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Re: Latest on the Corona Virus
5 Ways the Trump Administration’s Policy Failures Compounded the Coronavirus-Induced Economic Crisis
The Trump administration’s failure to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic fallout has exacerbated both crises in the United States.
Last week, the total coronavirus death toll in the United States surpassed 100,000—a grim milestone in a battle that the Trump administration was not adequately prepared to fight. The United States now accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s COVID-19 deaths despite only accounting for roughly 4 percent of its population. The Trump administration’s failed public health response is mirrored by its failure to respond to the economic crisis, which has led to an economic fallout that sets the United States apart from other high-income nations.
With some 37.6 million Americans filing for unemployment insurance since the beginning of March and the official unemployment rate reaching 14.7 percent in April—a level not seen since the Great Depression—the American economy is in a disastrous state, with repercussions expected for years to come. The level of economic and public health pain that Americans are now experiencing, however, was not inevitable, but rather the consequence of a series of policy failures that started well before the coronavirus outbreak. The Trump administration’s past actions weakened the United States’ ability to respond to the pandemic, and its current actions continue to exacerbate the dual public health and economic crises. Although Congress was able to pass a series of stimulus measures that have blunted the economic pain for families, this relief happened in spite of the Trump administration, not because of it.
The weakness of the Trump administration’s economic response to the coronavirus crisis—much like the failure of its public health response—can be seen in comparison with the United States’ international peers. As demonstrated by the experiences of peer nations, a rapid and coordinated public health response could have contained the pandemic more effectively and reduced the mounting economic losses. Instead, it seems as though the United States is getting the worst of both: the highest death toll of any country and what will likely be the sharpest economic contraction in American history.
Cross-country comparisons of unemployment rates illuminate how effective strong worker protections and early testing measures could have been in the United States had they been promoted by the federal government. South Korea, which largely avoided shutting down its economy due to its early and aggressive actions, recorded an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent in April—only slightly above the 3.3 percent figure recorded in February. Australia, which implemented a wage subsidy program equivalent to 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), has seen its unemployment rate increase from 5.1 percent to 6.2 percent over the same time period. Germany, too, only saw a modest increase in its unemployment rate, as it ticked up from 5.0 percent to 5.8 percent. The United States, on the other hand, recorded an unemployment rate of 14.7 percent in April—up dramatically from the 3.5 percent figure in February.
These differences in unemployment rates have massive consequences for the number of Americans currently without employment. Had the United States unemployment rate followed the same trajectory as those of its peers, millions more Americans would still be employed. Based on the percent changes in unemployment rates, between 17 and 18 million more Americans would still have their jobs if the United States had experienced changes in unemployment rate similar to those of Australia, Germany, or South Korea. And even if the United States had followed a slightly worse trajectory, like that of Canada, at least 11 million fewer people would be unemployed. Importantly, while these figures are illustrative in nature, they actually likely understate the hypothetical difference in job loss given the large drop in the labor force as well as official measurement issues.Comment
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Re: Latest on the Corona Virus
1. A botched public health response
The Trump administration failed to take the coronavirus outbreak seriously. In late February, while other high-income countries were ramping up testing and developing tracing procedures, President Donald Trump stated that “the Coronavirus [was] very much under control.” It was during these critical early weeks and months that the United States should have been stockpiling protective gear for frontline workers and making testing widely available. In contrast, South Korea, a country whose first confirmed case of COVID-19 coincided with that of the United States, bought 720,000 masks for employees of businesses considered at risk of exposure to the coronavirus. When asked if the U.S. federal government would supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to states, President Trump responded that it would not act as a “shipping clerk.”
The United States also lagged significantly in testing during the critical early weeks of the outbreak. Looking at countries that were hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, it is clear that the United States ranks poorly in how quickly it scaled up testing. It took Iceland only one day to reach a daily testing rate of one test per 1,000 residents after surpassing the milestones of 1,000 total confirmed cases and at least 100 cases per million residents. It took Lithuania, Norway, and New Zealand seven, eight, and 14 days, respectively, to reach that same daily testing rate. Meanwhile, it took the United States 55 days to reach that same rate, placing it second to last among the 23 countries that met these testing threshold criteria. The Trump administration dragged its feet for nearly two months while millions of Americans were exposed to the virus.
Figure 2
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[/COLOR]Now, nearly three months since President Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, his push to reopen the economy will unfortunately prove fruitless. There is evidence suggesting that in the face of the Trump administration’s slow response to the pandemic, fear of the virus’s spread led to an economic slowdown even before stay-at-home orders were in place. As early as February, real-time economic data show a marked decline in spending on high-contact activities. From January 20 to March 13, consumer spending on transportation, entertainment and recreation, and restaurants and hotels declined by 24 percent, 24 percent, and 9 percent, respectively. Spending on groceries, on the other hand, spiked by 43 percent over the same time period, indicating a clear public acknowledgement of the possibility of a serious outbreak and economic belt-tightening.
Absent an effective public health response, the economic slowdown is likely to persist even as stay-at-home orders are lifted. Some 64 percent of Americans surveyed in late May still plan to “buy only for what [they] need” when the economy opens or the curve flattens. And when asked about which types of activities they plan to engage in, 43 percent said they would “[dine] in a restaurant” over ordering take-out or delivery; 25 percent said they would “go to the movies” over watching TV at home; and 48 percent said they would “go to the hairdresser” over buying their own grooming supplies. Only 39 percent said that they would “resume normal spending habits,” indicating that the so-called closed economy is not what is keeping consumers from spending; it is the fear of getting sick. The Trump administration’s continued lack of a plan for an aggressive testing and tracing regime is only compounding this sharp decline in consumer spending.
Indeed, even in the states that have lifted stay-at-home orders, consumer spending has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and many small businesses remain closed for business. For example, as of May 18, spending on entertainment and recreation in Georgia—which lifted its stay-at-home order on April—was down 63 percent compared with figures from January 20, when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the United States. Meanwhile, the number of small Georgia businesses open on May 18 was down 17 percent. Similar figures for spending and small business operation levels can be found across all states, and the overall national figures are equally bleak. It is clear that consumers, not governments, will determine when states can truly reopen for business and that it will not happen until they feel safe going out again.
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Years After Smug Anti-Ivermectin Post, FDA Admits in Court That Doctors Should Be Allowed to Prescribe It
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The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses. Taking large doses of this drug can be dangerous and potentially fatal.
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New COVID vaccine and booster shots for this fall to be available by end of SeptemberComment
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COVID-19 Restrictions in New Zealand Come To An End – One America News Network
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Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as "COVID Cases Rise", Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hᴏft
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