"Deeply dangerous": Backlash to stern views of economist Gigi Foster
An economist has been labelled “heartless” for her controversial opinion on Australia’s coronavirus lockdown efforts, saying the economy is also “about lives”.
Appearing on Q&A, Professor Gigi Foster was immediately slammed by viewers on social media for her comments about the economic impacts of being in lockdown.
“I reject the idea it’s lives versus the economy,” she said.
“It’s lives versus lives. The economy is about lives. It’s about protection of lives and human welfare and livelihood. You can make an apples to apples comparison although people find it difficult to do so.”
Do we need to start taking a more pragmatic attitude towards death? #QandA pic.twitter.com/5bOvAOq7jL
— QandA (@QandA) April 20, 2020
The UNSW academic raised her eyebrows when epidemiologist Jodie McVernon spoke about whether the question of lives versus lives had been considered in modelling provided to the government.
Professor McVernon said Australia had been spared the worst of the coronavirus impacts other countries had seen because of its efforts. But Professor Foster did not agree.
“What frustrates me is when people talk about the economic costs of the lockdown they often don’t think in details in terms of counting lives, as we do with the epidemiological models,” she said.
“Has anyone thought about how would you get a measure of the traded lives when we lock an economy down? What are we sacrificing in terms of lives?
“Economists have tried to do that and we try to do that in currencies like the value of a statistical life … and those quantities enable you to think about lives on one side versus lives on the other.
“If you do that kind of calculus you realise very quickly that even with a very, very extreme epidemic, in Australia, we are still potentially better off not having an economic lockdown in the first place because of the incredible effects that you see not just in a short-run way but in many years to come.”
To which ACTU secretary Sally McManus immediately fired back, asking “How can you say that?”
Ms McManus went on to explain that Australia was avoiding what is currently occurring in the UK and US and the idea of having intensive care units overrun and healthcare workers dying was horrible.
“It's horrible either way,” Professor Foster responded.
“The coronavirus has made the world awful. There's absolutely no doubt about that. In order to have a proper discussion about trade-offs, you need to think in terms of lives you’re giving up.
“I know it's invisible lives and difficult to imagine when we aggregate, for example, all of the health effects and the mental health effects and the effects of people right now who have illnesses other than COVID-19.”
Those watching at home took to social media to air their frustrations.
There is nothing “safe” about herd immunity in the absence of a vaccine #qanda
— Prof Kerryn Phelps AM (@drkerrynphelps) April 20, 2020
Gigi Foster, economist, on @qanda. What a disgraceful and cold thought process this woman has. She’d go well in the US spruiking Trumpism. Has no respect for humanity, is all about the economy and the $$
— ShiannonCorcoran (@ShiannonC) April 20, 2020
Gigi is a deeply dangerous fool who should never be commenting on public health issues - or the economy #qanda
— Stephen.359 (@stephen_359) April 20, 2020
More than 6600 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Australia with 71 lives lost to the disease. Globally, more than 2.4 million people have been infected with at least 165,000 killed.