Pandemic Response - What is Necessary

It has been written about elsewhere, but the response to the Covid-19 pandemic by the current administration and other elected officials has been severely lacking. I am by no means an expert, but unlike our President, I'm not an idiot either. Here are my thoughts on what is happening and what needs to happen.

The Story So Far

Despite the President attempting to gaslight the public, he did downplay the virus, and tried to bluff his way through it to keep the stock market up and in his estimation, his election chances. By doing so, he and his administration wasted months of potential preparation time that could have saves lives. Going back even further, he knowingly fired the staff of the Pandemic Response Team set up by President Obama. This President has been on a mission to dismantle anything built up by the previous administration, and as a result put lives in danger.

With the country slowing ramping up on what needs to be done to "flatten the curb" of is pandemic, many Americans find themselves withouth income. For some, the business they work for is closed, and they don't have the paid time off(PTO) to cover the weeks or potentially months of not working. For others, they cannot use their PTO to cover time if the company they work for temporarily closes their doors. Some businesses are simply lacking customers due to the shutdowns rolling across the nation. Regardless of the reasons, the vast majority of citizens find themselves unable to continue to make money, while the bills are piling up.

The President continues to use divisive language in referring to Covid-19 as the "Chinese virus". Viruses do not have nationality. As a practice, the U.S. stopped referring to viruses based on their point of origin decades ago. This President has continually used racist language when addressing the public. From the moment he stepped of the escalator and referred to Mexicans as "rapists", to his current signaling that will no doubt target Asian-Americans of all descents, he has tried to use language to blame the other in our society. This is something that dictators do, not U.S. Presidents.

Additionally, the corporate takeover of our government by allowing unlimited "donations" (i.e. bribes), Super-PACs, and the like have made it so both Republicans and Democrats do not respond to the needs of the average citizen, rather the wants and desires of big business. As such, the social safety net, wages, paid time off, and a host of other consumer and worker protections have diminished or been eliminated entirely. When you add a pandemic to that mix, you have a vast majority of Americans unable to make it through weeks or months of an economic shutdown.

The supply chain of needed items like respirators, tests, and other medical supplies to deal with a viral outbreak like Covid-19 has been shipped overseas by those corporations in an effort to maximize profits by taking advantage of criminally low wages allowed in other countries. Before anyone gets on me about companies being allowed to make a profit, I agree. Corporations, by their very nature, exist only to make as much profit as possible. This is why govenment is needed to be a check on corporations, so that they don't harm citizens. That is why our current situation is so bad. Our govenment didn't stop the corporations, and now we're woefully unequipped to deal with this pandemic.

Finally, it is coming to light that some of those bribed politicians knew that the pandemic was going to hit America harder than the President was saying. Those politicians privately told their donors (i.e. bribers) in advance so that they could minimize they're losses in the soon to plummet stock market. This is not only unconscionable, but also illegal. Any elected official that did so should be forced to resign, and be subject to prosecution under the law. That should happen now, as should the following.

What Should Happen Now

The citizens of the United States need income, and they need it immedidately. Without delay, a minimum of $2,000 universal basic income (UBI) needs to go out to ALL citizens, regardless of their age, income, or job status. We are in an unprecedented emergency situation, and waiting to sort out the details before providing the UBI is not an option. Additionally, taking from future tax returns so that people are paying their own UBI should not be on the table.

Companies should not be "bailed out". They already received a massive tax cut from this administration, and for the airlines 96% of that money was used for stock buybacks. They didn't set aside a rainy day fund, they didn't reinvest in improvements, and they certainly didn't share any of it with their workers. If any company wants money from the government, it should include at the very least the strings laid out by Senator Elizabeth Warren in her proposal. Those stipulations are as follows:

• Payrolls must be maintained and companies must use funds to keep people working or on payroll

• $15 minimum wage within one year of the end of the national emergency

• Permanent ban on share buybacks

• No dividends or executive bonuses while receiving relief and for three years afterwards

• Must obtain shareholder and board approval for all political spending

• Collective bargaining agreements should remain in place

Mortgage and rent payments must be paused. No one should be forced to decide between paying the rent and eating because of this crisis. Of course that should always be the case, but at the very least it needs to be enacted for the duration.

Student loan payments need to be suspended. Not just the interest, the entire payments. Ideally, studen loans should be universally forgiven to spur the economy once the crisis is over.

Healthcare needs to be free. One of the reasons that Covid-19 has the potential to be really bad in this country is that people who can't afford co-pays, or their insurance doesn't cover enough, or they don't have insurance, are making the decision to not go to the doctor. This endangers everyone, if these people aren't able to get tested, treated, and recover without going further into debt. Additionally, tests and equipment to deal with this crisis need to be made available for any and all sources.

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I'm certain I've missed some important points. If so, I apologize. This is something that we will get through. It remains to be seen what we as citizens look like on the other side of this. Will lessons be learned? People held accountable? Can we change the system that has made us so vulnerable? We'll just have to wait and see. Stay safe, and good luck.