A leading economist is warning that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg might have to bring back JobKeeper as Sydney’s lockdown is escalated, with tougher restrictions but maybe it’s time the softies in the community started calling out the ‘f…wits’, who have caused this economic kick-in-the-guts.

Yep, it started with a dumb limo driver, aided and abetted by incompetent public servants and second-rate politicians, and then made worse by people who haven’t taken this infection threat seriously.

I don’t care if you think this whole lockdown is necessary or not, whether you’re a business owner or politician, you have to play the game in front of you and it is what it is — infection escalation leads to lockdowns.

And the voters of Australia have shown by their landslide support for WA Premier Mark McGowan and Queensland’s Annastacia Palaszczuk that when it comes to the death threat of the Coronavirus versus the complaints of businesses, life and limb issues win state elections!

So we’re stuck with lockdowns until Pfizer comes to the rescue, with a big chunk of the population not interested in gambling on AstraZeneca. Smart doctors like Ross Walker and even the ABC’s science expert, Norman Swan, have shown the risk factor with the vaccine is lower than many common medical treatments we’re exposed to, but the populace is prepared to wait for Pfizer or its equivalent.

So if that’s the case, and given the economic threat of lockdowns, it might be time for all of us to start calling out the dopes who don’t play ball with masks, social distancing, contact tracing scanning and so on.

Why do we need to do this?

Well, it’s simple economics, jobs, incomes and the general belief that employers/business owners really don’t need to be threatened with losses, bankruptcy and business closures.

To understand how significant these extra Sydney restrictions are — there 250,000 construction workers in Sydney, or 10% of our workforce.

The Australian today reports that “AMP chief economist Shane Oliver has estimated that the economic toll running from a spate of lockdowns since May could run as high as $10 billion, and he said widening lockdowns could erase the impressive gains made over the past year.”

We’ve been stars in the economic rebound stakes, with few countries coming close to our record of low deaths, and having economic growth actually higher than we had before the virus came to town! “We are one of the few countries that have GDP ahead of where we were before the pandemic, and there is a risk we give up those gains,” Dr Oliver said. But Deloitte’s chief economist Chris Richardson says: “If we are a handful of weeks away from NSW being back out of restrictions, and if Victoria succeeds with its short and sharp lockdown, then what we have in terms of Commonwealth support is fine…but if we do end up in rolling lockdowns, then JobKeeper – modified as necessary – should come back into the frame”.

So the next couple of weeks will be vital. Maybe it’s time we all started calling out the dopes who won’t socially distance.

I saw a group of young girls chatting no more than a foot apart on the weekend. I was in two minds to say something but I chickened out! Maybe it’s time Gladys and Scott put their popularity on the line (which in the case of the PM is already nosediving) and started telling us to step up and call out the dopes who threaten our businesses, our jobs and our great way of life.

A society is interdependent. If a minority of people who are ignorant or selfish or a combination of both are ruining it for the majority, well, the majority should strike back.

In May 2020, CBS reported the following: “Video showing a group of furious shoppers berating a woman who wasn't wearing a face covering at a Staten Island ShopRite went viral over Memorial Day weekend.” New Yorkers were required to wear masks when out in public and unable to follow social distancing guidelines.

The footage showed customers yelling at the woman and demanding she leave the ShopRite store because she wasn’t wearing a mask. But for that to become possible here it will require ScoMo and Gladys to tell us on regularly and in a very public way that it’s not only right but it’s our duty to call out the dopes who threaten our way of life, our jobs and our businesses.

I never thought I’d support a police state but I never thought I’d see a pandemic underline how many f…wits we live with! There are more than even I expected!

That said, the best news out there are reports saying that later this month a million doses of Pfizer a month are on their way.