The mantra we keep hearing from Governors who want to keep their dictatorial control over their states and ignore their state Houses and Senate is lives matter.  Sure it is a catchy phrase that is certainly true but do they really believe that every life matters and I am not just asking the pro-abortion people.

There is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University named Nicholas Mankiw.  Professor Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics. He studied the effects of each one-point increase in the unemployment rate.  He concluded that each one-point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with:

  • 920 more suicides
  • 650 more homicides
  • 4,000 more people admitted to state mental institutions
  • 3,300 more people sent to state prisons
  • 37,000 more deaths
  • Increases in domestic violence and homelessness

I would ask the Governors and politicians supporting the continued shutdown of our economy does every life really matter to them and how do they distinguish one life from another?

The Federal Reserve expects the unemployment rate to increase to 32%.  That would mean a minimum of a 28 point increase in our unemployment rate.  What does that mean if we apply Professor Mankiw’s model:

  • 25,760 more suicides
  • 18,200 more homicides
  • 112,000 more people admitted to state mental institutions
  • 92,400 more people sent to state prisons
  • 1,036,000 more deaths
  • A tremendous and tragically enormous increase in domestic violence and homelessness

Does every life really matter to these politicians and if so what do they have to say about this leading Harvard economic professors' models?

What do they say to all of those people who find themselves in one of the tragic categories above?

When you are in a leadership position and face a large problem there are rarely any clear cut paths to take.  You must always weigh all of the consequences both pro and con as well as all your options before you choose your path and then be able to justify that path accounting for all of the consequences.

You wanted the leadership position and with those positions come great responsibilities.  In the case of these Governors and those who support their continued Dictatorial control and lockdown of our economies, it is time to consider everyone’s lives and make the hard decisions.  The easy decision is to side with the widely publicized deaths and hide from the somewhat concealed deaths from the decisions they have made.

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