THE CORONA CRISIS & THE MARSHALL PLAN 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Global Coronavirus Crisis has already destroyed much of the National Economies worldwide.
In its wake the Crisis has destroyed the National Health System.
To repair the Economy the Governments and the Central Banks are committing thousands of Billions. The USA 6000 Billions, Europe and Asia each, as much or more. This is the core of the Marshall Plan 2020.
There are plenty of Funds to Fix the Health System but we need a Plan. We are proposing a new Paradigm based on :
1. New Sources of Sustainable Funding,
2. Mobility to create thousands of Jobs and expand medical research
3. Repair the Trust between the People and the system
4. Aim to leave nobody left behind.
For more information how this can be implemented fast and in a simple manner
PLEASE READ BELOW:
THE CORONA EFFECT AND THE MARSHALL PLAN 2020
To fully understand the relevance of the Marshall Plan in 2020 and the impact of the Corona Virus it is useful to look back at 1920.
In 1920 both General MacArthur and General Marshall were coming back from the World War I on the European Front. Both Generals had witnessed first hand the positive impact of the rebuilding effort on the French and British institutions and the resulting destabilizing effect of the lack of reconstruction on the German institutions. It is widely perceived that the German economic chaos after World War I brought about World War II 20 years later. It was clear to both Generals that the demobilization effort of the Army, after the war, if properly managed, could be an accelerator for the establishment of new infrastructures. For instance the sudden surplus of airplanes an airmen in 1920 helped the setting up of a new Commercial Aviation industrial and transportation infra-structure network in both France and England.
Back in the USA General Mac Arthur, from 1920 to 1922, became the Superintendent of West Point USA Military Academy. During his tenure he modified the military curriculum to include Civil Affairs. This was resisted by both the military and the political establishment.
25 years later at the end of World War II General Marshall in Europe, and General Mac Arthur in the Pacific, imposed what became to be known as the Marshall Plan of 1947. The Plan was instrumental in creating an economic boom for the following 50 years and strengthening the Political Institutions against the threat of Communism or a Third World War. The Marshall Plan consisted in wiping out the crushing debt in the USA and Europe and the Pacific. This debt evaporation is clearly seen in the Thomas Picketty economic charts (for Europe). The Marshall Plan has also provided enough liquidity for the infrastructures reconstruction effort.
We are now more than 70 years after the Marshall Plan. All Nations have accumulated what is perceived as a debilitating debt load. Most important Health and Education is perceived a Human Right but no Nation can fully cover the cost of both Institutions out of the State Budget funded out of Taxes. The economic paradigm we are living with is a recipe for disaster unless we change the paradigm and accept the huge wealth creation produced by the fantastically increasing speed of money through the computerized globalized financial network.
In 2020 our Global Economy is shaken by a Global Pandemic called Covid-19, also referred to as Coronavirus. Our purpose here is not to discuss the merits of various medical strategies. What is evident is the enormous damage that the Coronavirus has inflicted on the local, regional and Global Economy. In a matter of weeks Trillions of various currencies have evaporated from the Economy. We can already witness a 10% drop in the GDP of most countries and a drop down to 30 % is expected, to take into account the restarting period. The stock market has crashed but will go back up faster once the Trust is restored. In its wake the Coronavirus has destroyed the Health System and the Trust that the Health System could protect the people.
The Key Word about the Corona Crisis is Trust. We are talking the Trust of the people in the State Institutions and the Legislative Branch composed of the elected officials. The Trust will be truly restored once the state is offering a Vaccine. An effective medical treatment is not sufficient be-cause it means one must be sick first to benefit from it and this is not an appealing proposition. The Vaccine alone is not sufficient because we must rebuild the Health System in a sustainable way. We will discuss the options to solve the Health System issues below.
The Central Banks stand ready to inject the all necessary liquidities to keep the financial markets and industry in operating order. Just as was the case for the Marshall Plan of 1947 it will be necessary to wipe off the debt and not increase it since this would end up shifting control of the industry and economy in the hands of Central Bankers who are not elected by the people and in-dependent from any form of Government. This could induce some violent and uncontrollable reactions from the people. Injecting liquidities into the Economy will not, by and of itself, bring back the Trust of the people and the economic and political system will remain highly unstable.
To be successful the 2020 Marshall Plan requires :
- To find a new Paradigm for the operations of the Health System,
- To wipe out the debt,
- The injection of liquidities in the markets by the Central Bank.
The new paradigm for the Health System will require :
- Funding the budget from the second market financial system not from taxes,
- Creating mobile facilities to respond to peaking demand and provide high quality (very ex-pensive) services to all, regardless of location.
Mobility is a lesson learned from history. At the end of WWI the surplus of airplanes and pilots allowed the creation of Commercial Civil Aviation. At the end of WWII and the advent of Jet air-planes we witnessed the birth of a Global Transportation Network accessible to all. At the end of the Vietnam War the surplus of charter pets brought worldwide vacationing within the reach of the middle class. At the end of the Corona Crisis top quality health services must be accessible to all worldwide in particular after various destructive weather events or pandemics crisis. Funding health services outside of taxes will maintain overall government control on the system and the potential greed of the Pharmaceutical Industry can be kept in check through regulations just as it is done today.
A NEW PARADIGM FOR THE HEALTH SERVICES
In the 21st Century Health Services are generally considered as a fundamental Human Right yet, even in the richest nations, some the middle class and most of the lower class do not have full access to basic services like Dentistry for example.
The Corona Virus also referred to as Covid-19 is in its effect, and particularly the economic effect, the equivalent of a World War. At the end of the Covid-19 crisis, If the developed nations do not want the resulting chaos to degenerate into more violence and destruction, it will be imperative to repair the Health Services System. To achieve a state of social stability history has taught us that we need the 2020 Marshall Plan and a new paradigm for the Health Services. The Central banks are ready to launch the Marshall Plan but there is not yet a consensus for the Heath Services. Both efforts will create the millions of jobs required world-wide and an era of new economic expansion.
The new Health Paradigm is rooted on 3 legs :
- The Cost;
- The Mobility;
- The Trust.
1. THE COST OF HEALTH SERVICES
In many poor countries there are no hospitals or when buildings are there they are empty of medical supplies. In the rich countries like the USA and Europe it is the cost, including the cost of insurance, which make the services unaffordable. In many cases. In the richest countries, urgent medical needs may take months just to get an appointment with the right Doctor. Clearly there are not enough facilities and practitioners. When Nations offer services paid by the State the waiting time to access is globally clearly unreasonable.
In the richest countries the middle class practices Medical Tourism, in foreign countries, in search for affordable care. In the same countries much of the territory is rapidly loosing what used to be called the Family Doctor and local facilities in the countryside. Health care and emergency ser-vices are now hours of traveling away.This is clearly due to insufficient funding
Doctors and Nurses are working unreasonably long hours. In addition the quality of care is clearly absent when a doctor has only 20 minutes available per patient. As a comparison we put our lives in the hands and judgment of a Surgeon or Doctor just like we do when we climb in an airplane, we put our lives in the hands of the pilot. Who would want the pilot of the plane to Fly us through a storm and land in fog and turbulence with only a few hours of sleep each night during the last week and with only 20 minutes of preparation instead of the 2 to 4 hours which are customary today for pilots. Yet this is happening everyday in our Emergency and Critical Care services, the Doctor is rushed and is exhausted.
What is required are:
- Adequate salaries for Doctors;
- Adequate salaries for nurses;
- Doctors and nurses in sufficient numbers not clustered in the main cities;
- Hospital and Clinics throughout the Land;
- Adequate distribution of medical supplies at an affordable cost to the patient
New Sources of Funding
Today Funding comes from Private Insurance which is fast becoming unaffordable. The State is Funding the services from a share of the general Taxes collection. Pushed by an aging population and a shrinking active population The cost of Health has grown faster that the GDP and or business activities and the old paradigm has become utterly unsustainable.
At the other end of the Financial spectrum the Computer Industry has been speeding up the cycle of money to the nanosecond level. This speeding up of money cycling has created huge wealth and profits in the Trillions, profits which are not fully taxed because the State Tax System itself has not kept up with the speed of the new Industry Operations Cycles. This is where funding of the New Health Paradigm can come from and exceed all foreseeable requirements for the next 50 years.
2. THE MOBILITY OF HEALTH SERVICES
Mobility is the name of the game in the 21st Century. more and more people travel faster and faster on a global basis for a multitude of reasons. Data moves at nano-speed around the globe and is accessible from anywhere on any medium and on a multitude of electronic clouds. Communications span the globe routed via networks of more than 1000 satellites.
The 20th Century Health paradigm evolved from a distributed network system to a centralized network of ever bigger hospitals. This trend allowed the optimized use of limited and dwindling resources. This was done at the cost of making access more difficult and ultimately lower quality of care when measured from the patient holistic point of view. To operate this centralized network many critical care patients are moved via helicopters from hospital to hospital adding more stress and risks to the patient condition.
The 21st Century with much greater financial funding capacity will move the hospital facility itself instead of moving the patient via a distributed network of:
- Ambulatory clinics in the hinterland (instead of the current desert);
- Regional large hospital hubs( as we have today);
- A large fleet of advanced technology hospital ships;
- A large fleet of advanced technology airborne clinics;
- A large fleet of medium size advanced technology hospital trains.
The new paradigm is structured by including, “as is”, what is already in existence not by replacing and changing the existing system.
The advance technology Facilities will create Tens of Thousands of high paying Industrial and Research Jobs to design and produce new Medical Equipment smaller lighter and user friendly. This is financed through the new paradigm second market funding facility.
All the facilities will be interconnected via satellite (for redundancy) and 4G internet (when available) for direct continuous access to cloud based databases and access to specialized support staff at the regional hubs. All communications will be done through full size video walls at both ends.Advanced Robotics will be used on all mobile facilities, supervised by human doctors on site.
Medical supplies delivery will be done via a large fleet of airborne Drones.
TELEWORKING has been given a huge boost during the Covid-19 crisis. Most of the Industry will continue using this type of work organization, which, once the basic computer equipment invest-ment is made will produce savings and gains in productivity in a sustainable manner. Most of all Doctors are finally starting to use teleworking to receive patients via computer generated video conferences. With the addition of connected wrist watches the Doctors will have access to a huge amount of vital signs historical data. Teleworking on a large scale will modify the existing popula-tion densities and increase the requirement for Health Services in the Hinterland.
Teleworking in and of itself will create tens of thousands of new jobs in the countryside and the rise of a new Cottage Industry including Health Services to families. This will be financed through the new paradigm second market funding facility.
3. RESTORING THE TRUST
The National Elections trends show the rise of new and younger parties to the detriment of the established and entrenched Political system. This is evidence of the increasing Gap between the people and the Political and Government system worldwide.
In the case of the Health system we have to contend with 2 Gaps in the Trust :
- (a) The Trust that the Health System will provide the services needed by the People when the People need it.
- (b) The Trust that the elected Officials and the Government they are supposed to supervise will make the right Health System (a Human Right) funding decision in due time.
Restoring the Trust in the Health System means that the delays in access to effective treatments will disappear and that increasing population in the countryside will have Health Facilities (including dentistry) close by and not hundreds of miles away. The New Paradigm with the mobile facilities will answer this concern to a great extent.
Restoring the Trust in the Government and the Elected Officials means that the shortage of masks and respirators and appropriate facilities (a fixture of the Covid-19 crisis) will not be held hostage to limited Taxes Based Budgets. The New paradigm with the second market Funding outside of the regular Government Budget will answer this concern to a great extent.
