So much of the political response to the virus has boiled down to "I want this thing [schools, football, a functioning economy, etc] but I am unwilling to do the work necessary to have the thing."

This is not rocket science. "Epidemiologic evidence suggests that death rates can be lowered by 90% within 9 to 11 weeks after stringent control measures begin." Shut it down, support people for the duration, then get back to work. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2024920

We could have our lives back by Thanksgiving! But unless I'm mistaken, *nobody* in a leadership position in Congress or the White House is advocating for this type of hardcore approach. They've spent all summer bickering over which deck chairs to rearrange.