The Corona Virus, March 24, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

Mar 11-Mar 17-161,476

The National numbers were 21.8%.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

Mar 11-Mar 17-3,334

New Jersey was down about 11.6%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Mar 11-Mar 17- 376

Bergen County has flattened out and even picked up an extra case. Bergen County is often a bell weather so we shall see how things go in the next couple of weeks.

My wife feels better and my dentist tells me that I have an infected root under a bridge which is causing the discomfort. I have to have the root extracted by my favorite oral surgeon but first he has to take apart the bridge. This sound like it's goin to be a joy.

We hit a speed bump on the taxes as well. H&R Block called me to say they were missing a 1099R from LPL. I tried to log on to LPL but it looks like someone had mangled the log on information. After the technician verified that I got sent to account support. They provided the 1099R data so my accountant could proceed and promised to mail me another 1099R.

Luckily my account exec at LPL called me and he had someone straighten out the web site access debacle and I managed to download and print a copy of the 1099R. I have an appointment to finish things up at H&R Block on Monday.

My physical sort of went not that great. I have a couple of blood work numbers that are always high or low and they were high or low again. One in particular seemed to have gone up a lot. We shall see. 

My blood pressure has also been higher than usual and was 134/70. The mask? Nerves? Who knows? I started taking it at home again and it's typically 115/70 so I don't know. In other news people would kill for my cholesterol numbers.

What is 'Woke?"

There's been lot of flak recently about people being asked to define "woke" and being unable to do so. The problem with that question is that "woke," like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

To some people it means something akin to being sensitive to injustice while to others it's akin to political correctness run amok. I tend to lean toward the later definition.

So, what is "woke" to me?

- Woke is seeing racism or sexism where it doesn't exist.

- Woke is worrying about race or gender ahead of merit or fairness.

- Woke is favoring equity over equality.

- Woke is thinking feelings matter more than facts.

If one can justify using race as a criterion for diversity then one can justify using race as a criterion for anything. It never ceases to amaze me that so-called progresses don't realize how dangerous it is to use race as a criterion.

Medicare for All - 2023

Marianne Williamson was on Fox and pitching Universal Healthcare. Now I think Universal Healthcare would be a really good but I don't think we're being realistic about the cost.

Williamson's response to the inevitable question of how do we pay for this was that a University of Massachusetts study showed that we would save $5.1 trillion over 10 years in healthcare costs with Universal Healthcare.

We'll save money is really not a good answer. Who will save money? We would be shifting healthcare costs from employers and individuals to the government. In the long run that would probably be a good thing but people who are currently paying for health insurance aren't going to turn that money over to the government so that money has to be replaced somehow.

$5.1 trillion over 10 years is $510 billion per year which is less than what we're spending for Medicaid today. it certainly isn't going to cover healthcare for over 300 million people.

What we spend as of 2021: Medicare $901 billion, Medicaid $734 billion, Private Health Insurance Spending $1,211 billion, out of pocket $433 billion and other public health activity $596 billion. That's a total of almost $3.9 trillion.

The savings she's talking about, if the University of Massachusetts study is accurate, is about 13% of what we're spending. Then there's the question of would there be a larger demand for health services if they were free? Basic economic theory says that there would be and it would be foolish not to take that into account. Another problem is that our current medical infrastructure may be inadequate to handle the increased demand and some money needs to be allocated to shore that up as well.

She then went off about how no one asked how to pay for Afghanistan or Iraq which is true. But the fact that no one asked how to pay for Afghanistan and Iraq doesn't address the question of how to pay for Medicare for All. It just says that our priorities are screwed up. 

Then she started talking about fairer taxation for the rich including possibly a wealth tax Now, fairer taxation for the rich is at least addressing the question. Unfortunately the wealth tax is probably unconstitutional since it is neither an income tax nor a direct tax.

The Corona Virus, March 18, 2023

 US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

Mar 4-Mar 10-206,486

The National numbers were down by about 13.2%.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

Mar 4-Mar 10- 3,772

New Jersey was down about 17.8%.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Mar 4-Mar 10-  375

Bergen County is down 16.2%.

So, my wife got sick after I did and she was really sick. She went to the doctor and it turned out she had the flu so I wonder if that's what I had? Honestly, she seemed sicker than I was.

Now my mouth is sore on my lower left side. It comes and goes but I'm going to have my dentist take a look Tuesday just in case. My physical is Monday and H&R Block says my taxes should be done Thursday so a busy week.

The Corona Virus, March 6, 2023

This is a two week update because I've been sick. I have a cold. I can survive massive damage to my body and brush off most stuff but colds get to me. I'm a real baby when I have a cold and I'm surprised my wife and daughter didn't kick me out of the house.

US Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11- 463,113

Sep 12 Sep 18- 431,984

Sep 19 Sep 25- 379,673

Sep 26 Oct 2-   327,481

Oct 3 - Oct 9-  284,417

Oct 10-Oct 16-263,879

Oct 17-Oct 23-264,187

Oct 24-Oct 30-258,083

Oct 31-Nov 6- 279,769

Nov 5-Nov 11-279,503

Nov 12-Nov 18-282.037

Nov 19-Nov 25-298,683

Nov 26-Dec 2 -359,499

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  459,157

Dec 10-Dec 16-458,297

Dec 17-Dec 23-493,563

Dec 24-Dec 30-409,633

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  471,548

Jan 7- Jan 13 - 430,045

Jan 14-Jan 20-331,401

Jan 21-Jan 27-323,428

Jan 28-Feb 3- 284,798

Feb 4 -Feb 10-277,984

Feb 11-Feb 17-260,120

Feb 18-Feb 24-241,626

Feb 25-Mar  3-237,986

The National numbers continue to slowly drop.

'New Jersey Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   9,895

Sep 12 Sep 18-  10,371

Sep 19 Sep 25-  13,288

Sep 26 Oct 2-   11,477

Oct 3 - Oct 9-   10,159

Oct 10-Oct 16-  9,034

Oct 17-Oct 23-  8.767

Oct 24-Oct 30- 9,538

Oct 31-Nov 6-   9,498

Nov 5-Nov 11-9,327

Nov 12-Nov 18-8,942

Nov 19-Nov 25-7,696

Nov 26-Dec 2 -11,437

Dec 3-Dec 9 -  12,519

Dec 10-Dec 16-14,246

Dec 17-Dec 23-14,424

Dec 24-Dec 30-13,241

Dec 31-Jan 6 -  15,562

Jan 7- Jan 13 -  13,735

Jan 14-Jan 20- 10,529

Jan 21-Jan 27- 10,150

Jan 28-Feb 3-   8.910

Feb 4 -Feb 10-  8,326

Feb 11-Feb 17-  6,690

Feb 18-Feb 24- 5,545

Feb 25-Mar  3- 4,590

New Jersey is dropping faster than nationally.

Bergen County Cases

Sep 5  -Sep 11-   1,107

Sep 12 Sep 18-   1,109

Sep 19 Sep 25-  1,486

Sep 26 Oct 2-    1,328

Oct 3 - Oct 9-    1,104

Oct 10-Oct 16-  1.019

Oct 17-Oct 23-  1,116

Oct 24-Oct 30- 1,161

Oct 31-Nov 6-   1,263

Nov 5-Nov 11-1,256

Nov 12-Nov 18-1,186

Nov 19-Nov 25-1,103

Nov 26-Dec 2 - 1,551

Dec 3-Dec 9 -   1,570

Dec 10-Dec 16-1,722

Dec 17-Dec 23-1,806

Dec 24-Dec 30-1,733

Dec 31-Jan 6 -   1,759

Jan 7- Jan 13 -   1,517

Jan 14-Jan 20-  1,074

Jan 21-Jan 27-  1.046

Jan 28-Feb 3-     903

Feb 4 -Feb 10-    884

Feb 11-Feb 17-    604

Feb 18-Feb 24-  525

Feb 25-Mar  3-  448

Bergen County is dropping at about the same rate as New Jersey.

Colds suck, I can't remember the last time I had one but I have one now. We also got the first Shingles vaccine shot. I wonder if the two things are somehow related?