# ...from the President of the United States: WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 23, 2020, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078 "2020-03-23T05:48:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/21 "2020-03-23T12:03:24Z")
My read on this is the that the plan was “lock down for 2 weeks, hopefully cases will be decreasing, and then we’ll reopen”. Insane thing #1: the 2nd wave of the Spanish flu killed more people than the first wave. Insane thing #2: many closed institutions have done so voluntarily, and are not under Federal jurisdiction. So what does Trump think he’s going to do? I have this vision of the climax of _Trading Places_ where a defeated Don Ameche wails “Turn those machines back on!!!” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/22 "2020-03-23T12:06:42Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > My read on this is the that the plan was “lock down for 2 weeks, hopefully cases will be decreasing, and then we’ll reopen”. > > Insane thing #1: the 2nd wave of the Spanish flu killed more people than the first wave. > > Insane thing #2: many closed institutions have done so voluntarily, and are not under Federal jurisdiction. > > So what does Trump think he’s going to do? I have this vision of the climax of _Trading Places_ where a defeated Don Ameche wails “Turn those machines back on!!!” Re #1, it depends on what we’d refer to as the first wave. There was the initial outbreak in Kansas in June of 1918, which then stopped as troops moved on to European theaters of war. But we typically consider September - December to be the flu season, and it was that wave that killed the overwhelming majority of victims. There was a second smaller wave in the early part of 1919. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/23 "2020-03-23T12:14:45Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > We really are. And we can’t even gather to protest. > > I feel so helpless. After watching that presser yesterday, I’m mad enough that if there was a critical mass of protestors amassing in D.C, I would drive up there and join them. I’d hafta wrap myself like a mummy in plastic bags and duct tape since I’m not trying to get the virus. But I would be there. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/24 "2020-03-23T12:17:20Z")
…the message New Zealand are getting from our leadership: [“Go home tonight and check on your neighbours, start a phone tree with your street, plan how you’ll stay in touch with one another. We will get through this together, but only if we stick together so please be strong and be kind.”](https://twitter.com/nzlabour/status/1242008521152987136) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/25 "2020-03-23T12:30:58Z")
[You Can’t Gaslight a Pandemic, Donald](https://johnpavlovitz.com/2020/02/27/you-cant-gaslight-a-pandemic-donald/)! ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/26 "2020-03-23T12:51:08Z")
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. He advocated widespread use of medication that is not yet thoroughly tested, with side effects that could well be worse than the disease, and is tweeting this?! ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/27 "2020-03-23T13:03:15Z")
We’re about to see how the “Suck it up, buttercup” and “Get over it, snowflake” crowd handles COVID-19. I don’t expect them to take it well, but I don’t expect any reflection or introspection, either. My forecast instead calls for right winger nutters to advocate for more projection, racism, and calls to put liberal commies in jail - or worse. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/28 "2020-03-23T13:10:13Z")
IF we had competent leadership something like that statement could be acceptable. Public health actions SHOULD be adjusted based on changing information. Ramp up or down in response to quality data assuming you have it and qualified experts are analyzing it and advising on the nationally coordinated adjustments. Unfortunately that is not what we have. ---
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/29 "2020-03-23T14:55:57Z")
You can dislike the messenger all you want, and you can reasonably disagree on what the implications of such an approach would be, but it’s hard to objectively argue against the message itself. Something about a house and a mouse, I once heard… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/30 "2020-03-23T14:59:11Z")
“Everyone dies” is a lot worse that “the made-up way we trade goods and services isn’t functioning as well as we’d like”, IMO. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/31 "2020-03-23T15:04:35Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > There is no leadership at the top, and those at the top are happy to see the country burn. OTOH, especially here in Illinois, I have been pleasantly surprised by the actions of our recently elected Governor and the Mayor of Chicago. As my brother-in-law put it during a Facetime chat this weekend, we may have a decentralized government, but right now I am glad that the President isn’t the boss of the state governors. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/32 "2020-03-23T15:08:41Z")
> [@SayTwo](#): > > You can dislike the messenger all you want, and you can reasonably disagree on what the implications of such an approach would be, but it’s hard to objectively argue against the message itself. No, it’s really not. It’s hard to argue against the _abstraction_… naturally, cures shouldn’t do more harm than diseases. Speaking objectively and concretely, Trump is arguing that the problem itself (millions of people getting infected and dying) cannot be worse than the cure (a stock market that makes Trump look bad). Only a sociopath like Trump or his supporters would find this confusing in any way, shape, or form. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/33 "2020-03-23T15:10:23Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > There is no leadership at the top, and those at the top are happy to see the country burn. OTOH, especially here in Illinois, I have been pleasantly surprised by the actions of our recently elected Governor and the Mayor of Chicago. As my brother-in-law put it during a Facetime chat this weekend, we may have a decentralized government, but right now I am glad that the President isn’t the boss of the state governors. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/34 "2020-03-23T15:20:43Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > There is no leadership at the top, and those at the top are happy to see the country burn. OTOH, especially here in Illinois, I have been pleasantly surprised by the actions of our recently elected Governor and the Mayor of Chicago. As my brother-in-law put it during a Facetime chat this weekend, we may have a decentralized government, but right now I am glad that the President isn’t the boss of the state governors. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/35 "2020-03-23T15:44:32Z")
I guess for trump, losing money is worse than death. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/36 "2020-03-23T16:01:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I guess for trump, losing money is worse than death. For someone who has declared bankruptcy 4 times you’d think he’d be used to it by now. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/37 "2020-03-23T16:02:39Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > There is nobody steering the ship. And that’s the thing. By tomorrow, Trump will say something totally different. Then on Thursday or Friday he will deny saying either thing. It’s impossible to discern what the American plan is. Even granting that every country is thinking on its feet to some extent, there is a lot of value in reassuring the public by NOT appearing like an insane moron. ---
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/38 "2020-03-23T16:02:56Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Speaking objectively and concretely, Trump is arguing that the problem itself (millions of people getting infected and dying) cannot be worse than the cure (a stock market that makes Trump look bad). That’s what you think it means, a bad stock market? Gosh, what a narrow (and telling) perspective. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/39 "2020-03-23T16:05:37Z")
Thankfully the State Governors are providing leadership. My Arkansas governor has closed schools, dine in restaurants, and other measures. Other states are doing similar actions. I don’t think that will change because of a statement from the President. It certainly won’t be helpful if he encourages an end to isolation. Ultimately the state government has to ensure the safety of their people. The chaos of hospitals overrun by Coronavirus patients is felt locally. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078/40 "2020-03-23T16:07:22Z")
Since the main purpose of this thread seems to be to express outrage, it’s more appropriate to the Pit. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-president-of-the-united-states-we-cannot-let-the-cure-be-worse-than-the-problem-itself/850078.md?page=3)