Coronavirus: Comeback for socialist economics? | COVID-19 Special

The corona virus isn't just a health issue it's an economic one as well all around the world shops restaurants and factories have been forced to close to help fight the spread of the disease millions of jobs have been lost in retail hospitality and even the industrial sector businesses are on the brink of collapse in many countries the powerful aviation and car sectors have turned to their governments for financial assistance as corporate giants cry out for help should taxpayers themselves struggling come to the rescue who will foot the bill for those massive government aid packages the corona virus looks set to make the world a poorer place and governments face the daunting task of deciding who to prioritize.

the economic crisis brought by corona virus has driven businesses of all sizes as well as individuals to our own governments to help them through even once-proud corporations have found themselves begging for bailouts paid for by the state the vast numbers of jobs dependent on the survival of businesses some governments are now all that stands between their citizens and destitution a drive through in the age of corona virus but rather than fast food they're queuing for unemployment forms last month alone more than 20 million people in America lost their jobs as lockdowns froze the economy that has rapidly pushed many to the brink of poverty.

How government boost economy from effect of corona virus ?

 Federal Food Bank programs such as this one and Las Vegas are helping people just about get by I'm still waiting on my unemployment be waiting when employment like a month and a half in Europe governments in France Germany Italy Spain the UK and elsewhere across the continent has boosted income subsidies for workers laid off due to the pandemic spending historically large sums in the process for all those who need assistance during this period stated for those not going to work and funding for companies will be extended and reinforced such measures have never been seen before and they already protect more than 8 million employees and many of our companies Germany alone has already provided around 1.1 trillion in financial support including loans of 50 billion to freelancers and small businesses alone but the biggest tool of all available to governments is nationalization when companies in critical sectors are on the brink governments may step in and take a stake for example German airline Lufthansa has requested government intervention and some support may be forthcoming there are limits.

what state can do by virtue of the fact that money is a finite resource from effect of corona virus?

the pandemic has taught us so far that legally speaking there's little to stop states doing whatever they feel is necessary how involved governments are actually even allowed to get in corporations so there are no formal limits that would forbid to prohibit company countries of states to take shares in companies there is rules of course on the European level that regulate state aid but there is no such thing as an prohibition to do so there are a lot of corporations where states are involved in from utilities electricity producing companies to the airline companies to railroads postal services and so on so we already have many secretaries in many countries were states own a lot of equity you mentioned Airlines and you mentioned Europe's there's been some pushback from other airlines against Frances decision to help support air france-klm what are the arguments against the state getting involved with companies look in the last months and years we had a lot of discussion around China in the China subsidizing a Chinese companies who would then compete internationally and skew the playing field in their favor and exactly the same arguments on our prod towards state interventions in Europe if the France or any other country subsidizes its own airline there's a risk if this leads to a uneven playing field and disadvantages competitors like Ryanair or or others who don't have the support of  a state because state aid will at the end influence the pouring costs of those companies it will also possibly influence the evaluation of those companies on the stock exchanges but this money isn't coming without strings attached there are conditions on a lot of these bailouts.

 what are the things that government's pushing for from companies in return for the money ?

 actually two things that governments tend to insist on in Europe first management must forego bonus payments during the time that the governments are invested in their companies and the companies are not allowed to pay any dividends these are these are the rules that are most often required and then there are in many cases also government delegates on the boards of these companies so that you know states reserve the right to influence management's decisions in the companies that they invest in this good news for taxpayers do they benefit from their tax dollars going into these major corporations this is a very hard question so you know economic history is very skeptical about that in the past governments that played a big role in corporations typically didn't do very well these states are not the better entrepreneurs but in the current crisis if a company like Lufthansa Air France goes past or needs to be restructured this could lead to bigger costs for the taxpayer then if governments invest in.

you know a temporary fashion it must be very clear the government should get out of these investments as soon as can European Commission is talking about six years this is already very generous but in the long run clearly government's money invested in those corporations is typically not well invested in the short run there might be benefits for the taxpayers .

 how can get corona virus through your eyes how does it reach your lungs to infect ?

we've been hearing from the beginning that the eyes are one possible Avenue for the corona virus to enter your body but it's still not one that we know much about a couple of new studies however appear to confirm that the eyes can serve as an entry point for covid 19 - as well as a reservoir for person-to-person transmission they showed that some cells in the eye also carry the receptor that the virus binds to it's called ace - that's the enzyme doorway the virus uses to enter and attack the body and there are tiny ducts between the eyes the sinuses and tears drain into your nose so an infection in the eye could move from there to your upper respiratory tract and eventually make its way to your lungs .

 why is diarrhea a symptom for the corona virus gastrointestinal problems ?

like loss of appetite nausea and diarrhea are also fairly common symptoms for Covid 19 in fact there are some indications that gastrointestinal complaints can be among the first symptoms to appear in some people who catch the corona virus and that in some people they'll be the only complaint as to the question of why the general consensus appears to be that the ACE 2 receptor that that doorway into your cells that I mentioned above that it isn't just very plentiful in cells in the lungs but also in the gastrointestinal tract so most experts think that makes the organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract particularly the small intestine quite susceptible to infection as well.

what mechanism determines patient symptoms? why is there this great variation in symptoms in covid 19 ?

symptom in different people some people are asymptomatic others develop life-threatening pneumonia some only get diarrhea others have neurological problems some experts even think it's associated with lesions on the feet a condition that's being called Coban toe at times it really does seem like we're not facing a single new virus but a host of them that all cause different symptoms we still don't know exactly why corona virus 19 can affect different people in such different ways.

 what factors  play key roles in corona virus ?

two big ones are how old you are and whether you have previously existing conditions another factor is your sex then there's your blood type it could play a role and factors that are more nebulous like whether you might have had certain vaccinations and of course there's your own individual genetic makeup which lies at the heart of everyone's personal immune response so there are a lot of things that will be playing a role in symptom variation in covid 19 patients although there are of course going to be trends and similarities and symptoms if you look at large groups of patients at the individual level people just don't react to infections in identical ways as a science correspondent  .

now to be eligible for state aid the state needs to know that you exist but for the around 2 billion people around the world working in the so called informal economy that isn't the case businesses that aren't registered for taxes or monitored in any way at a government level are not in line for the sort of support formal enterprises are getting as we've been hearing the International Labor Organization has warned relative poverty among informal workers creaks more than 50% worldwide because of the pandemic some of them are having to work through the crisis despite the risks to their health and that's why governments are being urged to at least ensure they have access to healthcare and food support for their families