Impact of the Second Wave of the Pandemic

The rare complication found in children are now starting to show up in adults. We know that those who have had Covid-19 can see increased heart conditions, foggy brain, fatigue and other long-term consequences. There’s also a mental health/PTSD side to it.

Lingering and Emerging Health Impacts

MIS-A stands for “multi-system inflammatory syndrome in adults.” I think in 2021 it will become more common. Covid-19’s lingering problems could also impact healthcare moving forwards. Covid-19 is likely to become as common and seasonal as the flu.

As for Covid-19 side effects MIS-A is a bit on the silent stalker side. Many MIS-A patients report fevers, chest pain or other heart problems, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues — but not shortness of breath. And diagnostic tests for Covid-19 tend to be negative. Heart conditions and brain fog could mean people will be out of work or unable to work for prolonged periods.

Economic Impacts

Economically it’s being under reported but the obvious is happening: major shifts in wealth inequality and a looming debt bubble crisis. Millions of Americans have fallen into poverty since federal financial relief ended, according to 2 recent studies.

The economic damage will mean some industries are disrupted, to the benefit of a few corporations. Central banks printing money and doing “stimulus” of this magnitude also is risky. Think about it, our financial system was not designed for this. The path of governments’ fundraising and bond buying is not sustainable and could spark debt crises should they continue.

Government debt in the U.S. is alarming. The final tally for the budget deficit in fiscal 2020 came to $3.13 trillion. That was more than triple last year’s shortfall of $984 billion and double the previous record of $1.4 trillion in 2009. Government debt totaled about $27 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.

What does it all mean? The average American owes $90,000 and the States are probably worse. America is a debt driven economy and if a debt bubble implodes, it’s the end of the America’s economy leading the world in the 2030 to 2050 period.

The U.S. is not being responsible with its debt. The fiscal year ended with government debt at just under $27 trillion, all but $6 trillion of which is held by the public.

Corporate debt is yet another problem, and under these conditions of leadership a Black Swan event at the intersection of public health and the economy is likely sometimes in 2021. The is because the shock to the system could break down the system in certain ways.

Americans Falling into Poverty by the Millions

I think we have to be more realistic with the impact of the second wave on the productivity in Europe, India and South America, not to mention the mental health of the United States. Based on the Columbia University research, the number of Americans in poverty has increased by 8 million since May.

What does that do to the psyche of a country? This is not about Black Lives Matter. It’s about the increase in wealth inequality happening in America.

The Chicago and Notre Dame joint study found a similar increase in poverty of 6 million between June and September, per The New York Times’ reporting. We know already that 4 million U.S. jobs have been lost forever.

How many more will be lost during the Second wave? Likely at least another 4 million, as seen nine months later. So that’s enough for a certain percentage of the middle class and lower middle class to churn into poverty.

A dashboard maintained by the University of Chicago and Notre Dame estimates that September’s poverty rate increased by 0.6 percentage points to 11.1%.Most of the damage to this year’s budget came due to the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion spending package that included extra unemployment compensation to workers displaced during the pandemic and forgivable loans to business as an incentive to retain workers. However another deal will have to be reached.

The Fed’s extreme actions in early 2020 could actually backfire. “The increase in poverty in recent months was more noticeable for blacks, children, and those with a high school education or less,” Chicago and Notre Dame wrote in a news release shared with Business Insider.

Researchers at Columbia University found similar differences. Racial inequalities are magnified as are how small businesses and freelancers are being impacted. America is really failing in the crisis, as are many parts of Europe, India and South America.

Heading Towards Global Financial Disaster and a Shadow Democracy in America

A lot more families are hurting, a lot more families are struggling to put food on the table, and if Congress doesn’t take some pretty quick action, well, you might not hear about it on TV. This is because the economy and democracy are controlled by a few people and a few entities.

America is approaching a shadow democracy state. The writing is on the wall. The censorship of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter is a very bad sign for free speech in America.

If not handled correctly, the coronavirus pandemic could fuel a global financial disaster and exacerbate dire economic damage. I think we’re already seeing that. The debt crisis which I’ve been talking about for months, has a 40% chance of occurring in 2021.

Even after the virus drove the biggest economic slump in nearly a century, bankruptcies have been somewhat staved off by massive government stimulus and central bank easing. But in typical American fashion, this easing is not sustainable. So what happens to your artificial system when you have created a winner-takes-all capitalism?

When greed promotes poor leadership and companies abuse their power, the only likely outcomes are critical for vulnerable Americans. This did not start as a financial crisis, but it is morphing into a major economic crisis with very serious financial consequences because it favors the ultra rich to allow it all to happen.

The billionaire class have real incentives for how the health crisis shapes America’s future. This is not a conspiracy, it’s just the facts.

The Unhappy Future

Taken as a whole, America will become less equal, less just, less free due to the pandemic. A major debt crisis would allow some technology companies to likely even disrupt banks and certain financial services. Silicon Valley knows the opportunities that lie ahead.

Just as Amazon is hiring more for digital health and Microsoft or Apple are ready to make more acquisitions. We still don’t know what we are dealing with, but give it a year, the picture will become more clear.