Talking about reopening the economy, Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick says “There are more important things than living”

Remember when Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made headlines for saying that many elderly Americans would be willing to risk their well-being for the sake of the economy? It appears he’s at it again, and this time he’s taken the sentiment even further, telling Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that “there are more important things than living.”

What is it that he considers more important than life itself? The answer is the economy, although he didn’t explain what significance he thinks the economy would have if everyone was dead.

He made the comment while referring to another idiotic statement he made recently. In March, he told Carlson that we shouldn’t “sacrifice the country” and that those aged 70-plus would take care of themselves; Patrick himself is 70.

He said: “No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that America loves for its children and grandchildren?’ And if that is the exchange, I’m all in.”

Apparently, he still feels that way, saying this week: “What I said when I was with you that night, there are more important things than living. And that’s saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us.”

The lunacy doesn’t end there, by the way. He also said that he felt the death rate in Texas was low.

“Every life is valuable, but 500 people out of 29 million and we’re locked down, and we’re crushing the average worker. We’re crushing small business. We’re crushing the markets. We’re crushing this country,” he said.

He also spoke about the warnings issued by public health officials about re-opening the economy too soon, saying: “They told us, Tucker, to follow the science. Well, what science?”

It’s hard to imagine what he could even mean by that question considering the fact that public health officials, epidemiology and virology experts, scientists and doctors have been saying pretty much nonstop since all this began that it’s a deadly pandemic and that social distancing and lockdowns save countless lives.

Believe it or not, he isn’t the only one who feels this way. At a recent ReOpen Tennessee rally, one anti-lockdown protester sported a sign with the ludicrous slogan, “Sacrifice the weak, reopen TN.” Even the protester had to know how absolutely horrific that sentiment was as she obscured herself behind a scarf, sunglasses, and the sign itself in news footage of the event.

Reopening the economy too soon will backfire

What does Patrick think is going to happen if we listen to him and reopen the economy? It might buy a little time, but ultimately the economy will suffer even more anyway as more workers become ill and hospitals struggle to keep up with the influx of patients. As long as there’s a global pandemic, it’s going to be hard to get ahead economically, no matter how you look at it.

Apparently, it doesn’t matter to people like Patrick and others who think we should place the economy above all else and reopen everything that healthcare workers are dying and will continue to die treating those “weak” people who do get the virus. According to the CDC, anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of the COVID-19 cases seen in the U.S. are healthcare workers.

Who do they think will help them stay healthy and save their lives when they, too, get coronavirus or any other ailment, for that matter?

Wanting to return to work and keep businesses afloat is one thing, but suggesting that people who are weak or elderly are dispensable and that we can pay the price of trying to get back to normal with their lives is unconscionable.

Sources for this article include:

Star-Telegram.com

The-Sun.com

PBS.org