An Epidemic of Lonesomeness and Mass Migration
Recent Newspaper Articles Provide Hints to Ongoing Consequences of Poor Ideas and Policy
On Wednesday, I visited the Asbury Park Library for the first time in months and perused that day’s edition of the Asbury Park Press. Two articles captured my attention. While they may seem unrelated to a casual reader, both addressed problems very much interconnected, with unifying deeper causes. While neither is consistently convincing, both, at the very least, contain elements of truth.
One, by Adriana Rodriguez, is titled “Americans are lonely, and it’s killing us”. It can be read at Press Reader. The other, by Olivia Liu: “New Jersey population increases, first since pandemic began”. (This article was published on app.com on Christmas Eve. It is behind the Press’s paywall.) It reports that the northeast in general is losing population while people continue to flock to other parts of the country. Both Pennsylvania and New York saw population decreases in 2023 while New Jersey’s population increased. Liu reports, “The state’s trend mirrors national data as deaths decrease and migration increases.” Liu apparently means COVID deaths, as all-cause death rates are reportedly alarming and she writes later in the article, “The state’s population reversal can partly be attributed to a decrease in the number of pandemic-related deaths.” Liu reports official statistics at face value. Many readers of this publication know that “pandemic-related deaths” include those caused by the reaction to it, even (in some cases) when the proximate cause was covid.
Unprecedented loneliness and mass migration are likely ongoing effects of the reaction to COVID-19. (They might even be effects that have a symbiotic relationship.)
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