Coronavirus delivers record blow to U.S. retail sales in March

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday said retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992, after falling by a revised 0.4% in February.

According to a Reuters survey of economists, retail sales were forecast to have fallen 8.0% last month.

The report came as millions of Americans are thrown out of work, and strengthen economists’ conviction that the economy is in deep recession. States and local governments have issued “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” orders affecting more than 90% of Americans to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, and abruptly stopping the country.

“The economy is almost in free fall,” said Sung Won Sohn, a business economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “We will see the bottom when the coronavirus infection rates stabilize. It’s going to be a pretty deep bottom from which to...

When You Elect Democrats...

When You Elect Democrats, You Elect To Destroy Your City, State, County And Country.
You Elect To Give Lawbreakers More Rights Than You Have.
As Taxes Increase, Your Personal Liberties Erode..., Crime Increases, Your Quality Of Life Erodes...

So What Do You Do? You Move To A Red State, And You Think Voting The Same Way You Did In the State You Destroyed Will Have Different Results... 

In Sweden, There’s No COVID-19 Lockdown. Here Are 4 Things to Know.

After logging over 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, Sweden has faced a rash of criticism for having perhaps the least restrictive rules in the world regarding social distancing, as restaurants and bars and some schools remain open while staying at home is urged but not mandated.

But don’t let that fool you because Sweden is still a different place from what it used to be, said Johan Norberg, an economics writer who lives in Stockholm and most recently the author of the award-winning book “Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future.”

“Most people stay at home, don’t travel, rarely go to restaurants, and don’t meet with the older generation. And people keep the distance when they meet on the street,” Norberg said in an email interview with The Daily Signal.

“You have probably seen pictures of a crowded Stockholm restaurant. Well, that is … the one time it was crowded, and if they had turned the camera in the opposite direction they would have found an empty square.”

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

Here are four keys to determining the effectiveness of Sweden’s COVID-19 policy.

1. What’s the Actual Policy?

The characterization of Sweden as freewheeling during the coronavirus pandemic is inaccurate, said Joshua Michaud, associate director for global health at Kaiser Family Foundation.

“Sweden has taken a middle path between lockdown and letting it run rampant. It’s not business as usual,” Michaud told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “They strongly suggest working from home if you can. There can’t be congregations of more than 50 people.”

The Swedish government did ask citizens not to travel or visit family over Easter.

Norberg, a senior fellow with the Washington, D.C.-based Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said that Sweden seems safe and not so different from most other places:

The difference is that we follow these recommendations voluntarily, which gives more space for individual knowledge and needs, and might even make it more sustainable than a system where everybody is forced to stay at home indefinitely and will rebel eventually. Yes, it seems safe.

Restaurants, bars, playgrounds, and parks are open. Elementary schools also are open, but not high schools and colleges, Michaud said, which he said he finds somewhat puzzling.

During a White House briefing on COVID-19 last week, President Donald Trump criticized Sweden’s approach.

“Now, they talk about Sweden, but Sweden is suffering very gravely,” Trump said, then referred to the concept of herd immunity. “They call it the herd. Sweden is suffering very, very badly.”

Sweden’s state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, told CNN that the country’s policy is “producing quality results the same way it’s always done. So far Swedish health care is handling this pandemic in a fantastic way.”

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde pushed back against Trump on Swedish TV, saying the American president was “factually wrong” and that Sweden was not following a “herd immunity” policy.

Linde summarized her country’s policy this way: “No lockdown, and we rely very much on people taking responsibility themselves.”

Herd immunity means sheltering only the vulnerable population and, in this case, exposing most of the general public to the virus to build immunity.

2. How Does the Death Toll Compare?

The COVID-19 death rate in Sweden, at over 1,000 out of a population of 10.2 million, is lower than some other European countries such as Italy and the United Kingdom.

However, Sweden’s death rate from the disease is higher than other Nordic countries, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.

Norway has had 128 deaths from COVID-19 out of a population of 5.4 million. Finland, with 5.5 million, has had fewer than 100 deaths, and Denmark, with 5.6 million, has had 275 deaths.

For that matter, the United States has a lower death rate, with 71 COVID-19 deaths per 1 million population, according to Worldometers. The United States has had 22,252 coronavirus deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By contrast, Sweden’s death rate works out to 91 per 1 million population.

“We see the balance that Sweden has struck has provided some semblance of normality, but it has come at the cost of a large number of deaths,” Michaud said.

It’s too early to know, but Sweden later may be seen as a success because its smaller population allows it to respond more easily, said Dr. Kevin Pham, a medical doctor and contributor to The Daily Signal.

“In the U.S., we had breakouts in Washington, then New York, two major population centers. Sweden has not had that,” Pham told The Daily Signal. “They do have more deaths per capita now, so if we start seeing more signs of trouble, they will change their tactics, But it could work. It depends what they see on the ground.”

3. Is the Economy Really Better Off?

Sweden’s economy has taken a hit, but less so than many other countries, Norberg said.

“One reason why we’ve done this [comparatively liberal policy] is economic concerns. Only getting 30% of your normal revenue might be a disaster for a restaurant or a shop, but it’s better than 0%,” Norberg said, adding:

Whether it works or not remains to be seen. Sweden is a very export-dependent country, and when others are shutting down we are suffering too. But there is also the idea that this might be the best way to protect us in the long run.
Those who are shutting down society will see a second wave when they open up, and a third, whereas Sweden protects the old while others get immune, so that we will hopefully get out of this nightmare sooner than others.

Nevertheless, Sweden has taken a tougher economic hit than it did during the 2008 financial crisis, just not as tough as...

Donald Trump Berates ‘Politically Correct’ WHO, Orders Hold on Funding

President Donald Trump ordered a hold on funds sent to the World Health Organization Tuesday, demanding that they answer for their failures to properly warn the world about the coronavirus.

The president criticized the WHO for criticizing his travel ban on China during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The WHO’s attack on travel restrictions put political correctness above life-saving measures,” Trump said.

Trump announced his decision at a press conference in the Rose Garden on Tuesday.

“We spend $500 million a year,” Trump said, noting that China only spent $30-$40 million.

He noted that the WHO played a role in “mismanaging and covering up” the spread of the coronavirus around the world.

“The WHO pushed China’s misinformation about the virus, saying it was not communicable and there was no need for travel bans,” he said.

Trump blamed the global health group for relying too much on China, despite the United States paying a majority of their funding.

“The WHO’s reliance on China’s disclosures likely caused a twenty-fold of cases worldwide, and it may be much more than that,” he said.

The president noted that the WHO failed to investigate credible information about the virus that raised flags that China was not telling the entire truth about the virus. He also noted that the WHO failed to acquire samples of the virus allowing scientists to study the disease.

Meanwhile, Trump said, China continued to spread false information about the virus while medical researchers who criticized the Chinese government disappeared.

“Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the...

Morning Mistress

The 90 Miles Mystery Video: Nyctophilia Edition #260

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Please Leave Silently Into The Night......

The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #958

You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside? 

It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific, 

from the beautiful to the repugnant, 

from the mysterious to the familiar.

If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed, 

you could be inspired, you could be appalled. 

This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. 

You have been warned.

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