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!
