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1/ The government is loosening lockdown requirements allowing "skill-based" jobs. https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/541071-Federal-Cabinet-coronavirus-situation-country
Here& #39;s">https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakist... a ECON 101 argument for why this is not just a bad idea, but the government is trying to get credit for abdicating it& #39;s basic responsibility.
Here& #39;s">https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakist... a ECON 101 argument for why this is not just a bad idea, but the government is trying to get credit for abdicating it& #39;s basic responsibility.
2/ The core argument behind allowing skill based workers (and for his thread let& #39;s use barbers as the example) is that these are daily wage workers who are disproportionately being effected by the lockdown. While true, this would typically call for government support programs.
3/ We are told these are not feasible and so it is argued the only option is the looser restrictions. But here& #39;s the thing, that makes no sense and you only need Econ101 to see through it. How many people will go to the barber when there is a infectious pandemic going on?
4/ And since the loosening of restrictions is limited, most people in the barbershop& #39;s cachement area will not be working, so they will will be delaying optional expenditure. So barbers will face limited demand.
5/ For a barber already living hand to mouth, this will be very insignificant relief. Therefore without any government support, the situation will be nearly as dire as it was during a full lockdown. Maybe even worse if the barber faces costs for keeping his empty shop open.
6/ All the while, the disease spreads more rapidly. At the end of the day, the point is fairly simple. In a pandemic it is the government& #39;s job to help those in need. What we are seeing is a government using poverty as an excuse to not do anything.
7/ We therefore have no lockdown to fight the crisis and limited benefits, if any in the long run from "opening up" what is a depressed market to begin with. The government has failed and should be held accountable and made to do better.
8/ We can not be fooled into believing this is a pro poor move. It is anything but, they have thrown the poor out to fend for themselves in a market with little to no demand and somehow managed to call it a pro-poor policy with a straight face!
In short, it& #39;s time we hold the government accountable. Make it help the poor, not use them as props in a policy debate #PakistanVsCorona
