Only 600 people in the UK under 60 who were previously healthy have died from Covid since February.

[Landvaluetaxhateselderly]

“what if the disease killed the young fairly often but had little effect on older adults? ”

You mean like most infectious disease in history? When did we stop society because those under five died of measles, mumps, diphtheria, etc. etc. We soldiered on, accepted the losses and worked tirelessly to reduce them over time.

The figures doing the rounds today is that only 600 people in the UK under 60 who were previously healthy have died from Covid since February. Yet millions and millions of people have had their lives put on hold. And now fatigue is setting in. The grumbling is getting louder.

We really don’t want the majority in society, who are essentially unaffected by this, to turn around and say “to hell with the sick and the elderly – let them die”. That take us to a very dark place indeed.

We have to remember that the elderly and the infirm are maintained by a delicate social contract. Constantly stitching up the young will eventually lead to a backlash. And there are more young than old. They can go there is they decide to do so.

And there are actors out there pointing this out to GenZ over social media. The elderly and sick are a burden and if there are fewer of them you get your inheritance sooner. Think how that sits with the self centred “anti-work” brigade.

“. What is this irreparable harm being done by trying to be cautious?”

According to education experts they had to remove the option to provide two weeks holiday per year because any interruption caused irreparable harm to children’s education. The move to shrink the summer holiday is because of the amount of learning that is undone in seven weeks that is less so in five.

Why are the education experts wrong about that all of a sudden after years of altering legislation in the other direction?

The elderly are screwing us over in the housing market as well. The surroundings give locations their value, none of it is the landowner's effort. Land values are highest in Central London in the UK. Hence there should be 100% land value tax replace income tax.

[Stranger in a strange land]

"who were previously healthy" is the operative phrase here. COVID-19 is particularly deadly for people with diabetes, COPD, or heart and lung conditions, none of which are rare.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Why was this posted in economics

[Del Tachi]

Why was this posted in economics

Every discrete interaction between a clinician and a patient is an economic decision.  That’s medical economics 101

[Antonio the Sixth]

oh then i guess it's fine to murder someone as long as they were already sick

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

So, right to life only if you are under 60 (and healthy)?
Reminds me of something...

[Alcibiades]

To be fair, there are legitimate questions to be asked about quality vs. length of life. Would an 80 year old rather have 4 more years spent largely in isolation, or 2 more years with regular visits from family and friends? As much as “follow the science” has become a mantra for many in the past few months, the reality is that science provides no easy answers as to how society should navigate the pandemic. In fact, scientists and modellers have become divided between those who wish to suppress Covid to the lowest level with harsh restrictions and those who want society to learn to live with it as an endemic infection. The uncomfortable fact of the matter is that Covid policy is a political, not scientific, matter, with no straightforward answers as to the trade-offs which have to be made between reducing Covid deaths, reducing deaths from other causes, mental wellbeing, the economy, and the social fabric.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

..."land value tax hates elderly"?

Given the demographic makeup of property owners in the UK (if this is a British poster, particularly relevant), it would diminish one of our boomer cohort's greatest economic advantages.

Most forms of LVT wouldn't actually be much of a direct economic burden for the vast majority of them, but if one views generational wealth as a zero-sum game (I don't), it's hard not to call it that in a British context.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

..."land value tax hates elderly"?

Given the demographic makeup of property owners in the UK (if this is a British poster, particularly relevant), it would diminish one of our boomer cohort's greatest economic advantages.

Most forms of LVT wouldn't actually be much of a direct economic burden for the vast majority of them, but if one views generational wealth as a zero-sum game (I don't), it's hard not to call it that in a British context.

I'm still not sure that I fully understand where OP is coming from, but there's a lot going on there.

In any case, young people should be upset about what the response to this pandemic has done to their lives. I'm a little tired of being told that 26% of 18-24 year olds reporting suicidal ideation is a cost worth bearing if it prevents even one pandemic death.

It's not really a generational struggle, though. Plenty of elderly people have suffered from the isolation and lack of routine, too.

Agreed. It's not a generational struggle, but the UK's baby boomer cohort in the UK treating politics as such without inciting serious objections from other voters (especially younger voters) has driven us closer towards a breaking point (c.f. the Labour Party base being happy about the WASPI pension bribe in spite of everything). At some point, the triple lock on pensions is going to have to be curbed and, without a cross-party political consensus, that will mean the end of whichever government dares to change it.

The fear factor would still be strong but I am under no illusions that there would be far less public pressure for lockdowns if the age distribution for mortality skewed towards young adults instead of older voters.

[Izzyeviel]

According to education experts they had to remove the option to provide two weeks holiday per year because any interruption caused irreparable harm to children’s education. The move to shrink the summer holiday is because of the amount of learning that is undone in seven weeks that is less so in five.

Why are the education experts wrong about that all of a sudden after years of altering legislation in the other direction?

Just remember the people saying this are ok with kids with missing at least 4 months of school every year.

[Samof94]

"who were previously healthy" is the operative phrase here. COVID-19 is particularly deadly for people with diabetes, COPD, or heart and lung conditions, none of which are rare.

What if you catch it when pregnant?