A SALUTE TO COVID FIGHTERS: SHOULDN’T WE DO MORE?

 

“I look at it; I view it as, in a sense, a wartime president. I mean, that's what we're fighting”.

Donald J. Trump, March 18^th, 2020

 

“This is a wartime undertaking”.

President Joe Biden, January 21^st, 2021

There have been few areas of agreement between Biden and Trump. But they both agree, fighting the Coronavirus is like war.

In every war there are combatants. Some are more essential and more vulnerable than others. This war is no different. Like other wars the risks have not been borne equally.  Those who earn their living primarily by moving

words and numbers around on paper can work from home. Office computers were moved home and Zoom became the thing for holding meetings, conferences, and even prosecuting legal proceedings.

 

We think that no combatants have been more essential or more vulnerable than

our essential health care workers. They have gone into battle daily since the outbreak of the Coronavirus to take care of our infected loved ones and

comfort them while they suffered and often died, because we could not be at their bedsides. They often worked for minimum wages.

According to a joint undertaking by Kaiser Health News (KHN) a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues, and “The Guardian”, in a report published December 23, 2020, more than 2,900 U.S. health care workers died during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 2020 and December of 2020.  People of color have

been disproportionately affected, accounting for about 65% of deaths. The deaths continue.  

Some of these workers worked in plants, in crowded conditions that didn’t permit social distancing. The food industry offered one prime example. Workers in meat processing plants, especially, suffered high rates of infection and death from the disease.

Bearing a Heavier Burden

Many home health providers care for multiple patients, who also bear the consequences of

their work conditions. “If you think about perfect vectors for transmission, unprotected individuals going from house to house have to rank at the top of the list,” said Nina Kohn, a professor specializing in civil rights law at Syracuse University, quoted in the KHN report.

Nonetheless, caregivers like Samira, in Richmond, Virginia, identified in the KHN report, have little choice but to work. Samira — who makes $8.25 an hour with one client and $9.44 an hour with another, and owes tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills from previous work injuries — has no other option but to risk getting sick.

“I can’t afford not to work. And my clients, they don’t have anybody but me,” she said. “So I just pray every day I don’t get it.”

From Despair to Hope

When we came to understand the deadly nature of the Coronavirus, the nation

faced a calamity like few it had experienced in its 250-year history.  The country shut down and the health care workers on the front line faced the grim task of continuing to treat thousands of people for a disease, medical experts knew little about. We had no drugs proven effective against the virus. Since it was airborne, people

caught it easily from other people. In many cases, the consequences were deadly. Those health care workers found themselves hooking people up to ventilators, knowing their patients would often die anyway. They did so because it was their job.

Worse than the lack of effective treatments was the fact there was no vaccine that could keep people from getting the disease. The only tools for prevention were masks, hand washing,  and “social distancing.”

Vaccine and Hope

Federal agencies began approving vaccines

for use in the United States in late November/early December of 2020. Unfortunately, the federal government didn’t have a distribution plan and left most of the work to the states. Predictably, inoculations lagged in the early months of vaccine availability.  That changed with the beginning of the Biden administration.  The new president made vaccination a high national priority. He set a goal of 100 million shots administered by the end of his first 100 days in office. His team met that goal by day 58. The goal now is sufficient vaccine supply by May for every American who wants it. We can all now see hope.

The national experience with Covid-19 has

shown some encouraging traits in the American character. Yes, we have endured senseless selfishness born of partisan bickering, but when faced with adversity, Americans have risen to the challenge.

Who can forget those inspiring scenes in March, April, and May of 2020 of people

standing on their balconies saluting front line health care workers during shift changes? Such expressions of support now occupy a special place in American lore, joining the spontaneous expressions of patriotism that sprang up after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Now, with hope and optimism that maybe, just maybe normal appears in sight, we take a few moments and review where we’ve been and where we’re going, from the perspective of the people who’ve borne the brunt of fighting the  war on the pandemic

Coronavirus.  The vaccines now available provide real hope, especially for the people who’ve led the fight against the devastation this virus has wrought.

Many front-line workers are now dead, leaving behind husbands, wives, children,

grandchildren, siblings and loved ones from whom they were taken tragically and some often too soon, or have survived but suffer long term medical consequences.

Is simply expressing our heartfelt gratitude enough? Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) referenced the KHN data citing the need for a pending bill that would provide compensation to the families of health care workers who died or sustained harm from COVID-19.

We believe these combatants deserve the same treatment veterans who bore the brunt of the burdens of wars received - special benefits for their sacrifice.

          

THE STRANGE CASE OF DONALD TRUMP AND THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT: A WAR TIME PRESIDENT WHO WON’T PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO WIN THE WAR

President Trump’s dance with the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) makes us

wonder why he hasn’t embraced the DPA in getting ventilators and other protective equipment in the hands of those battling the coronavirus. In a March 18 Executive Order, Trump declared ventilators and protective equipment

“essential to the national defense” against the spread of the virus, the standard required by the DPA for production and distribution of critically needed equipment. The range of explanations spans a continuum from benign to cynical.  The

shortage of medical equipment compels a closer look at what’s happened.

The DPA gives a president broad powers that potentially could alleviate shortages. Trump doesn’t lack awareness of the law. He’s spoken, however, of “hopefully” not needing it against the virus and using it only in a “worst-case scenario.” The fact the nation now has more coronavirus cases than any other country sounds like a “worst-case scenario.”  

                                     

                     

Some History

The DPA’s roots rest in the Second World War. Congress gave President Franklin

Roosevelt broad authority for ordering that industry convert facilities and produce war material. When the Korean War started, President Harry Truman needed

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

similar power. Congress enacted the DPA, a law that has been reauthorized over 50 times and has been regularly invoked since. Trump claimed the coronavirus pandemic makes him a “wartime president,” though, mysteriously, he’s not using all available resources for winning the war. 

The DPA gives presidents three kinds of power: (1) authority requiring that businesses accept and prioritize government contracts deemed necessary for national defense; (2) power for establishing regulations that allocate materials, services, and facilities for national defense; and (3) authority for managing the civilian economy assuring access to scarce materials for defense needs. Trump seemingly thinks the federal

government has only a limited role in the war since he declared the federal government isn’t a “shipping clerk.” Trump has acted as if each state is an independent nation, left to fend for itself. 

 

Trump, the Virus, and the DPA

General Motors, Medtronic, ResMed, Royal Philips, and Vyaire Medical could produce

essential supplies. None have shown enthusiasm at the prospect. Each, if ordered to produce essential supplies, could do so and, of course, would want a large share of the $2.2 trillion CARES bailout Congress passed and the president signed March 27.

The most visible company in the discussion, General Motors, could shift factories from building automobile engines to building ventilators. Trump’s order didn’t immediately require that GM convert to ventilator production.  GM, in fact, said it was going ahead with plans for manufacturing ventilators, but reportedly wanted $1 billion for doing so, millions of it upfront. A dispute over costs erupted between GM and the administration and discussions broke off. A bit later Trump said he’d use the DPA in requiring that General Motors accept and prioritize contracts for ventilators, the number being determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Trump came under fire from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for his reluctance to use the

DPA. He finally, on April 2, said he was invoking the law and requiring that three companies – 3M, General Electric, and Medtronic – produce masks. Even GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas urged that Trump “exercise these delegated powers to the full extent necessary.”  Trump, however, hasn’t ordered that General Motors,

or any of the other companies, begin production of other needed materials and has even gone so far as saying invoking the DPA would effectively “nationalize” firms. We find Trump’s reluctance about invoking the DPA baffling and he hasn’t explained his reasons.  Still, we have some ideas.

A Range of Possibilities

We start with the most benign potential reason. Imagining any president hesitating about injecting the government into the business of private companies isn’t difficult. Democrats and Republicans say they believe

in limited government. Staying out of a firm’s decisions about what it will produce, when, and at what price comports with that philosophy. Republican orthodoxy mandates that the government avoid intrusion into the operational life of private business as much as possible (tax cuts notwithstanding). We see this explanation near one end of a benign-to-cynical continuum.

Nearer the middle of that continuum, we

might suggest a political rationale. Perhaps, Trump fears antagonizing his political base if he strongly and enthusiastically uses the DPA. Many are true believers in Republican orthodoxy, despite their willingness to feed from the $2.2 trillion CARES trough. These supporters would likely regard any deviation from the party’s antigovernment norm as heresy, punishable in right wing media (and maybe at the ballot box). When Trump strayed a little from the line and sought a compromise with Democrats on his border wall, howls from Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham forced his hand and he backed off the compromise idea.

                  

On the far end of the continuum, Trump might just be appeasing friends in the industry. If he goes all-in with using the DPA in forcing production of large amounts of different materials, imagining that he will ruffle the feathers of friends in the manufacturing world follows. Could the president simply want protection for his captains-of-industry colleagues from costs associated with converting their operations to producing medical equipment? Is Trump putting the interests of his friends above what is best for the country right now?

It’s possible Trump’s reluctance springs from a combination of the factors we’ve identified and others. His real reasons could cover our

entire continuum. The mounting death toll and the need for addressing the health needs of millions of Americans, however, suggests using every tool in the box, including the DPA. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING: THE WAY WE ARE AND WILL BE FOR AWHILE

Millions of Americans find themselves under some kind of social distancing order. Many

cities and counties, and some states, have imposed shelter-in-place requirements as a way of fighting the coronavirus. Some political leaders and media pundits have cast the need for social

distancing in patriotic terms, invoking John F. Kennedy’s “…ask what you can do for your country” language as a way of inspiring compliance with social distancing orders or requests.

                  

                                                         JFK delivering inaugural speech, 1963

There is a lot going on in the world now and a lot we could talk about. Today, we explore social distancing and its current and future influence on life in America. How are people coping? What does this practice mean for the nation going forward?

We’re All Day-to-Day

Sports teams describe players with injuries that leave the player’s status uncertain as “day-to-day.” It means the player might or might not make the next practice or game. Whether he or she participates depends on

healing, rehab, pain toleration, the player's mental attitude, etc. Given the uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, many people are feeling day-to-day about life.

Much uncertainty exists about what contracting the disease means. A minor

irritation akin to the common cold? Severe illness and hospitalization resembling pneumonia? A death sentence? The answers depend on age, overall health, availability of medical care, and some unknowns. There’s a lot we don’t know about this disease, as the absence of a vaccine demonstrates.

               

That brings us to another problem. The United States lacks sufficient medical resources for fighting a massive outbreak in

which huge numbers of people require hospitalization. Health officials cry out for ventilators for patients and for masks and other protective gear for medical workers. Many people justifiably fear contaminated medical providers and equipment. 

          

                                          Ventilator & Protective Gear needed for Covid-19 care

Another thing creating uncertainty lies in the fact no one knows when this situation will improve. Projections of the duration run weeks, to months, to a year and a half, the earliest we’ve heard we might expect a vaccine.  In the meantime, we suffer loss of human contact, sports, and other things that make us whole. Neither men nor women live by adequately stocked grocery stores alone.

How long must we stay home, avoid friends and neighbors, forsake bars, restaurants, and other gathering places?  How long before we can give a friend or business colleague a firm handshake or big hug expressing our joy

at greeting them? How long before we see live sports played on television again? All three of us sorely miss March madness. Henry and Rob lament the absence of the Masters Golf Tournament this spring. Woodson faces withdrawal symptoms with no NBA playoffs in reasonable sight. 

              

The New Normal

After the September 11 attacks people asked when we’d get back to normal. The truth is

that it didn’t take long, but it never happened. Yes, by October we returned to work, flew again on airplanes, and shopped in stores, things people questioned if we’d do anytime soon after those bleak days in September 2001. Life got going again, but with big differences.

We put up with things – intrusive airport security, metal detectors, and bag searches

at sporting events, massive camera surveillance on public streets – we never thought we’d stand for. We accepted, in the form of the Patriot Act, censorship and other limits on civil liberties many of us abhor. We haven’t felt much of that law’s sting lately because we haven’t had another attack approaching the magnitude of September 11. Those provisions remain in place, however, and the government will trot them out in the event of another calamity. America usually lives with a “New Normal” after tragedies and the coronavirus will probably produce its own. Like what?  Start with economic dislocation.

Even if this ends before summer, the The United States will face significant economic problems going forward. Despite the stimulus package, some small businesses –and many

jobs – will disappear. Unemployment may remain high for months. Even industries getting federal help could have a rough time recovering.  Sooner or later, we must pay for the stimulus

funding. If we don’t, we’ll have limited growth for a long time or face significant inflation or both.

What about replenishing and restocking the

medical supplies being used up in this pandemic? Is this a warning about our health care system in general? We won’t debate Medicare-for-All v. some other approach here. But, doesn’t this crisis make clear we must tackle the entire health care issue with the objective of getting every American insured?

At a social level, how soon will Americans

feel comfortable attending sporting events, patronizing theaters, eating at restaurants, and showing up at other places where large crowds gather? Since many houses of worship coped with the virus crisis by putting services online, could that become the new way we do church in America? Could corporate worship services become obsolete and won’t this new approach affect church

giving? How about shopping? Will more and more of it happen online? Will brick and mortar stores become a thing of the past? What’s

the long-term impact on voting? Did the pandemic make a definitive case for voting by mail?  Will personalized political gatherings go extinct, since campaigning for office likely will change?

We are in uncharted territory. Americans are resilient, as demonstrated in past calamities. Everything in our history says we’ll bounce back. It will, however, take some time and some things may forever look different.