America is Facing a Moral Dilemma

by Stephen Frank

Thanks to the Wuhan Virus, most people are sheltered at home. Many businesses have been closed; our children no longer go to school for an education. Farmers are plowing under food and dairy farmers are spilling milk down the drain—because 30% of their business is from restaurants and schools; all of which are buying very little.

The virus is serious. It is deadly, it Is spread person to person. Social distancing may have stopped the rate of contagion, but per Governor Newsom, at least half of Californians already have it. In a State of 40 million people, just under 1,000 have died from the disease, about equal to a bad year of influenza.

What are the social and health consequences of the “cure” for the virus? From the San Jose Spotlight, “According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Area residents as a whole drank alcoholic beverages 42 percent more than usual during the first week of sheltering in place. This comes as no surprise, especially as local online retailer Wine.com has seen spirit sales alone surge 400 percent and restaurants and bars can now sell alcohol to-go.

But this increase in drinking and lack of contact, some medical professionals say, can be especially hard for those coping with addictions to drugs and alcohol. Anecdotes from addicts at Recovery Café detailed how isolation exacerbates substance abuse, and Harvard Medical School recently published resources to maintain recovery efforts while coping with social distancing.

Due to the concern the virus can spread in jails and prisons, in California over 3500 inmates, so far, have been released from prison and over 10,000 criminals have been released from jails around the State. We cannot tell how bad the crime wave has become, because “minor” offenses, like assault, simple robberies, burglaries, are no longer reported since the police arrest very few, and if arrested, the alleged perpetrator is given release with no bail, so they can go back into the shadows.

And for usually-working Americans, research shows unemployment is a risk factor for suicide. Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing mental health issues, said the virus outbreak already is bringing into sharp relief risk factors for poor health such as loneliness and social isolation.

“Add to these social factors the possibility of an economic downturn, which may include job loss, and we are looking at a perfect storm of problems that will only exacerbate the depths of despair that our nation still has not addressed," Miller said.” All this while criminals are freed to continue their career paths.

USA Today noted, “Looking at a past disease outbreak like SARS in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003 gives some indication of what may lie ahead. Social disengagement and stress and anxiety among some older adults resulted in an exceptionally high rate of suicide deaths, according to a 2010 study. 

Hong Kong's disrupted economy may have led to increased suicides, noted  Eric Caine, co-director of the Center for the Study of Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is concerned the U.S. may see the same. Research shows unemployment is a risk factor for suicide. Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing mental health issues, said the virus outbreak already is bringing into sharp relief risk factors for poor health such as loneliness and social isolation.

Is the cure worse than the disease? That is a moral question we have to face. Yes, politicians will pontificate, give long explanations as they claim the health of the people is more important than jobs and businesses. Yet, the health of the public is at stake. With the virus exponentially increasing the fear of being near others, we face potentially higher rates of suicide, depression, drug use, alcoholism, mental illness, and bankruptcies.

Governor Newsom, Cuomo and others are saying isolation and job losses need to continue until at least May 15, one month from now. The trade off, the moral dilemma, is should government policy “save” lives from the virus, by killing the economy and jobs so no one dies of the virus, or should we open society to save lives from suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, and the potential of a dismal future?

That is a true discussion for the public. At this point the politicians have made this one sided. It is up to the public to discuss all the ramifications of the current virus policies. What do you think?

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Stephen Frank is Senior Contributing Editor of California Political Review. Read California news that is incisive, hard-hitting, and solution-oriented with a free subscription to Steve’s daily emails at http://eepurl.com/UAspv

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