CV-19 THREATENS SMALL BUSINESS FAR MORE THAN AMERICAN LIVES ~

From Alfie Oakes….. Grocer Extraordinaire in Naples… One of our wealthiest community members:

Because of the magnitude of this unprecedented event, I have decided to come out publicly to share my thoughts. I am not doing this for personal gain or attention, only to give others a different perspective from what we are hearing in the media.

I 100% totally agree that this is a terrible health crisis, I am not pretending to know the outcome, I will only be stating the facts.

Many people that have “bought into the media’s fear” get upset when these facts are used instead of the emotional fear that they have attached themselves to. Sadly for this reason there will be some that are offended.
For those of you that don’t know me, I would like to share a little of my background. I was born in a trailer park, my mother was 16 and while we grew up very poor I always had everything I needed. The greatest Mom and Dad anyone could ask for. I started selling produce on the roadside of the Cape Coral bridge at age 15 and opened my first store at age 18. My company which I prefer to call “our “ company now has roughly 2000 employees and will soon become an ESOP (Employee Owned Company) . I am stating this only to explain why it is that I so deeply love this country for all of the opportunity it has afforded me and more than anything in this world want the same opportunities to continue afforded to others.

As I said… I do believe this is a terrible health crisis. My question is does it have to be a terrible economic tragedy too? And who does that help exactly? Does it help that you just lost your job or your small business.? Does it help that you just lost your income or your life savings? Do you feel better about his health tragedy if you also have an economic tragedy to deal with?

Oddly enough I ask these questions not so much for myself. Our business is one that actually does very well during these times. In 2008 we had some of our best growth, everyone has to eat. My heart is bleeding for so many that have been living a similar American dream that I have been afforded but will not be so fortunate because of the nature of their business.
Last week when the Secretary of Education decided to close the schools that we sell fresh produce to around the entire state I immediately called Senator Rick Scott to get his perspective.

He explained to me the reason our government was being so cautious in dealing with COVID-19 was that it was considered to be 2.5 times more contagious than the normal flu virus and possibly 7 times more deadly. The mortality rate of the normal flu running about one-tenth of a percent (1 in 1000)and the COVID-19 possibly seven-tenths of a percent (7 in 1000).

After speaking with him, I felt as if the actions taken by the government were somewhat appropriate. However, at this time the facts I have gathered directly from the CDC say otherwise:
For that reason, I decided to write him this letter and hope that all of those that read it on this post will recognize it as just one man’s opinion that truly wants what is best for OUR country.

Senator Scott,
The media continues to sensationalize the magnitude and deadly nature of COVID-19. Yet, the truth is the mortality rate of COVID-19 is very low as compared to the normal flu season in the United States. (And for some reason, the media does not sensationalize or even report flu virus deaths.) As of today, live statistics show global deaths from COVID-19 at 14,611. And, though this number seems large, it pales in comparison to the deaths from a typical flu season.

For example, the CDC website shows that during the 2017-18 flu season, over 810,000 people were hospitalized, and 61,000 people died in the United States alone. Why does the media fail to participate in fear-mongering and talk of overcrowding the hospitals every flu season?

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, created this international panic by grossly miscalculating the coronavirus mortality rate at 3.4%. It is now crystal clear that he was completely wrong, and yet no one wants to admit it! In the United States, we ignore the facts and continue on with the madness of social distancing, school closures, panic buying, and fear-mongering. Just a couple years ago, the same panel of doctors from the CDC who are feeding us false information on COVID-19 adamantly predicted there would be over one million cases of Ebola. In reality, there were less than 30,000 Ebola cases reported; this represents another reckless and gross miscalculation from the World Health Organization and the CDC.

This baseless fear-mongering from the media and American politicians is completely out of control. Why is California Governor Gavin Newsom telling the people in his state that he predicts 25.5 million of his citizens will get the virus? Using his gross miscalculation of a 3% mortality rate, that would mean 765,000 Californians will die. The actual data from countries around the world do not support this!

South Korea has had great success fighting the Coronavirus pandemic without drama or chaos. The sick and at-risk were quarantined, and everyone else went to work; no businesses closed, no facet of the economy shut down, and no one lost their job. Coincidentally, South Korea is almost identical in size to California with a slightly higher population of 51 million. (California’s population is 42 million.) South Korea has had less than 9000 cases and under 100 deaths. Moreover, South Korea and California have similar landmass. And yet, in spite of these similarities, the Governor of California is expecting 765,000 deaths versus 100 deaths in South Korea. Something doesn’t add up.

We have allowed the inept CDC, alongside the complicit media, to create one of the worst financial losses in history based off nothing more than fear of a worst-case scenario. By the time our government gets its head out of its ass, and realizes this is nothing more than a severe flu season, we will be coming back to an unrecognizable America. Millions of Americans will be out of work, many will have lost their retirement, and thousands of businesses will surely be bankrupt. Our economy will be in ruins, and for what? We MUST let Americans without risk — young and healthy business owners and their employees — go to work in order to keep our economy active and thriving. If we promote this course of action now, then in a month or two, when the at-risk come out of quarantine, there will be some semblance of a healthy economy in place.

I understand the necessity for the media to over-sensationalize and over-dramatize everything they report; it’s smart business. If they can create fear and anxiety, they keep everyone tuned in. It’s great for them, and that’s their job — they are selling advertisements based on people watching the news outlets. It’s similar to the way in which I stack my vegetables high to increase sales. I suppose if I owned a TV network, I might do the same.

However, I expect more from our elected officials. Collectively, you are supposed to be looking out for our country and its citizens. We live in a time during which the media creates perceptions that become our reality. Politicians base their own behaviors, actions, and messages on these perceptions (whether true or false) and subsequent realities. Though telling the truth can mean political suicide, politicians — yourself included — have a duty to serve the American people.

There may be something much larger at play — something that represents much more of a threat to us than any virus or plague. In 2015, the greatest fear I had for our nation’s future (my grandchildren) was the takeover of our great country by the Globalists (a.k.a. New World Order). President Obama was a puppet for the Globalists, and he helped equalize the power in the world by helping to build up other world economies (such as China). All the while, he created stress on the American economy by forcing our industries to other countries and overloading the American government with financial demands our people could not meet. We were well on our way to a world government: a handful of equal powers that would eventually merge for economic dependency.

Then, Donald Trump entered the political arena. He believed in American exceptionalism and promoted a strong U.S. economy — all that is truly loathed by the Globalists.
In only three years, President Donald Trump delivered the greatest economy and lowest unemployment record in our country’s 243-year history. For the first time in recent history, our great President forced China to stop raping our country, which damaged the Globalist plan to advance. In January 2020, the Trump administration strong-armed a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies. Trump is our nation’s first president to call China to account for its currency manipulation and hold them to a fair trade agreement.

Almost eight months from a presidential election, the Globalists are desperate and anguished — every disgraceful attempt to take down President Trump in the past three years has proved unsuccessful. They know Trump will win in a landslide against the remaining two Democratic contenders.
With the incredible power the Globalists yield over the World Health Organization and mainstream media, they easily created this incredible — yet completely baseless — fear around the world regarding COVID-19. (Why, for example, has the fake news media not reported to the American people that the scary statistics from Italy are the result of Italy’s recent Silk Road Project agreement with China? This agreement resulted in more than 300,000 Chinese workers entering Italy and thereby spreading the virus.) President Trump’s first reaction was to wait to see what the real threat was before overreacting and crashing the economy. However, he was quickly backed into a corner alongside all other American politicians.

What a great plan by the Globalists to level the worldwide playing field! I feel certain this plan has been in their playbook for many years — they were just waiting for the perfect time to enact it. They understand that the greatest carnage of this event will be the vast loss of small businesses in the United States. Up until a week ago, small businesses comprised the backbone of our country — AND, they were the one facet of our nation over which the Globalists had the least control. With the new volatility of small businesses, many will choose the security of working for large corporations or the government — exactly where the Globalists need them to be.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this perspective. Though you’re much more informed than I, the extra perspective may prove valuable. You are among a handful of elected officials who truly love this country above their own personal gain. I pray you — and the other leaders who love our country — will make the immediate and necessary decisions to pivot Americans from the terrible fear created by the media and its accomplices. I will say it again: we must allow young and healthy business owners to operate as usual, and their employees to get back to work immediately, even as we continue to quarantine the at-risk and elderly. Lift business restrictions, and re-open schools; encourage the media outlets to cease this senseless fear-mongering. You have a collective responsibility — alongside your fellow politicians — to propel our nation into rebirth by garnering hope, strength and common sense for the good of our people.

All my best, Alfie