The shortcomings of a government that has been rigorously starved of resources and expertise for 40 years by a determined group of market ideologues are being laid bare on a daily basis. Relentless privatization of public goods along with the implicit guarantee to large business concerns and politically connected business to feed at the public trough with impunity has hollowed out the capacity of state and federal governments to meet the needs of citizens. So much of our our public goods and government has been privatized we are now seeing corporations effectively governing the country with Trump as their Clown In Chief. It is clear that the United States is failing to meet the demands of the American people and the carcass of a democratic government that remains is not equipped to respond to a crisis of this magnitude.
Since we have shoveled so much of our national wealth and productivity to a few wealthy creeps for decades we have pathetic public health capacity and a health care system filled with graft and patronage that has enervated governmental response to this public health crisis; a government and people in the United States unprepared ideologically, spiritually, and materially to cope with massive unemployment and poverty that will accompany and follow this pandemic. Several months into this outbreak there remains a stunning lack of coherence among the political class over basic things like testing people for the virus, business closures, and providing health care workers the equipment and support they need to do their jobs safely. There remains shortages of critical equipment and supplies; lack of coordinated and transparent communication from federal, state and local government; and economic insecurity for millions.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks anthrax was mailed to politicians and media corporations which led to calls for the United States to prepare for a major bioterror attack as part of the war on terror. A paper published by the National Institute of Health shortly after the anthrax attacks called for several steps to strengthen the nation’s public health capacity and infrastructure. It is worth quoting the authors of that paper at length as many of the problems they found in 2001 continue to worsen and weaken our ability to respond to this crisis:
Weaknesses in the nation's governmental public health infrastructure were clearly demonstrated in the fall of 2001, when the once-hypothetical threat of bioterrorism became all too real with the discovery that many people had been exposed to anthrax from letters sent through the mail. Communication among federal, state, and local health officials and with political leaders, public safety personnel, and the public was often cumbersome, uncoordinated, incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate. Laboratories were overwhelmed with testing of samples, both real and false. Many of these systemic weaknesses were well known to public health professionals, but resources to address them had been insufficient. A strong and effective governmental public health infrastructure is essential not only to respond to crises such as these but also to address ongoing challenges such as preventing or managing chronic illnesses, controlling infectious diseases, and monitoring the safety of food and water.
The fragmentation of the governmental public health infrastructure is in part a direct result of the way in which governmental roles and responsibilities at the federal, state, and local levels have evolved over U.S. history. This history also explains why the nation lacks a comprehensive national health policy that could be used to align health-sector investment, governmental public health agency structure and function, and incentives for the private sector to work more effectively as part of a broader public health system.
Following the September 11 attacks and the anthrax scare the United States embarked on two wars, implemented the Patriot Act, developed and deployed new forms of electronic surveillance, established new security guidelines for travel and access to government property, changed banking regulations, tightened borders, and created the Department of Homeland Security. But when it came to strengthening and improving public health to include single-payer health care and building up health care infrastructure and capacity the United States did almost nothing in 20 years. People who raise these issues and advocate for better health care in the United States are called socialist dreamers or communists who secretly admire Stalin and want to implement Fidel Castro’s version of human rights. But those who want to put the nation under mass surveillance and invade poor countries usually get what they want and their motives are rarely questioned.
In most of the national media and in political discourse there is little discussion of a strategy or plan to assist workers, renters, and homeowners in the long term juxtaposed with a monomaniacal devotion and concern for the value of their stocks on Wall Street Very little discussion or advocacy for better pay and working conditions for essential workers in retail and other service jobs and little real awareness or compassion for those who have died or lost a loved one. Media stories calling retail workers heroes , but rarely questioning the pay and working conditions faced by these heroes on the front lines.
The national response to this outbreak in the United States has been an unmitigated disaster led by the incompetent Trump administration and assisted by years of arrogant neglect and deliberate sabotage of the government’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies and to deliver health and welfare to the American people. The clown show stumbles on with corporate media spending much of the time pushing a narrative of “reopening the economy” while TV doctors like Phil, Oz, and Drew minimize the threat to human life and our health care sector posed by COVID-19. Trump and right wing radio incite their fans and sycophants to protests and potential violence. Government is outsourcing the pandemic response to the private sector while billionaires in and out of government answer public inquiries and speak on behalf for government agencies like the IRS. It is a cacophony of confusion, fear, and incitement that tends to prop up authoritarians and those pursuing private interests while depriving people of useful information that is transparent and in the public interest. The result has been deepened political divisions and mistrust of government at a time when we most need a competent and unified response from all governments in the US.
Businesses exist to make a profit and wealthy people tend to view profit as a spiritual as well as a material good. The billionaires’ charity might alleviate some suffering in the short term but the wider problem of effectively and efficiently responding to a national crisis and serving the people is something only central governments can do over the long term. Democracy is an instrumental and defensive tool that people can use to fight back, organize and hold the government accountable so that it is responsive to the needs of the majority of people rather than to a claque of self-interested and greedy men. There is a place for business in meeting social and health problems in our country but they do not get to privatize it all or prioritize profits over the public good without a fight. In the same way a democracy can’t have all media under state control or in the hands of a few giant corporations as that deprives the people of access to the means and modes of communication and makes them vulnerable to propaganda that is antithetical to their interests.
This virus is not going away on May 1 or June 1 and will likely impact our country until an effective vaccine or treatment is developed and provided to the population. Even if Trump and his cronies manage to “reopen” the economy in some parts of the country that doesn’t mean that economic activity will resume at the previous level. People will voluntarily reduce their potential exposure to the virus by cutting back on trips and spending on concerts, theaters, and various services. The stimulus that has reached Americans so far is not going to be sufficient in the coming months as they face uncertainty and therefore consumers will likely cut back on non essential goods. The economy that so many are so keen on reopening (without massive testing for the virus) is just going to fail millions more people than it failed prior to the outbreak with the same welfare system that scapegoats and criminalizes the poor and unemployed; with the same health care system regularly fails millions.
It has been fashionable on the left in recent years to advocate for something like a green new deal or a new deal for the 21st Century. What activists on the left are saying is that we need to build government capacity to deal with the issues that we face as a country, society, as a species because we can’t just leave these important issues like the environment to the market. It leaves people vulnerable to profiteering, poorly coordinated efforts, confusion, and competition among private companies for scarce resources during national emergencies. There is now a generalization in the United States of the type of apathetic and incompetent government response that was previously limited to events such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Maria in Puerto Rico. That means that for the first time many people are going to experience just how much their governments have been cut back and just how much control over their lives corporations and wealthy individuals really have.
We know that with climate change we will experience even more severe weather events and disasters along with new pandemics so we know we need to build up our public health capacity for the future and for future generations. We know that these disruptions will happen in the future and it will inevitably impact our economy and leave people vulnerable to severe illness or death so we need social programs to protect people from things like hunger and homelessness. It really is amazing that as more information pours in regarding the impacts of climate change more wealthy investors are not demanding changes such as a New Deal as well because how can they really have confidence to invest and expect a return if the future is catastrophic wildfires, pandemics, and severe storms. It is a shame that in our system people nearing retirement rely on their investments but if they are periodically wiped out they have to work more years with one result being that younger people struggle to enter the workforce and accrue greater debts. It is criminal to leave behind an unsuitable climate for future generations while at the same time cutting the government’s and therefore society’s ability to respond to the predictable threats to human health and welfare unleashed by that altered climate.
With the evidence of this government’s failure coming in daily it is time to reassess some of the basic assumptions we as a society have about what government is and what we expect it to do now and in the future. A government by and for Wall Street is demonstrating on a daily basis its fidelity to an outdated market ideology with Trump, Republican governors and other elected ideologues openly minimizing the suffering of people in this country while haphazardly pushing for a potentially deadly “return to normalcy”. The government’s response to disasters like hurricanes or wildfires in previous years and its failures during this outbreak make it clear that now more than ever we need to rebuild government and set it on a solid foundation for the future.
Rather than simply reopen things we should begin retooling our society for the 21st Century and the challenges of life in 2020 rather than pretend it is 1980 like most of the media and political class. We should start now by giving our support to workers and those who are out of work while demanding action to develop public health capacity in the United States. People can counter right wing talking points and false public health information like anti vaxx propaganda using social media and through discussion with friends and family. Everyone has a right to demand more from their government and to hold their elected officials accountable for their actions and/or inaction in office. Vote and register voters in 2020 and in future years. Normality led this country to where it now is and now is the time to construct a new normal that puts people and their rights ahead of greed and the power of a few tiny men. Citizens in the United States should start the difficult work of building a government they can be proud of and one that serves them well. The world is watching as the leadership in this country stumbles through this pandemic like a drunk stumbling down a staircase, grasping and pulling at innocent people on the way down.