March 12, 2020: The first day of the "Corona" lockdown

This is not the entry I wanted to write. Yet I wanted to record some thoughts as the country appears to be hitting peak effort to combat the once-named 'coronavirus' that has really shocked the stock market and made unprecedented changes in American public life. To me the questions at this point are as follows: How long will these conditions last? What will be the human and economic cost? And what might the world look like 'after' this intense, crazy period of changes to daily life.

The schools are closed or closing, most with plans for some sort of online education and uncertain plans as to the date to 'return to normal.' While all have set return dates, there is no reason to feel that these dates are anything but fluid. This could be the year without a spring for education. Maybe summer school for all to make up the work.

So may sporting events, college and professional, have been cancelled that it is almost easier to say what has NOT been cancelled. In fact, I can't think of any significant sport league still operating: No March Madness, no college conference basketball playoffs, no spring college sports. No professional soccer, hockey, or basketball. Major League baseball is hedging its bet. My immediate reaction to all this is to ask: Other than the economic impact on those who work in these sports, how important are these activities anyway? There may be some sports that don't recover from this break, e.g., the National Hockey League, which has long been operating on the edge of financial stability.

Much the same can be said about some colleges. Ben LaFrombois this morning asked me to talk about my work in the finances and future of higher education to the regional Financial Executives Institute, and that caused me to reflect on and review my speeches, papers, presentations, and thoughts on the subject. This spring 'shutdown' could devastate colleges operating on the edge of disaster as this natural, global disaster may lead to a triage of colleges the same way hospitals may have to triage beds for those very sick with the virus. The high tuition, high aid, low endowment schools are exposed. Schools such as Loyola or Lawrence don't have a strong balance sheet and a sustained hot in revenues and subsequent applications could be lethal.

For now, for me, I made a run to Festival last night. Stocked up on alcohol wipes, rice, frozen pizzas, and paper towels. A report on the China situation showed that grocery stores were generally maintained through the crisis, so I am not worried about a food shortage as much as a shortage of cash among those low-income people who have been sent home or who are sick and lose their regular income. In my case, I plan to self-quarantine for the most part for the next two weeks. Few if any reason to leave the house. Dena may start work from home on Monday. My greater concern is that we have a good healthcare plan in place. We are foregoing COBRA for Salelytics' plan, going back to an employer family plan. This time we are covering dental and vision and the annual cost for us will be about $16,848, which is higher than the simpler plan as a Loyola employee and more expensive than COBRA, but a lot less expensive than the $24,000 I expected for us in 2021.

Trump and the government may be able to help. After a disastrous 2100 point DJIA drop yesterday, today the market soared late in the day after a national state of emergency announcement, and ended up up 1900 points. Personally, market gyrations mean little to our financial situation. A hoard of cash helps.