Coronavirus (non political)

[sdskinsfan2001]

Good news out of Oxford regarding vaccine trials.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...y-encouraging/

Sounds like some other trials are making progress too.

Fingers crossed.

[SunnySide]

Howard County schools staying 100% virtual for Fall semester.

They sent parents a proposed alternating schedule of having groups of kids come on campus. I dont know how well it was received but we personally were going to opt out. All the parents in my kids circle of besties also were going to opt out.

The struggle continues.

Tough balance -- you dont want to have your kid exposed but you want them to have a normal childhood, education, sports, making friends, dealing with lifes little lessons good and bad.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/...c-in-maryland/

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by sdskinsfan2001

If you're 35+ you shouldn't even be allowed to drink past 10 p.m. Day drinking is far superior. And the older you get the more true it gets. Night drinking leads to the next day being wasted for me.

Absolutely. The second I hit around 35, if I have any type of booze past like 10PM I sleep and feel like shit the next day. Can day drink for hours and feel absolutely awesome. My favorite weekend activity: hit up some breweries noon to three or so, come home, take nap, have dinner and a couple beers, early bedtime.

Old people livin' ftw.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Absolutely. The second I hit around 35, if I have any type of booze past like 10PM I sleep and feel like shit the next day. Can day drink for hours and feel absolutely awesome. My favorite weekend activity: hit up some breweries noon to three or so, come home, take nap, have dinner and a couple beers, early bedtime.

Old people livin' ftw.

I wish I could pull this off. Feels like Saturdays is another workday sometime with so much to do around the house. I usually try to stop around 3-4 and clean up for a happy hour like Saturday. Brewery 4-7 then dinner spot

[SolidSnake84]

Originally Posted by SunnySide

Howard County schools staying 100% virtual for Fall semester.

They sent parents a proposed alternating schedule of having groups of kids come on campus. I dont know how well it was received but we personally were going to opt out. All the parents in my kids circle of besties also were going to opt out.

The struggle continues.

Tough balance -- you dont want to have your kid exposed but you want them to have a normal childhood, education, sports, making friends, dealing with lifes little lessons good and bad.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/...c-in-maryland/

My niece was born in February. We just had a conversation on Sunday with my bro-in law, if she would be able to attend school or have a normal childhood, like you just mentioned. There is a lot of concern from people about that. I think schools will never be what they were before. It will be people opting for true homeschool, or states & counties going to all-distance learning for good. You may hear about the odd county here and there that has traditional in-class schooling, but i do believe that is a thing of the past now. I do believe all online school is how we go from now on.

I wonder though, what will happen to all of the schools that don't end up being needed again? I wonder if some schools will get remodeled into apartment buildings or care facilities, etc.....?

[ram29jackson]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

My niece was born in February. We just had a conversation on Sunday with my bro-in law, if she would be able to attend school or have a normal childhood, like you just mentioned. There is a lot of concern from people about that. I think schools will never be what they were before. It will be people opting for true homeschool, or states & counties going to all-distance learning for good. You may hear about the odd county here and there that has traditional in-class schooling, but i do believe that is a thing of the past now. I do believe all online school is how we go from now on.

I wonder though, what will happen to all of the schools that don't end up being needed again? I wonder if some schools will get remodeled into apartment buildings or care facilities, etc.....?

lol you just fold like a lawn chair? all the sudden we can never be around people again? this is so stupid, so false and so wrong.

[SunnySide]

Schools - I imagine a vaccine will be needed before things go back to normal re school and after school care etc. There has to be an end point to this, right?

----------------------------

President Donald Trump is throwing a big wrench into negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over the next coronavirus relief bill by demanding a payroll tax cut be included and funding for testing be reduced or cut completely.

“Not a fan of that, I’ve made that pretty clear,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said of the payroll tax cut proposal. “I don’t think it’s something that changes anyone’s behavior and has trust fund implications. I just think there are better ways to do it.”

Republicans are trying to get on the same page before they start negotiating with Democrats before they leave for a month-long August recess.

Republican senators also denounced any attempt by the White House to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“My view is, we should do whatever we need to do to make sure we have adequate tests,” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Health Committee, said. “All roads to open school, opening, going back to work, child care, lead through testing.

Funds for testing: Senate Republicans are pushing back on the administration’s idea to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“Well, I think that's a that's going to be a priority for our members, for sure,” Thune said. Alexander told reporters “I believe that we should fund testing as generously as it needs to be funded.”

Blunt, who has been working with Alexander to increase testing capabilities, told reporters “I just think that’s wrong” to cut funding, citing a new rapid test the National Institutes of Health is working on that will need increased funding in the next bill. “It’s going to take more money to quickly focus in on those tests and have them ready, by the time, hopefully, by the time school starts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meadows told reporters “How would they even know what funding for testing is?” when told Republican senators want to increase funds.

Increased unemployment benefits: Republicans aren’t a fan of extending the $600 per week increased unemployment payments and neither is the administration, but Democrats are pushing for it.

“Obviously it will be a negotiation between the Republicans, Democrats and the White House,” Thune said. “ I can’t imagine a scenario where extending it at the current level would happen.”

Stimulus checks: Republicans are torn over more direct payments, but the administration wants it.

“Nothing is final. But I suspect that there will, there's a high level of interest in doing something more to help people, particularly on the lower end of the income scale,” Thune said. “But I think the last version of this cost somewhere on the order of $300 billion, and there'll be a plug in there to help people and whether that's payroll tax, or, you know, the direct checks, checks, or what form that takes, I'm not sure.”

Grassley favors stimulus checks over payroll tax cuts.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-thr...030957273.html

-------------------------------------

Payroll tax cut -- takes directly away from Social Security. As a 41 year old who has worked his entire working eligible life and paid into the system ... dont continue to rob me. This would only help people already employed, the more you make the more it helps you.

if they cut the payroll tax by 2% and I make just over 100k a year, that benefits me (who doesnt need it) much more than someone who makes 43k.

Stimulus checks - sounds like it will go to people making less than 40K or so a year. Id rather just continue raising the debt and go with stimulus checks vs taking away from Soc Sec even though that would benefit me

Defund or reduce testing - i dont understand this. Dont we want and need rapid testing as a first step towards opening schools back up, being able to contact trace? I think they increase funding for testing not reduce or defund.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by sdskinsfan2001

Good news out of Oxford regarding vaccine trials.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...y-encouraging/

Sounds like some other trials are making progress too.

Fingers crossed.

We have some very good friends who live in England .I's being reported over there that trump has said if the US develops a vaccine we won't share it with the World. They now all feel the same, if they develop something we aren't going to see it,thanks donnie.


P.S.

They will all get their shots free of charge , how much will we have to pay for ours?

[SolidSnake84]

Originally Posted by SunnySide

Schools - I imagine a vaccine will be needed before things go back to normal re school and after school care etc. There has to be an end point to this, right?

----------------------------

President Donald Trump is throwing a big wrench into negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over the next coronavirus relief bill by demanding a payroll tax cut be included and funding for testing be reduced or cut completely.

“Not a fan of that, I’ve made that pretty clear,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said of the payroll tax cut proposal. “I don’t think it’s something that changes anyone’s behavior and has trust fund implications. I just think there are better ways to do it.”

Republicans are trying to get on the same page before they start negotiating with Democrats before they leave for a month-long August recess.

Republican senators also denounced any attempt by the White House to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“My view is, we should do whatever we need to do to make sure we have adequate tests,” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Health Committee, said. “All roads to open school, opening, going back to work, child care, lead through testing.

Funds for testing: Senate Republicans are pushing back on the administration’s idea to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“Well, I think that's a that's going to be a priority for our members, for sure,” Thune said. Alexander told reporters “I believe that we should fund testing as generously as it needs to be funded.”

Blunt, who has been working with Alexander to increase testing capabilities, told reporters “I just think that’s wrong” to cut funding, citing a new rapid test the National Institutes of Health is working on that will need increased funding in the next bill. “It’s going to take more money to quickly focus in on those tests and have them ready, by the time, hopefully, by the time school starts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meadows told reporters “How would they even know what funding for testing is?” when told Republican senators want to increase funds.

Increased unemployment benefits: Republicans aren’t a fan of extending the $600 per week increased unemployment payments and neither is the administration, but Democrats are pushing for it.

“Obviously it will be a negotiation between the Republicans, Democrats and the White House,” Thune said. “ I can’t imagine a scenario where extending it at the current level would happen.”

Stimulus checks: Republicans are torn over more direct payments, but the administration wants it.

“Nothing is final. But I suspect that there will, there's a high level of interest in doing something more to help people, particularly on the lower end of the income scale,” Thune said. “But I think the last version of this cost somewhere on the order of $300 billion, and there'll be a plug in there to help people and whether that's payroll tax, or, you know, the direct checks, checks, or what form that takes, I'm not sure.”

Grassley favors stimulus checks over payroll tax cuts.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-thr...030957273.html

-------------------------------------

Payroll tax cut -- takes directly away from Social Security. As a 41 year old who has worked his entire working eligible life and paid into the system ... dont continue to rob me. This would only help people already employed, the more you make the more it helps you.

if they cut the payroll tax by 2% and I make just over 100k a year, that benefits me (who doesnt need it) much more than someone who makes 43k.

Stimulus checks - sounds like it will go to people making less than 40K or so a year. Id rather just continue raising the debt and go with stimulus checks vs taking away from Soc Sec even though that would benefit me

Defund or reduce testing - i dont understand this. Dont we want and need rapid testing as a first step towards opening schools back up, being able to contact trace? I think they increase funding for testing not reduce or defund.

They've walked back the idea of having the cut-off point for checks being people who make under 40K a year. Average median income for a typical american family is around 63K. If they cut off at 40K, then way less than half of american families would receive the benefit. They want the next package to be able to help everyone, or as close to everyone as possible.

I have heard both Democratic and Republican talking points on potentially too much testing. Governors from both sides have pointed out how so many people are clogging up the test queues that don't have any symptoms, and the tests come back negative. So many people are getting tested that probably really don't need it. So now some states are starting to prioritize testing for the sick / people showing visible symptoms, and I think that is how it should have been from the beginning.

As far as is there an end point to this? The US will probably be battling this for years to come. Even after a Vaccine comes out at the end of this year, it would take months to inoculate the entire country. So let's assume that everything continues going well (fingers crossed), and we get a vaccine by the end of 2020. 2021 would be mostly spent trying to inoculate as many people as possible. No way you could get the whole country vaccinated in six months. So by 2022, you have the majority of people vaccinated, and now you are watching the case numbers every day start to tick down. 2023 you have low case numbers, or low enough that schools and such are allowed to open again. So i think that is when you would see a return to "normal", or as normal as possible. There is a whole lot of people, i'd say probably more than half, that don't want things to be "normal" again for safety reasons, so it's hard to say what the "new normal" will look like when this is all over.

[SunnySide]

too much testing --- with all due respect, that sounds like a twitter or internet talking point that is not based in reality. I think rapid testing is vital and I dont think we have that or reliable enough testing. Ive read there are some areas that have excess tests vs hot spots that dont have enough.

But this is about getting better quicker tests and more of them.

--------------------

But the US testing program can’t be considered “best in the world.” The US has run 83.24 tests per thousand individuals, according to numbers from Our World in Data. By comparison, Russia, which is also being hit hard by the virus, has run 120.07 tests per thousand people.

And the US is currently testing about 500,000 people per day, far behind the 5-million-a-day mark that Trump said the country was closing in on in late April. That is not necessarily because it can’t test more people: the country’s testing capacity has significantly improved since the pandemic began. Still, a Washington Post survey of about 20 states last month found the country was running at least 235,000 fewer tests a day than it could have run. While places with spikes in infections—like Arizona—are facing shortages, large swaths of the country are actually reporting underutilized availability.

https://www.technologyreview.com/202...ble-reopening/

---------------------

Funding for better quicker and patient friendlier tests are 100% absolutely needed imo.

Being against funding for testing is absurd to me. Testing is needed for schools to reopen.

[sdskinsfan2001]

Originally Posted by Giantone

We have some very good friends who live in England .I's being reported over there that trump has said if the US develops a vaccine we won't share it with the World. They now all feel the same, if they develop something we aren't going to see it,thanks donnie.

P.S.

They will all get their shots free of charge , how much will we have to pay for ours?

Well let's just hope that is hearsay and/or both countries aren't that petty. A vaccine that can reach everyone would be good for local, state, and federal governments regardless of country, which would be in turn good for us as we trade with most countries and definitely England.

I believe a flu shot only costs like 25 bucks. I think the time to mass manufacture a proven vaccine will be more of an issue than the costs.

[sdskinsfan2001]

Originally Posted by SunnySide

Payroll tax cut -- takes directly away from Social Security. As a 41 year old who has worked his entire working eligible life and paid into the system ... dont continue to rob me. This would only help people already employed, the more you make the more it helps you.

if they cut the payroll tax by 2% and I make just over 100k a year, that benefits me (who doesnt need it) much more than someone who makes 43k.

Stimulus checks - sounds like it will go to people making less than 40K or so a year. Id rather just continue raising the debt and go with stimulus checks vs taking away from Soc Sec even though that would benefit me

Defund or reduce testing - i dont understand this. Dont we want and need rapid testing as a first step towards opening schools back up, being able to contact trace? I think they increase funding for testing not reduce or defund.

I'm 37, I've lived my whole working life under the assumption that I'll never collect social security. I'll be pleasantly surprised if I do. But won't plan it as part of my retirement.

That being said, I think direct cash into taxpayers hands is the better option than a payroll tax cut.

I don't understand defunding testing either. I would need to read more about his reasoning for this. Seems like you could only fund testing less if there was a vaccine readily available.

[sdskinsfan2001]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

They've walked back the idea of having the cut-off point for checks being people who make under 40K a year. Average median income for a typical american family is around 63K. If they cut off at 40K, then way less than half of american families would receive the benefit. They want the next package to be able to help everyone, or as close to everyone as possible.

I sure hope this is the case. I make more than 40k but less than 63k. In San Diego that is peanuts. Because of COVID my company cut all overtime. So I've been out around 300-500 a paycheck. If people are getting checks again, I'd sure like one.

[SolidSnake84]

Originally Posted by sdskinsfan2001

I'm 37, I've lived my whole working life under the assumption that I'll never collect social security. I'll be pleasantly surprised if I do. But won't plan it as part of my retirement.

That being said, I think direct cash into taxpayers hands is the better option than a payroll tax cut.

I don't understand defunding testing either. I would need to read more about his reasoning for this. Seems like you could only fund testing less if there was a vaccine readily available.

We are roughly the same age. I will turn 36 in September. I am like you, i think there is no way that i / we will ever be able to collect the money. The system will be bankrupt / gone / USA will have collapsed / whatever by then.

I wish there was a way that i could stop paying into it now, with the stipulation that i am waiving any right to any future payouts when i get old. Otherwise, i feel robbed, like most people do i'm sure when we go to retire and it isn't there.

I suppose part of the defunding testing talk might be based under the belief that most likely, and hopefully, one, or ALL of the vaccines currently in phase 3 trials will be approved by the end of the year, and with production able to supply billions of doses in 2021, testing would logically be scaled down as the pandemic subsides. America won't be the only country in that boat. Probably within the next couple of months many other major countries will have their vaccines readied / finalized. And i do believe, no matter how tough they talk, whichever country successfully produces it first has an ethical responsibility to share it with the world. Even Donald Trump wouldn't pass up the opportunity to gloat to the world that his administration produced the world's first approved vaccine and because of the goodness of the USA or whatever crap, we are sharing it with the world.

[MTK]

Social Security will be there. Source: I work there.


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