“Essential Services” are about risk assessment versus the reward. This is not just a matter of basic survival at this point, and arguably humanity is somewhat dark and has long taken some risks and harm for comfort. Just because you can get recreational substances like Tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea and candy at grocery stores and gas stations doesn’t mean those manufacturers and supply chains are essential to our survival. In the end, we are going to have to look at our addictions, as well as what comfort level we consider to be essential. We need IT at this point to communicate our needs as a complex society, but Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, and Pornhub? We need some way to communicate just because we are social animals, so what social media services and personal communication platforms are ‘necessary’ for us to stay relatively sane? Could porn reduce intimacy at a time we might need romantic distancing? Could Netflix keep people at home that would otherwise go out? Might there be a problem with tobacco and pot shortages causing shared saliva? Some alcoholics need medical support to go sober at a time the hospitals and jails are not ready for them. What recreational drugs maybe actually comfort foods we might be willing to risk keeping? In the end, this isn’t just about ‘necessary services.’ We are developing policy to redefine as a social hive mind what risks are we willing to take. It’s more about risk vs reward assessment at this point, than mere survivalism. We also don’t want to flood the criminal justice system because we ask people to give up too much at once. I also doubt the black market is a less risky way to distribute recreational supplies. We need to create a pragmatic policy people will follow as well as keep it restrictive. To some degree, problem solving and strategic oversight are way more important than simply cutting our economy. Keep that in mind.
In the end, I think we should stop using the term, ‘essential services.’ Risk mitigation and reduction though strategic economic downsizing in production, services and logistics’ should be a phrase that is used over ‘essential services.’ The latter phrase confuses the heck out of people, including myself, when pizza delivery and liquor stores are on that list. I know it’s wordy, but I’m honestly a little embarrassed trying to explain to my wife why America has a warped view on what is a basic need to live, like Papa John’s and Oberon.
Joker's Wild 