SARswine2avianK were just captalist scams………………….nice trys, but none of which will ever match our global warming.
Stop showering, lighting, eating burgers and driving cars and listen to us – oh, and equal land rights for gay whales while your at it

If our measures are succesfull then everyone will say it was a scam, if they aren’t and we have a rerun of the post WWI influenza then we’ll be lynching our politicians and incompetant fools.

If theres a choice then I’m going to pick an over reaction over an under reaction.

*As good as the real thing but only $9.95**

**Maynotactualyworksideeffectscanincludedeath

But if the balance-sheet numbers did not support them trying to control the epidemic rather than the cases, that this might suggest libertarianism is not too good at public health.

Anyway, what you describe is picking up the pieces (which is the way libertarianism seems to deal with group-action problems generally). Any thoughts on initial control?

Here’s a few ideas.

Short version: Let the market handle it (duh).

Longer version:

* If doctors can charge per treatment (free market healthcare), and charge more for house visits, many doctors will become available to treat patients.

* If we allow nurses to prescribe simple meds like Tamiflu, we won’t even need all those doctors to do house visits.

* Several companies will compete to quickly research, make and distribute an effective vaccine and/or drugs to treat the illness. In a free market, the quickest-produced and most-effective vaccine will win. (This might require changing of intellectual property law, which are essentially government-granted monopolies. Different libertarians have different opinions on this).

* Insurance companies might pay for large quantities of Tamiflu and/or vaccines and supply it to those who have health insurance with them to avoid having to pay out on thousands of life insurance policies. Similarly companies offering health insurance to employees could arrange to have employees and their families treated.

It probably involves the insurance companies. Who, let’s face it, would probably have their own army, so they’d sort it out.

Symptoms of Wine Flu include cold sweats, hangovers and nausea but a Government Official reassured drinkers by announcing that simple steps can be taken to stop the spread of the virus.

“Sufferers must refrain from buying cheap, low quality wine and switch to cheap good wine immediately. We recommend http://www.antiwineflu.co.nz as an immediate antidote. Anyone who does not have internet access should contact their local hospital for a Wine Flu mask designed specifically for their wine tastes.”

Include the Philippines cancelling an order for New Zealand pork in your answer.

“Bad flu epidemics can hit young adults hardest because they provoke their powerful immune systems into overreaction, so to stay healthy spend the next few weeks drunk and sleep-deprived to keep yours suppressed.”

“Every year in the U.S., 5 percent to 20 percent of the population gets seasonal flu. The virus affects the nose, throat and lungs, and peaks from late-November through March, according to the CDC. About 200,000 Americans are hospitalized annually from the seasonal flu, and 36,000 die, said the CDC Web site.”

Now imagine something at the high end of that infectiousness and 25 times as deadly. I’m not saying that’s happening now, but that’s what the protections are for.

However I think the main reason the Swine Flu is worth worrying about is because, wthout extensive case histories, new and hitherto-unknown variants e.g. Swine Flu, Bird Flu etc are unpredictable and no-one really knows if they will be a catastrophe or a non-event. Although of course, plumbers, carpenters and Kiwiblog commentators are very quick to formulate their own expert opinions one way or the other!

Redbaiter:
Swine Flu is just another fear-mongering rort by the anti-democratic pinko half-educated jackboot-wearing indoctrinated socialist commie scum half-wits. And their lying Sycophants in the MSM.
F*ck off with your climate change and your long march towards world domination. The sooner you scummy commie scum are six feet under pushing up daisies, the better for us freedom fighters.

(With apologies to my old mate, as this is not really an actual quote from the man himself

I think swine flu also gives relevance and meaning to the lives of those who work for WHO and in NZ’s medical establishment. It also helps some countries implement anti-free trade policies.