Moreover, I'm not convinced the economy wouldn't have declined if we hadn't locked down - consumers changed their behavior even in places that didn't lock down. The economic decline is likely behind the increase in murders (along with school closures).
> if those numbers remained consistent, about 400k extra people died this year from other causes.
I'd love to see a source, as I haven't seen a single bit of evidence suggesting anything like that.
> "I'm not convinced the economy wouldn't have declined if we hadn't locked down"
I didnt say the economic decline is solely linked to the lock downs, I dont think anyone ever has. however, no one with half a brain would ever argue the lockdowns were so much worse.
> "The economic decline is likely behind the increase in murders"
Not likely, the last severe economic decline (great recession) didnt see such large spikes in violence. school closures are part of the lock-down.
> "I'd love to see a source, as I haven't seen a single bit of evidence suggesting anything like that."
That data is freely available from cdc.gov
I know in Philadelphia, the murder rate is up about 40%. When I was looking at deaths data from the CDC, I found that deaths were up (from 2% on average increase) substantially. I dont remember the % increase, but I do remember 40% of the deaths were not directly from covid-19. if those numbers remained consistent, about 400k extra people died this year from other causes.
that 400k, its hard to tell where 'they would have died as a direct result of covis19' and 'lockdowns caused it' begins and ends, but that is not a nebulous number, and its not a small one.
And honestly, I dont care about how many would have died vs this and that, back off our freedoms. No one, for any reason, should be able to tell us we can't go outside, can't have family gatherings, can't run a business, etc. No one, for any reason even if the death rate was 100%. And HIV is 100% fatal, yet no one ever required showing someone their HIV status on an app before having sex.