Don’t Kill Grandma for 100 Points in the Dow (or 1,000,000)
History remembers people, not GDP, nor a portfolio of stocks
Many years ago, during one of my first visits to Washington DC, I took the time to stop by the International Monetary Fund to see a collection of coins and bills from different countries. Similarly, there used to be a collection of coins of the era in the Colleseum in Rome, and perhaps the oldest coins ever minted are in display at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem. But technically, there are no museums or monuments in the memory of money, or its contributions, or the sacrifices that money has made through the history of humanity. And there shouldn’t.
History tells us we humans commemorate the loss of life because when life is extinguished, it is permanent. On the contrary, when GPD, or value, or loans, or assets and liabilities, are devalued, or even extinguished, we humans find ways to recover and re-create them. Yes, it could take time and be painful, but effort and sacrifices are part of our common struggle, and as such, part of a continued string of human progress we have been knitting for thousands of years.
If you find yourself longing for a fast reopening of the economy, in fear that economic catastrophe will be too high, check the example of Philadelphia during the pandemic of 1918 and a non-canceled parade. No city in the US lost more citizens than Philadelphia in part, due to that.
We are navigating the first phases of the COVID-19 crisis and we are still seeing the loss of life continues to climb, and at the same time, we get a daily barrage of news on how much the economy is being devastated. Both have different timelines, while interconnected, both can have different courses.
But, years from now, once we are out of the risks of contagion, we will find ourselves remembering the lives of thousands of nurses and doctors lost during these times. Perhaps future politicians will inaugurate commemorative plaques and memorials in their names. We could also find ourselves still digging out of an economic recession, or depression. Where we should never find ourselves is at raising generations of Americans without their grandparents or entire families missing members. Not for 100 points in the Dow, not for a million, or more.
