# So what's the economic plan? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 10, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889 "2020-07-10T00:01:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/21 "2020-07-10T16:14:25Z")
For perspective, I guess New Zealand is kinda similar, in terms of population and GDP, to Oklahoma? If we could split Oklahoma into two big chunks and toss it out in the Pacific toward Hawaii, I bet things would be a lot easier there too. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/22 "2020-07-10T16:18:27Z")
Not sure I understand the reason for the hostility directed towards me, BB. I always though Kiwis had a somewhat different reputation. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/23 "2020-07-10T16:18:47Z")
> [@SayTwo](#): > > For perspective, I guess New Zealand is kinda similar, in terms of population and GDP, to Oklahoma? If we could split Oklahoma into two big chunks and toss it out in the Pacific toward Hawaii, I bet things would be a lot easier there too. …for perspective, why did you ignore the example of Vietnam, a country that isn’t an island, which has a population of 96 million, is bordered by three countries including country-zero, and has had zero deaths from Covid-19? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/24 "2020-07-10T16:21:32Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Not sure I understand the reason for the hostility directed towards me, BB. I always though Kiwis had a somewhat different reputation. …what hostility are you talking about? You asked questions. I answered them. You asked the same questions again. I answered them yet again. You then asked the same questions again, I answered those very same questions, yet again. Were you not wanting answers to your questions? I don’t understand, can you help me out here? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/25 "2020-07-10T16:52:34Z")
For the record, OP, I don’t think anyone is saying that the US could do, or could have ever done, as well as New Zealand or Vietnam, just that they show it could be done a lot better (though one might think this is self evident, but apparently not). ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/26 "2020-07-10T17:11:24Z")
I found this very useful, the way you broke it all down. Thanks. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/27 "2020-07-10T19:36:02Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Since it is so blindingly obvious to you, kindly explain how that is done either in a larger country than NZ, and/or worldwide over how long of a period of time. No idea _how_ it should happen (that’s not my area of expertise) and I’d guess there’s no one perfect way to do it. But there’s ddamned sure a bunch better ways of going about it than what the US is doing, so why don’t we start with not doing all the things we’re currently doing that we know aren’t helping us achieve our goal? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/28 "2020-07-10T21:08:29Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > So who paid for the “economy shutting down for a while?” Our government did, by way of taxes, and for me that’s a rather obvious answer, because that is the obvious role (from our perspective) of our government. > > As for relative costs: that wasn’t in question from our governments response. It wasn’t a matter of cost. It was a matter of **saving lives**. Thank you for that entire post and the more detailed one you made later. It’s yet another reason that Jacinda Ardern is becoming something of an international hero. Here’s some further perspective on the matter. NZ is in some ways a special case, being a small and remote island nation, but as you say, most of the principles they employed worked in other countries, too. Canada, for instance: [https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/07/03/canada-flattens-coronavirus-curve-newton-newday-vpx.cnn](https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/07/03/canada-flattens-coronavirus-curve-newton-newday-vpx.cnn) Canada has taken a non-partisan approach to achieving the common goal of saving lives, with the feds providing massive financial aid to businesses and individuals and collaborating with the provinces, who have primary responsibility for health matters and setting policy, and the collaboration and mutual support at all three levels of government – federal, provincial, and major municipalities – has transcended political ideology. From what I’ve read and everything I’m seeing, people are very cooperative about things like wearing masks (it’s very common even where not mandatory) and social distancing. Ontario is currently preparing for Phase 3 of re-openings. Meanwhile the US is in a state of full-fledged emergency: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889/29 "2020-07-10T22:10:54Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > It seems as tho most people talk about getting “back to normal”, as tho individuals and societies are just going to resume pre-COVID behaviors. I haven’t seen much discussion of what DIFFERENT existences are likely/achievable. The cockeyed optimist in me would LOVE it if this provided an opportunity for the US to re-envision our safety net, health care, environmental policies, international relations, etc. So long as we are spending trillions, why not aim at a better future instead of putting out fires in the hopes of clinging onto the past? But we’ve never shown much of that sort of foresight. I feel this is moving past the line of “economic recovery plans after the quarantine” well into the territory of “political discussions about economic policy”. And due to the rules of this forum, I don’t want to go there. Start a new thread in another forum and I’ll join in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-the-economic-plan/914889.md?page=1)