I’m thinking, again, about Covid-19 and the overall scheme of things.

What I suspected long long ago is still true.

No-one gets it! Not just the government, but YOU, out there 🠞 🠟 🠜 🠝 🠞

In the overall scheme of things, BUSINESS DOESN’T MATTER!

Yes, that’s right: protecting business, in these troubled times, is NOT the first, or even a high, priority.

What has to be done is to protect, and look after, the people. Get the people through this pandemic. And do that at the expense of almost anything else!

Yes, that’s a draconian – and no doubt unpopular – view. And I make no pretence it will be easy or comfortable.

But look at it this way … Businesses are expendable. It doesn’t matter if they fail. Businesses can be rebuilt, started afresh, etc. but only if there are people there to do it. There is no point in having a business if there is no-one there to run it or buy from it. And if the people are there then at least a core of businesses will survive. And when all this is over those surviving businesses can grow to fill the new demand, along with new start-ups and resurrections.

Business is secondary to people. No people = No business.

Yes, OK, there are a core of businesses which are essential: specifically utilities (water, electricity, gas, sewerage, rubbish collection), food supply (farm to shop), healthcare (drugs, doctors, hospitals), and transport (haulage, some public transport, fuel).

Beyond that it isn’t important if pubs, restaurants, car manufacture, garden centres, tailors, fashion houses, gunsmiths, jewellers, publishing, and so on, cease. It doesn’t matter if I can’t buy Epsom salt, a mousetrap, or a new camera. All these can, and will, be rebuilt to the extent that the post-pandemic world, and it’s population, needs them and there are people to work them. If there aren’t the people (either as employees or customers) then the business isn’t viable.

Even education (all of it from kindergarten to university) isn’t essential. Yes, we need educated people, because educated people feed business. But missing a year or two won’t be a tragedy, as many who’ve been long-term sick demonstrate. You can catch up on education later. Although again it may not be easy or pretty.

People’s ability to survive has to be supported and protected, first and foremost.

So wake up governments. People first. Then education. And business later.