By Michael Hernandez
NEWBURY PARK—“The current economic trajectory is self-inflicted,” said Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA as he spoke to Pastor Rob McCoy by telephone during a Sunday evening “Fireside Chat” focused on the coronavirus from a Biblical perspective. “This is a crisis but how much of it is of our own making?
“What anxiety is being caused by economic and cultural uncertainty? This is not a single variable analysis. Should we shut down our country until all diseases are gone? This in not sustainable.
“In real life, we had 14,000 suicides after the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. Now we have seen an escalation in domestic battery and suicides because of economic uncertainty.
“How do we gauge all this? My message, is we need to get back to a work week. We’ve done our 15 days. I am not saying this has not been significant. But a total shutdown is not a proportionate response based on data by county and by State.”
Charlie Kirk’s phone talk with Pastor McCoy followed his appearance on Steve Hilton’s Sunday The Next Revolution Fox News show where Hilton stated: “I wish to talk tonight about another curve—the downward economic curve caused by public health officials. I am talking about the economic and social and human costs of a total shutdown policy. We need to flatten the curve not the economy.
“People are losing their jobs, homes and businesses. We are talking about a self-imposed shutdown of our economy in which business will lose all their revenue. This means no income—nothing for months unless we switch the case.
“The best case is the worse recession. The worse case is we will be worse than the Great Depression. I am concerned about a two trillion stimulus plan. The economic curve is the heart and soul of this country. Could the cure be worse than the disease?”
“This is a national security issue which will effect our nation economically,” said Fox News contributor Sara Carter. “We cannot continue to shut down our entire system. It cannot survive this. We can’t afford this.”
““This is not just a public health decision,” said Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe. “It may have dire consequences for our economy.”
Powerpoint slides shown in Godspeak’s Fireside Chat stated:
I am “not trying to downplay the issue but also want to give perspective. Even in places fully exposed—China, Korea, Taiwan and even Italy—the virus is predictable in effect and prevention. It is not an unknown. Follow the rules and the virus will pass quickly—and with little chance of effect to you.
“Some believe this is the worst crisis in the history of America, others believe this is overblown and everyone needs to go back to work immediately. All of them, I trust their intellect and understanding of rational decision making. They have all achieved big success. They are so beyond opposed on the crisis it is hard to put into words.
“This is what I know; if people don’t go back to work by next Monday we will hit 12 percent unemployment. This stimulus Won’t do ANYTHING for the people. I have talked to. I have never seen an issue where talented people are so far apart either their own sets of data. What is the truth?
Ventura County has a population of 854,223 and has seen 26 coronavirus cases (as of the end of last week) with no deaths distributed in the following cities: Simi Valley (7); Thousand Oaks (5); Camarillo (4); Oxnard (3); Ventura (3); Santa Paula (2); Oak Park (1); and Westlake Village (1). (Editor’s Note: Thousand Oaks has a population of 128,895.)
(Editor’s Note: Pastor Rob McCoy can be viewed every night of the week at 7 p.m. on the Godspeak Calvary website in a “Fireside Chat” looking at the coronavirus with a Biblical perspective.)
Michael Hernandez, Co-Founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service; editor of the History Makers Report and founder of History Makers International—a community nonprofit serving youth and families in Ventura County, is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. He worked 25 years as a middle school teacher in Monrovia and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted by email at [email protected].
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