AncientTree

High-speed rail is often slower and definitely more expensive than regular rail, if Europe is any guide.

Rail is best used for freight.

Autonomous busses and cars (electric) are the best long-term solution for travel.

The best approach is simply to enact a Carbon Tax and let the market figure it out.

We would be better off promoting mass-contraception to the developing world and halting land clearance in terms of massive targeted CO2 reductions.

Korea will have to remain on alert, forever, as their population has no established immunity. A vaciine may never come - there is no influenza vaccine (it mutates every season).

Plus, there are grim, yet economic, benefits if the sickest and most elderly die from Coronavirus, in the form of long-term savings on pensions and healthcare. This should be taken into account in strategic national planning.

The UK approach seems the most sensible - keep the economy and society functioning, and recommend that the most vulnerable practice self-isolation. Better to isolate those who are not participating in the productive economy (ie. the sick and elderly) than the entirety of the population.

And if the worst case occurs, with millions of elderly and immunocompromised dying, there are billions in potential savings in pensions and old-age healthcare, as well as improvements in housing affordability and overall reductions in national CO2 emissions.

Agreed, we need to just push onwards and all will be back to normal in 12 months.

The facts remain that children, young adults, adults and even elderly without comorbidities will survive. Deaths are still restricted to those with existing health problems, particularly the elderly.

From an economic perspective, this is the perfect pandemic. We should maintain all schooling and social activities to spread the virus as far and rapidly as possible, to gain herd immunity as quickly as possible. The vulnerable can self-isolate.

The savings in pensions and long-term healthcare for the elderly, as well as a reduction in housing prices owing to the deceased estates, will promote an economic boom that may even - in the long term - offset the short terms costs we are facing right now.

You can imagine a situation where the USA has survived the virus and gained mass immunity, with 5% of its elderly population perishing along the way, giving the USA a long-term advantage due to lower payroll taxes, versus Europe who shut down early, have continual flareups due to lack of herd immunity, and continue with a heavy taxation burden due to elderly losses of only 0.5%.

The solution is simpler than that which is to remove high-denomination notes from circulation and provide all citizens with free bank accounts. Eventually, just move to cashless transactions entirely.

The bigger problem in countries like Greece though is that the tax burden is immense, for example the sales tax rate is 24%. This creates a huge incentive to avoid the tax. This windfall is then either wasted on corruption or spent on healthcare and pensions for the elderly - ie. not services that the taxpayer can immediately or personally access.

Sales tax, company tax, and flat income tax rates around 10%, with no payroll taxes, seem like a better and more sustainable way to go. Flat taxes in Eastern Europe have actually seen tax payments and compliance go up, even with lower and non-progressive rates.