of economic value means they are expendable to this cruel administration.
We have a neo-liberal government. They only care about us in our role as consumer, eating up ever more of a finite planet as wealth trickles upwards. Speaking of wealth, Australia's billionaires have been very quiet during this crisis, haven't they?
The treasury could have given us minimal benefits and kept some of this stimulus for a Keynesian 'Green New Deal.' Schools need refurbishing; trees need planting; invasive weeds and animals need eradicating; green technologies must be found. You can doubtless think of myriad other useful schemes. The existential threat posed by climate change is greater than CoVid-19. In a depression, the role of a caring government is to provide meaningful jobs, not just fire out cash like a broken ATM.
Facebook is full of posts telling us that the CoVid has forced to reflect on what is truly important in life. If we leave our homes at the end of this, dash out and use our cash to trash the planet we will have learned nothing.
