Grading the Response to Covid-19
We can divide the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic into two pieces: The public health response, and the economic policy response. I’ll address both, in turn.
First, to the public health concerns:
In the vice presidential debate, moderator Susan Paige highlighted the fact that the death toll in the US as a percentage of the population is higher than almost every other wealthy nation, specifically noting that it’s two and a half times that of Canada. She then asked Mike Pence exactly the right question: Why? Critically, this percentage measure would seem to be an appropriate metric to assess both the effectiveness of the efforts to contain the virus and the quality of the medical care given to those who do get infected. We’re losing on both counts.
Pence never addressed the question. He didn’t have to. The answer is plain to see. Instead, he used his two minutes to make self-congratulatory remarks applauding the leadership of President Trump and the sacrifices that have been made by the American public. Unfortunately, the outcome gets a failing grade. When life and death are at issue, we can’t afford to grade on effort. We grade on results; and these results are nothing to brag about — and that’s being kind. If the differences across countries were inconsequential, that would be one thing; but when our death rate per capita is two and a half times that of our nearest neighbor, considering our performance anything other than disastrous is delusional.
And the failure continues. Even after multiple infections have arisen for White House staff and for people who attended various rallies and meetings with Trump and his retinue, the administration continues undeterred in its approach and messaging. Trump’s dismissive comments as to the seriousness of this public health hazard are totally irresponsible, and the use of his bully pulpit to advocate using unproven and untested therapies is wholly inappropriate. These are not the words and deeds of a president who, in Pence’s words, “has put the health of the American people first.” If only.
In his role as the head the administration’s Coronavirus Task Force, we might reasonably expect Pence to take a more impartial stance and speak truth to the American people. His loyalties are clearly elsewhere. Cheerleading has taken precedence over truth telling.
Next, to the economic policy issues:
The first round of the CARES Act did much to soften the blow of the pandemic, but with the termination of the $600 per week unemployment supplement at the end of July, the bulk of that support had largely been depleted. Since then, the fragility of the recovery has become increasingly apparent. In anticipation of that July 31 deadline, the Democrats in the House passed a $3 trillion aid bill in May; and since then, accommodating to the Republican reaction, Democrats scaled down their original proposal to a bill costing $2.2 trillion.
McConnell in the Senate has championed a “skinny bill,” with a budget of $300 billion — just 14 percent of what the House bill seeks to spend. Given that gap, it seems unlikely that the House and Senate will find a mutually acceptable middle ground on their own. Meanwhile, the president has been all over the map. At one point he said that he’d support nothing until after the election; but he apparently took some heat for that position and just this week reversed himself. At last look, he’s been pushing for a bill with an aid package of $1.8 trillion.
Even if by some chance an aid bill does get passed, it’s unlikely to have much if any effect before the election. Without any injection of aid funds, it’s hard to see how a recovery will sustain itself. Instead, it seems more likely that the financial pressures arising from the lack of additional federal support will foster growing numbers of evictions, more homelessness, more layoffs, and more people losing their health insurance.
These prognostications notwithstanding, it’s fair to say that the policy response to the economic ramifications of the pandemic has been lacking. Basically, nothing has been done; and that’s a failing. Both Republicans and Democrats may share the blame to varying degrees, but we have only one president; and the buck does, in fact, stop there. Trump deserves to be held accountable.
