The cure may be worse than the China virus: As many as 75,000 Americans could die due to a continued lockdown

A new study that looks at the impacts of joblessness and being confined to one's home has shown that between 28,000 and 150,000 will die if we continue to shelter in place.

The 28K number is associated with a rapid recovery and a rapid end to confinement while the 150K corresponds to a long drawn out recovery which is what Democrat politicians are pushing for.

These deaths are people who die what the study calls "deaths of despair".

We've all seen the impact of despair among the populations of the Rust Belt states where there weren't jobs until Trump turned the economy around.  The opiod epidemic is one obvious example of the consequences of despair.

Similarly the situations in Black ghettos in Democrat run cities where Blacks aren't safe, have no jobs, and get a horrible education due to systemic racism by their Democrat rulers show the consequences of despair.

In fact the study cites 182,000 "deaths of despair" in 2018. That seems high but the total number of deaths in the US in 2018 was around 2.8 million so those deaths constitute about 6% of all deaths.

The studies authors make it clear that the numbers of deaths aren't highly precise. But they do point to the factors that the COVID19 "cure" create that could lead to more deaths:

• The potential for a serious, even deadly infection from a previously unknown microbe.
• An unprecedented economic shutdown.
• Skyrocketing unemployment.
• Months-long social isolation (mandated in many states), sometimes with no set end.
• Uncertainty about treatment and prevention strategies.

But even if we didn't have this study any reasonable person would know that just as there is a subset of the general population that is vulnerable to the China virus, the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions, there is a subset that is vulnerable to the "cure"--former addicts who are more likely to relapse, people with mental health issues, people who suffer from anxiety, and of course people who can't pay their bills because they're not allowed to work.

While Democrats are trying to pretend that if we just hide in our houses forever no one will die the reality is far more complex.

In the upcoming months where the Democrats will be trying to blame Trump and every other Republican for every life lost after the draconian home imprisonment policies are relaxed keep in mind that the option isn't save all lives or lose some lives but balancing the loss of life due to despair and the loss of life due to coronavirus.