THE WAY BACK

April 12, 2020

It is Easter and, of course, we are thinking about resurrection. We have just been hit by what may turn out to be the worst crisis of our lifetime and, because we have been told to stay home and away from each other, we have time to think about how we could have been better prepared to cope with the pandemic and the social and economic upheaval it has caused and how we get out of the crisis situation we are in.

If there is one blessing to be derived from this crisis, it is that it is bringing, unmercifully, into focus the shortcomings of our social and political structure. Now, that is obviously only a blessing if we are ready and willing to learn from it and to take steps to address, mitigate and, if at all possible, eliminate these inadequacies. Whether that will come about depends entirely on our political will and the quality and integrity of our political leadership.

What are the inequities and inadequacies brought to the surface by the COVID-19 crisis?

·       A lack of any strategic plan to reduce the extreme inequalities that have creeped up in the American society and that now result in a very uneven distribution of the burdens, health wise, economic and social, of sickness, death, anguish, despair and suffering, among distinctly separate segments of our population.

·       The negative effect of wholesale changes in agency leadership and staff and in regulatory policy resulting from changes in administration.

·       The absence of a coordinated public health strategy and plan that clearly assigns responsibilities between the various levels of government.

·       The absence of complete and uninterrupted funding of public health needs at all levels of government.

·       The absence of a reliable domestic supply chain for critical components of the medical care structure: facilities, staff, equipment, tests and testing capacity, vaccines, and therapeutics.

·       The absence of equal, reliable, high capacity broadband access in all regions and communities of our nation allowing for cyber learning and communication between all citizens and their institutions.

·       The absence of a permanent safety net structure capable of financially supporting the victims of epidemics and their economic effects, whether they are individuals or businesses.

·       The inability or unwillingness of our politicians to set their differences in ideology aside and work together on helping the country to manage through this crisis with minimal lasting damage. We constantly hear the words ‘we are all in this together’, our politicians talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.

·       The unpreparedness to safeguard the security and continuity of our political process in the absence of physical proximity, whether it is in the right of assembly or participating in elections. The public sector is far behind the private sector in the use of cyber technology in support of its most vital processes.

The best we can hope for is that the enormous damage done by and during this crisis in terms of human death and suffering and the economic collapse resulting from it will make us stop and think about what really matters to us, individually and collectively. There should be some ‘wake-up’ effect of the complete disruption of our ‘business as usual’ routine. Suddenly, our traffic problems have disappeared, the air in and above our cities has cleared up, and gas prices are lower than at any time we can remember. We get a renewed appreciation for the essentials of life, shelter, food, clean air, and good health. We learn to live without dependence on TV sports and the exploits of our favorite professional team. We do okay without the thrill of the Final Four, the Masters, Wimbledon and Major League baseball. What can we learn from this very different experience?

There is little doubt that the corona crisis will be recognized in history as a major disrupter on the scale of the Spanish Flu epidemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, 9/11, and the 2008 recession. These paradigm changing events present, by their shock effect, rare opportunities for fundamental changes in the body politic. Jamie Dimon, in his letter to J.P. Morgan shareholders, points to this when he writes: “there will come a time when we will look back and it will be clear how we – at all levels of society, government, business, healthcare systems, and civic and humanitarian organizations – could have been and will be better prepared to face emergencies of this scale.”

It is not complicated. The task at hand is to systematically address and correct the inadequacies that have surfaced during this crisis. We know how to start that process: with the creation of a bipartisan working group similar to the 9/11 Committee. Special attention should be given to the issue of ‘inequality’, which, in my mind, is the defining issue of our time. The corona crisis presents again a stinging reminder of how human hardships of life, death, sickness and economic despair are unevenly divided throughout our population. Someone in the social media likened the reality of the corona experience to the last moments on board of the Titanic: “In first class the celebration was continuing, the orchestra was playing, but below decks the water was engulfing crew and passengers alike.”

When the issue of ‘inequality’ comes up in the political discussion, the focus is normally on ‘income inequality’ or ‘wealth inequality’. That focus may be misguided and unnecessarily divisive. History and human nature will tell us that a degree of income- and wealth inequality is unavoidable. The negative consequences of inequality in income and wealth are mostly centered around access to health services, education, and housing, or, rather, access to the best available resources in these categories. These negative consequences can be addressed by direct government subsidies to the institutions delivering these services to people who cannot afford the real cost. This does not mean that the government needs to take over the delivery of these services, just the preparedness to pay for equal access for all Americans, regardless of income or wealth.

No doubt, these solutions come at a cost. But, if any shock effect should come from this crisis, may it be that it is time to leave the dreamland of ever lower taxes. The American economy generates more than enough wealth to provide all Americans with equal access to fundamental living essentials like quality healthcare, quality education and quality housing. Equitable taxation structures should be designed to share the wealth and result in balanced budgets at times of economic prosperity, while allowing all Americans these fundamental living essentials. Deficit financing should be reserved for periods like the one we are living through now when a crisis forces increased government expenditures and reduced government revenues.

Before too long, we will be on the way back from this crisis. Hopefully, we will realize that this will not be the last pandemic we will experience and prepare ourselves to recognize the next one earlier and with more urgency. And hopefully we will be better equipped to tackle the next one before it can do too much damage. Like Jamie Dimon says: “There should have been a pandemic playbook. Likewise, every problem I noted above should have detailed and nonpartisan solutions.” I feel like he spoke for me.

Let’s make the way back a path to a stronger future for all Americans. We do not have a divine right to success, but we sure can help ourselves and strengthen our exceptional republic.

HAPPY EASTER!