Poll: Americans Growing More Concerned
over Economy Than Personal Heath

I live in Minnesota (I know....) and wrote the following to one of our state senators yesterday: "I appreciate the update on what the government is working on, thank you. I must say, however, that I think the restrictions being put in place are much more dangerous than the virus itself. Yesterday a rumor was circulating, supposedly started by government employees, that Minnesota is going to impose the same type restrictions that New York has—meaning that most people will not be allowed to go to work. My neighbor, who is in health care, alerted me and I ended up making an unplanned trip to Walmart where I heard more people panicking over the rumor. She was also called into an emergency meeting at work where she was issued a “paper” authorizing her to drive to her job. She was told that if the POLICE pulled her over, all she had to do was show them the paper. Does any of this sound familiar. Show me your papers? I am an “essential worker”? Reminds me of the movie Schindler’s List, seriously. I can tell you that I am not alone in my view that the draconian steps the government is taking in addressing this are MUCH more terrifying than the virus itself. I’m pretty sure I had it over Christmas and New Years already, it was bad, but I needed no medical care and am back to normal with my 6 days a week in the gym. Many others also suspect they have already had it too. Mortality rates are much higher for the seasonal flu than for Covid-19. Why are we taking steps to induce panic and an economic crisis that will ruin more lives than the coronavirus possibly could. We are also hearing that people will not be allowed to make doctor appointments, unless you’re dying and maybe not even then. I am here to tell you that the people are terrified and it’s not the virus they are afraid of. It is the hysterical response and the “martial law” type reactions of many in government. Nobody I have talked to even knows anyone who is currently sick, yet you would think people were dropping like flies. Do we want it to spread? No. Yet, every year thousands perish with the seasonal flu. It has become part of the risk of living." I believe that you are “one of the good guys”, please pass along our feedback to others who have more heavy handed measures in mind. I feel like I’m living an episode of “The Twilight Zone”, nothing makes sense. Thank you for your time.

If we EVER report and respond to the annual flu in the same way we have reported on this virus, it will shut down our country for six months of every year. I hope we do get massive testing, because that will drive the death per infected patient % into the cellar. 1 death in 100 infected vs 1 death in 500 infected.

You will see my posts time and time again, this is a sham. I mentioned to a few people yesterday that the numbers don't add up. There has to be more that we don't know about OR we were all taken by the democrats and media? Everyone I know and talk to is more concerned about the economy and they are now thinking we were all had. Never is my life have I ever seen anything like this.....orchestrated panic and watching our economy go south.

The economic damage has been my main concern for several weeks now. People unemployed, people panic buying and spending more than they can afford, retiree's investments getting wiped out in the stock market, small businesses going bankrupt or just closing their doors. It all adds up to a very high price for what is now appearing to be a virus considerably less contagious and/or deadly than Ebola, SARS or MERS, none of which triggered the panic we're now experiencing.

I agree with Trump. It's time to get this country up and running. We have done our time in the House and we're fine! So, lets move on and go back to work. Trump is right on that our country is not made to shut down. We can get our economy up and running, Stock Market and all, in a week! Lets go to work!

Duh!. Less than 1 in 10000 (400,000 of 6,000,000,000) have had the virus, many with mild to trivial symptoms. Yet, almost EVERYONE has suffered a financial setback of some type, some severe. The financial and social aspects are far more imminent and severe than the virus is. The scary thing about the virus is what it MIGHT be, an out of control killer. As this escalated, the outcome was UNKNOWN. The monster under the bed. As time passed, the monster has become more known and for most is more likely to be like finding ants in your house, annoying but common. Except for the unfortunate with compromised health or some other quirk of genetics that makes them vulnerable who will die. It sounds callous, but that is EXACTLY what happens to 300,000 to 650,000 every year from flu alone. It is accepted because there is not a lot we can do about it. Yes, in many areas the threat of inadequate emergency preparedness is scary. We should have been "more" prepared but the reality is, you can probably never be fully prepared for a worldwide pandemic. We certainly could have had more stockpiles and better plans in place, ready to be activated. Now, we are making it up as we go along. In a month or so, we will be in much better shape. A lot of the actions taken are trying to buy that extra month of time to get ready. Maybe if China had been more forthcoming about the mess they were in, we would have had more time to prepare. The tipping point is fast approaching. Trump is hoping for mid April. Frankly, restarting the economic engine will mean somewhat more deaths, just like going about our business as usual during the flu season leads to more deaths. We make this choice in dealing with many things. We can't hide in our homes for months on end.

I agree. Aside from the virus, many people are suffering from temporary or permanent job loss. The shutdown is devastating to various service industries-restaurants, gyms, hair and nail salons, barbers, hotels. Likewise, to spectator sports, theatres, movies, any live performance before an audience. State and local governments are going to suffer from the loss of tax revenue. I don’t know if Easter is realistic, but anything much past that is going to hurt a lot more people than the virus.

I suspect millions of people have already been exposed. About a month ago I had the chills and slight fever one day. The next morning it was gone. This was before many cases were diagnosed. Others have told me similar stories.

Let's send everyone a check! That will fix it.

It's because most people don't know anyone affected by or infected with the virus. People are hearing about it but not experiencing it; yet, they are stuck at home unable to work or do normal things. We are slowly getting to the point of being fed up. North Carolinians must be furious that their children will be out of school for another almost two months because of something not seen or experienced by most of them. This will get interesting. Americans are coming together to support one another and building an army in the meantime.

The government cannot order companies to shutdown---and continue to pay the salaries. That is not going to work. The companies do not have the money.

I think a lot of people, myself included, unless I start seeing dead bodies in the streets and knowing no one who has tested positive and developed serious symptoms, after a couple of weeks of this shelter in place, and businesses dying. It's going to get real ugly - real quick.

As well they should. A crashed economy will kill more people and damage more lives and families than the Wuhan flu. I understand that medical professionals seem to look at things from a purely medical perspective or tunnel vision, but people have to be able to feed themselves and their families. Only by having a strong and robust economy can we afford a healthcare system capable of fighting a pandemic.

We have just seen what a totalitarian takeover of the United States would look like. All in the name of public safety. Are they going to do this every time a new flu bug pops up? Perhaps they intend to make this the new normal? I would rather see a promise from our President and governors that they never do this again.

You betcha I am more concerned about the economy than the China virus. You betcha!