COMMENT #2: Marty,It’s amazing how the capitalist system has become so distorted, used by business and government alike, to manipulate people like lab rats. The failure of the vaccine campaign now is evident for all to see. The “carrot or the stick” approach.

States are rolling out lotteries to get people to get the jab, to boost vaccines, supposedly allowing the government to relax restrictions on business and schools, to get back to normal. In businesses, some are threatening loss of jobs; others are providing time off, other incentives, to encourage their workforce to get vaccinated. The threat of job loss is illegal, but it doesn’t prevent them from using this to induce action.

Airlines like United are offering free flights to those vaccinated. Now city governments like that in Chicago are segregating those going to restaurants, those who can dine who are vaxxed, free to dine and move around, and those unvaxxed, segregated.

You can’t make this stuff up! At some point, all those who wanted to get the jab, and those motivated by financial incentives, will have gotten it. Leaving more than half the population unvaccinated. Then what? Any bet Biden and state governments mandate more policy actions aimed at intimidating non vaxxers, using those already vaxxed as their hammer? Yes, “you didn’t do what we told you, now you all will have to pay the price…” Doesn’t this open the door for one segment of society to attack the other, with the government acting as agent encouraging them to do so?

I’m beginning to think the loss of confidence you describe will come when government actions, like promoting violence, and threatening later to force people to get vaccinated, will be the last straw. They used the capitalist system to induce action; now, they will use their raw power and weapons produced by the same system to destroy it.

MS