After reading this thread, it may seem that most performers live in undeveloped third world countries, and not in developed countries with strong economies, modern medicine, and high unemployment benefits.

Lol, yes it does

Perhaps you have not realized what’s going on out there. Take a look around you, turn on the news, ask full time performers all over the world and than come back and write again.

Wow tomd what a mess, thx for sharing.
We’re living in the Twilight Zone these days. I hope you guys are doing better.

I see what you are saying. I am not alluding to virtual and webinars. I am not geared at all towards those. I mean coming up with something different. Not a different effect etc but something that takes all of this into account after all is said and done. People are in fear right now. Fear sells. After this is over everyone will be looking at having a good time once again. I do presentations and mentalism. Mentalism is all about getting into their heads is it not? If one is just one trick after another and bows and leaves maybe tailoring the act into a story or more with a message about all this but in a upbeat way. Lessons learned, how we survived etc.

Yeah I think the best I can hope for is a bit of Karma, a lot of these airlines are going to go busted because of the virus... though the airlines I booked with will probably survive just fine haha! I just hope no government bails these airlines out again.

Surfing is very fun my friend! It’s getting harder and harder to do now though, with the social distancing thing going on. The government are closing the beaches

There will be an end to all this. The media loves fear, its all about ratings.

Something not readily seen is two 90 plus year olds have been treated for Covid 19 and released.

I just hope recovery is in months and not years.

There's a lot to unpack here.

First, this affects us all to varying degrees. I've had all my shows cancelled, but this isn't how I support myself. So I'll be doing "a little better" than otherwise. Others are struggling, scared, losing hope, feeling mental anguish and fear... It's tough, and there are no easy answers. Many of you aren't sure what to do, and it seems like you have no reason to hope anytime soon and yet you have families (some of you) that depend on you.

I've been there.

My wife lost her job last year. She was the bread-winner. It has hit us very, very hard. But my other work has stepped up and I'm taking care of us for now and the foreseeable future. But each morning is tough to face for many of us. "What now? How can this be? How will we ever...?"

I get it. Scary world.

But we're all in this together. I'm making new friends, finding new hobbies, reading more...

Second. I've got hope. LOTS of hope. Here's my take...

Like possibly many of you, I've actually followed this very very closely, staying glued to updates about treatments, plans, forecasts, etc. I've also remembered to be aware of whom I'm listening to, taking it all with appropriate skepticism, depending.

There's a lot to be hopeful for. Spin it how you will, there just is. It's going to get much worse before it gets better. No doubt. But the sky isn't falling. The world will move on and there will be a point at which we all look back and are thankful. I absolutely am convinced this won't be the world doomsday (yet) that some in the media would hint we need to believe.

There's the might of human spirit, hope and ingenuity working hard here and abroad to solve this. Selfless people want to anything to solve this. Whatever happens, it won't be as bad as it could be just for that fact alone.

In the meantime, I've got more time with my family. I've more time to meet new friends (many of you here). I've got more concern and empathy for others. I'm more aware of my blessings. I've got a home and heat and food for now.

And in my state and community, the simple outpouring of help has blown my mind--it surprised me in a huge way (not that I'm a pessimist). The humanity has revealed a brighter side here than I would have believed, with offers of help in every way possible through any way possible.

I think we're all finding out who we are.

Our attitudes will shape what we see and how we respond to it.

Our expectations will drive our hope or lack thereof.

But if and when it gets worse for me personally, this isn't my home. Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior (I know, I know, I can almost hear the eyerolls). But He's given me the only real hope I need and I actually sleep easy despite the turmoil in my life (there has been more in the last year than my entire life. Loss of work, loss of income, disease in my wife that brought us to Mayo... Crushing blows seemingly from everywhere that happened one after the other). That's just honest.

I pray you all remain safe. I pray for hope for you all that are feeling anything from a pinch, to a devastation of livelihood. It's a crazy world.

God bless Nathan. Nice post and no eye rolls here.

Dittos Nathan, hang in there.

How are we going to financially last through this? I am using credit cards for everything and hoarding my cash. I think we will be ok for about 8 months then nothing. I know I am better off than most. There will be a ton of bankruptcies after this, money will be tight. It will be a while before we have a good economy. 300 million new people on unemployment and this is just the beginning. It could be a couple of years before we see a lot of gigs. Hope I'm wrong.

Use credit for everything and hoard your cash. You will need it. I predict credit will soon be very tight because credit card companies will fear all the bankruptcies.

Ironically, a British columnist writing for a conservative newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, believes that the only solution to this crisis is 'war communism'.
This is a Leninist concept that the American public would find hard to digest.
After all, they are usually taught to reject mild socialism, let alone hard-core communism.

In the UK there is a greater allegiance to a socialised healthcare. It is seen as a positive construct.
We are quite shocked at the limits to universal healthcare in the USA and the needless poverty it can create.
These significant gaps in healthcare could mean that America is ill-equipped to meet the viral crisis.
U.S. cases have already eclipsed China - which is an embarrassing statistic given the extra time they had to prepare.

War communism (1919-1921) can be seen as desperate measures for desperate times.
When the Bolsheviks inherited a bankrupt failed state which had been defeated in WW1 and was now collapsing into a brutal and divisive civil war, they introduced strong centralised control over what was left of the economy.
They took over all forms of transport. They took over all distribution of food. They nationalised all industries. It was a matter of Darwinian survival.

In 2020 , attacked by this insidious virus, nations may have to resort to a modern form of war communism in order to survive. Collectivism and interventionism and nationalisation will return centre stage.
Unbelievable? It is already happening.

Good points; socialist concepts tend to get implemented in times of need, and a lot stick around for the long run. I don’t think the U.K. is actually that much more “pro” socialist in comparison to the US (the recent election suggests so at least), but we formed the NHS at a time when we as a country most needed it. We (and the rest of Europe) suffered so much during the Second World War, forming the NHS afterwards (in 1948) seemed like the only logical thing to do. Prior to that we had the national health insurance act (which aimed to achieve a similar goal, though not universal) and it isn’t a surprise that it was formed in 1919, just after the First World War.

The US on the other hand suffered many casualties, but their mainland wasn’t touched in either war (Hawaii isn’t considered mainland, is it?). It wouldn’t surprise me if this was one of the main reasons why universal health care never told hold.

I don’t know whether the US as a whole will suffer anymore than the rest of the world, but I’m sure many individuals who don’t have proper insurance will be riddled with debt if they get seriously sick with the virus. If triage takes precedence, I wonder if one of the choices doctors will need to make is if a patient will be able to pay back the medical costs (or if they have adequate coverage)?

Italy’s choice during triage was a much simpler one (though still hard), the young have a better chance of survival, so they take priority for ICU beds.

Maybe this virus will be the catalyst for health care reform in the US? Time will tell.

Need it for what? Toilet paper?

With the 2 trillion dollar stimulus package (which is overall a good thing), the overall value of the U.S. dollar will drop (a.k.a. inflation). If more packages are rolled out, we might see runaway inflation occurring to the point where the dollar becomes virtually worthless. On my wall, I have a framed Zimbabwe one hundred trillion dollar note that I paid $20 for.

Some folks are trying to hoard actual gold, thinking it will be the next actual currency. As a finite resource, I can see some merit in that, but in actuality, the items we are most in need of (such as antibiotics) will be the true "coin of the realm."

People are recovering from this every day.

Please elaborate how people are recovering every day when unemployment is reaching record highs? We have 20-30 million out of work.

I think it was an attempt by Mindpro at making a joke, referring to recovering from the virus. Please don't bother making jokes, Mindpro. Leave that to the real pro's here.

Oh, my bad. I guess its my boredom and lack of sleep from being bored. He he he

Mind pro you need to panic and freak out more.

I don't know what you guys are talking about. I'm not the one spreading panic and misinformation here. Also, I've also been working comedy clubs for over 35 years. If I was telling a joke it would be funny and you would know it.

The fact is, many people who have contracted the virus are recovering fine each and every day without any treatment by letting the virus run its course. Just like the flu or any other virus. Not sure what is so hard to understand about this.

Most people, the majority of the people who contract this are not going to hospitals and are just recovering naturally. Not sure what is so hard to understand about this or why it is seen by a joke by the know-it-alls here?