Bird Flu Part 4083445: The Economy

The hits just keep on comin'. The ways in which bird flu can destroy society are numerous, and now we have the economic concerns. This article demonstrates some of the ways this could decimate the global economy.

"A pandemic would likely start in Asia and spread around the world. Deaths could top more than 50 million. Billions of people would fall sick and billions more would be too afraid to go to work, according to health officials cited in the report.
As well, affected countries would likely force quarantines and close stock markets. Work absenteeism from deaths and illness would skyrocket, Coxe predicted.
Attendance of sporting events, theme parks and movies would drop, if not banned outright. Patronage of bars, restaurants and hotels would plummet, he said.
As more people stayed home, e-commerce might flourish, as long as postal and courier services were maintained."

The United States used to take the lead on many things. We have a clear opportunity to take the lead on this. What should happen? There are those in this country working on vaccines, which is hard considering this is a new flu. But beyond that, this government has an 'everyone for themselves' attitude. That kind of attitude during a crisis like a flu pandemic is deadly, on many levels. Darwin is coming back to life in the next several months, encouraged by the complete lack of leadership in Washington D.C. Time to invest in shotguns and canned goods. George? Bueller? Anyone?