The NBA plays while college games cancel. Is this our Omicron future?
Thanks to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the holiday season is playing out a bit differently in the sports world this year. Sometimes games happen; sometimes they don't.
The NBA plugged away at its slate of Christmas games even though a number of teams were missing marquee players due to COVID exposure: Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, and Trae Young were among the All-Stars absent from play. Meanwhile, several lesser college football bowl games — the Military, Fenway, and Hawaii bowls — shut down entirely because the virus had left teams with too few players to play.
Is this our pandemic future?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There's reason to think so. Like the NBA, giant corporations are gutting it out with something less than their usual level of service — U.S. airlines are still operating, for example, though there's a not-insignificant chance your flight might be canceled or postponed because its pilot is at home in quarantine, and your rental car situation might be similarly precarious. And like the bowl games, smaller mom-and-pops are often having to shut down operations, surrendering to self-imposed "soft lockdowns" made necessary by a growing roster of sick workers. (Similarly, a blockbuster like a new Spider-Man movie is doing great despite COVID, while smaller films are having trouble at the box office.) The inequality is obvious.
One way to avoid another season of disaster for small businesses: Revive earlier pandemic-era programs like the Paycheck Protection Act — which stopped giving out money last spring — to help them stay afloat amidst all the turbulence. Politico reports there is already a push in Congress to do just that, especially with the Build Back Better bill hanging in limbo.
There are obstacles to this idea. Just last week, the U.S. Secret Service reported criminals had stolen $100 billion in pandemic relief funds. Arguably that's a small amount compared to the $3.5 trillion in emergency aid disbursed since COVID lockdowns began in March 2020 — and an acceptable drawback for getting needed money to recipients in a hurry — but such headlines tend to make politicians skittish.
The bigger question is whether Omicron is a temporary problem or if this is what our pandemic future looks like. If it is, temporary aid to small business might not be that helpful — it might simply delay painful but inevitable adjustments to a new normal. At some point, an emergency stops being an emergency and instead becomes ... life.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Less than total recall
Editor's Letter Why our brains want to forget the darkest days of the pandemic
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'A wonky bureaucratic tweak has dramatically changed how Americans drive'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
It's not really about Biden's brain — unless it is
Talking Points Depending on who you ask, the renewed focus on the president's mental acuity is an election-year distraction, a legitimate point of concern, and sometimes both
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The politics of music: should political rallies use well-known songs?
Talking Point The Smiths star Johnny Marr is latest musician to object to use of his music at a Donald Trump rally
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published