A lot of people want to delay getting the country back open. That is increasingly clear.  The question is why? Some of them may legitimately fear that returning to work too soon will risk this happening again. Others may feel they gain from the status quo. Regardless of the reason, we are being exposed to extremely misleading data.

Perhaps the most misleading statistic is the most important statistic, the number of COVID 19 deaths. A death can be reported as the result of COVID 19 even if the person was never tested. This has been documented from numerous sources.

The result is that we are inundated with two daily counts, the number of confirmed cases and the number of deaths. Both may be highly inflated. Testing results have accelerated rapidly and there is no longer a backlog. In addition, the number of people being tested has skyrocketed. Obviously, the more tests you do, the more positive results.

We have already described how the number of deaths is being exaggerated. But there are statistics that you no longer see and those may really matter. One is the number of new hospital admissions. Another is the number of new patients transferred to ICU and the number of people put on ventilators. The CDC stopped reporting those numbers. Where they are reported, as in New York, they are dropping rapidly.

In addition, a lot of people currently on ventilators are being withdrawn. Some of them will die. That also increases the death count, but it does not necessarily mean more people are becoming seriously ill.

That begs the question why? Who benefits from this delay and who is harmed?

First the long list of people who benefit from delay of game.

Congress, particularly Democratic members of congress, benefit. They view this pandemic as the opportunity of a lifetime to spend money on pet projects they could never get approved in normal times. Some of them openly admit this.

Big business benefits, because they are hoping for new stimulus programs aimed at helping them more than people laid off from work.

The MSM benefits because this news story is driving up ratings.

Opponents of Donald Trump benefit because it increases the potential for this to have a negative impact on him.

Manufacturers making a fortune making masks and ventilators benefit. That will all stop immediately once the country re-opens.

The experts on TV, the leaders in the CDC etc. all benefit because today they are powerful and influential people who are constantly in demand. That will all end along with the pandemic.

Joe Biden probably gains the most, because when you are way behind, ending the game is the worst-case scenario. Just ask Bernie Sanders about that.

Now the list of people who are harmed.

All those people who lost their jobs.

All those small business owners who were put out of business.

The American taxpayer who, at some point and in some way is going to have to pay for all this.

The good news is that the while the delay of game tactics are still working as of now, the end is near. Ultimately one can only delay the obvious for a limited period. With each passing day, it is becoming more obvious that further delay has already reached the point where the risk far exceeds any potential reward.

Easter Sunday will be a big day. It may be the biggest day for COVID 19 deaths, or it may be the day when people start celebrating the resurrection of the U.S. economy. Either way remember that tomorrow, Good Friday, is the darkest day on the Christian calendar. It marks the day Christ was crucified. But less than three days later, with the resurrection, everything changed. We just may see something very similar this weekend. We will certainly see something similar sooner than you can even imagine.

He is Risen! Any Christian knows that the pain of Good Friday only lasted for a short while, but the joy of the resurrection lasts forever.

Happy Easter

TDM