We must make hard sacrifices to overcome the economic challenges presented by COVID-19

To the editor:

Man, talk about a hard decision. President Donald Trump has had to weigh whether to keep everyone sequestered and away from work, which risks a financial collapse and depression, or send people back to work knowing it may lead to thousands of deaths.

Now, he wants us back to work by Easter Sunday, which is the correct decision. Older people (like myself) are going to have to use all the precautions necessary to ensure our own safety. But our economy, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, must get going again.

We are almost on a war footing — there are similarities. Many times during the Second World War, commanders had to sacrifice men to ensure the survival of the larger fighting force. We are in almost the same situation today.

Many people who don’t watch or understand the financial markets may not realize how close we are to seeing the start of a negative feedback loop. People, no longer employed, will not be able to pay their mortgages, rent, car loans or credit card bills. If this goes on long enough, businesses will go bankrupt, forcing more people into unemployment and the cycle starts again. Once this feedback loop starts it is very difficult to stop.

Certainly, we can’t risk such an economic disaster for the sake of some thousands of deaths of people (mainly men) in their 70s and 80s. Let our younger generations get back to work, get exposed to the virus, develop immunity and get on with their lives. I do hope Trump will give governors the leeway to decide when to reopen for business.

Unfortunately, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer and their far-left main street media will criticize any decision Trump makes no matter what he does. Their hate for him and their desire to defeat him in November overrides any other consideration. In addition, they shamelessly use any emergency to try to ram home their far-left agenda. They certainly could care less about bringing our country together. Hopefully, the vast majority of our citizenry will understand our country’s predicament and come together to support all those, including our president, who have done such a great job handling this emergency and not fall prey to the divisive rhetoric from the liberal side of the political spectrum.

One can always dream.

Mark Agather

Kalispell