Here's the setup:
Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Go. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) argued that President Donald Trump “does not understand the word federal.”...That is the very definition of the Federal system of the US Constitution, of course. But Pritzker doesn't like that one, so.....
...In a clip, Trump said, “We have a federal stockpile, and they have state stockpiles. Frankly, they were, many of the states were totally unprepared for this. So we had to go into the federal stockpile. We’re not an ordering clerk. They have to have for themselves.”...
....“Well, the president does not understand the word federal. Federal Emergency Management Agency, we have a state emergency management agency, but if he were right, why would we need a Federal Emergency Management Agency? It’s because individual states can’t possibly do what the federal government can do. We don’t have a Defense Production Act. There’s no way we could stockpile in anticipation of a pandemic that no one anticipated. Yet, the federal government is responsible for doing precisely that.”...So the FedGov is 'responsible' for stockpiling 'in anticipation of a pandemic that no one anticipated,', eh? Is that the way you ran Hyatt Corp's relationship with your franchisees, Gov?
Pritzker is setting up an Illinois request for a FedGov bailout of Illinois' "unanticipated" bankruptcy. Hold on to your wallets.
"So the FedGov is 'responsible' for stockpiling 'in anticipation of a pandemic that no one anticipated,', eh? "
ReplyDeleteNot paying attention, again.
We were warned in 2018 and 2019, when the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security gathered public-health experts, business leaders, and U.S. government officials for simulations of the devastating humanitarian, political, social, and economic consequences of fictional novel coronaviruses that left tens of millions dead around the world. Participants exited the events thinking, “‘Oh my god, we really need to get working on this,’” Eric Toner, who helped run the exercises, told me. Two months after the second simulation, a novel coronavirus (albeit with what appears to be a substantially lower lethality rate than the fictional viruses in the scenarios at Johns Hopkins) emerged in China.
We were warned in 2019 of the grave hazards of a new influenza pandemic by the U.S. intelligence community in its annual “worldwide threat assessment.” They had also cautioned us in 2018. And in 2017. And in 2016. And in 2015. And in 2014. And in 2013, when intelligence officials pleaded, “This is not a hypothetical threat. History is replete with examples of pathogens sweeping populations that lack immunity, causing political and economic upheaval.” (The 2020 worldwide threat assessment, which reportedly yet again flagged America’s vulnerability to a flu pandemic, has been postponed without explanation.)
Americans, and the developed world in general, have forgotten just how bad infectious disease epidemics can be and what difficult public health measures measures may be needed to curb them. As the projections above should suggest, now is a time for urgent public health measures to control what in their absence could become a catastrophe. Unfortunately, the populations of developed nations, the USA in particular, have become accustomed to the luxury of ignoring the dangers of infectious diseases and infectious disease epidemics.
Look, Stevie Withersputter, I'm paying attention--and YOU are NOT.
ReplyDeleteDumbcluck (D) Gov of Illimois made the remark about 'not anticipating.'
Now, then. Should the briefings have been pushed downhill to the several States for appropriate action? Yes. Were they?
Did the FedGov have sufficient supplies for this particular affliction? Maybe not, but after all, merely predicting a virus does NOT tell us how many ventilators--or iron lungs--or face-masks (and of what kind) should be stockpiled by ANY level of Gummint. It also doesn't predict what, if any, medicines may work as mitigators.
Will Gov. Hotel-Manager (D-Ill) stock up on goods next year? Good question!
The federal and state governments have stockpiles. To provide additional materials, Trump can employ the Defense Production Act to increase them. The states do NOT have that type of authority. It would not be anticipated that the states would have to increase them on short notice, since the federal government stockpile is meant to augment state shortages. But when federal stockpiles are low, it has a mechanism in place which states lack. That is the context of Pritzker's remarks.
ReplyDeleteReading comprehension isn't your strength.
Now, the federal government was warned, which you cavalierly dismiss. I get it, because you have to engage in that behavior--the truth knocked you square on your ass. It took a Fox News host to pry the Twitter machine off of Trump's hands and inform him that there was a serious global crisis.
Both NY and CA had stockpiles--but they were auctioned off.
ReplyDeleteAnd as usual, your grasp of logic and elementary reading sucks, Witheredsuck. DPA is employed after the fact, not before the fact. But States actually have something called "money" that they can spend on needs. When States have failed to procure what is NEEDED, then Fed inventory can be requested.
The Constitution does not envision the States as suckling pigs at the tits of Ma Hogg. Which Constitution do you live under?
"Both NY and CA had stockpiles--but they were auctioned off."
ReplyDeletePer usual, you don't provide the context. Have the Christian decency to be forthright.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-new-york-city-emergency-ventilator-stockpile-ended-up-on-the-auction-block
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/health/2020/04/08/what-happened-to-california-s-big-medical-supply-stockpile-for-a-pandemic
It’s our government’s RESPONSE that matters to this global pandemic to our citizens. The logic is quite simple–Fewer personal interactions under lockdown means a slower rate of community transmission and infections, keeping the direct acute care rate “manageable”. But the problem is that Trump is getting in the way of having a coherent strategy by which the states and localities are part of the solution and not deemed as “competitors”.
See, I thought he would be clamping down on American companies engaging in this unpatriotic activity.
The U.S. government placed no restrictions on exports of medical supplies while continuing to impose financial penalties on the import of personal protective gear, protective goggles, pulse oximeters, hand sanitizer, and other medical products from China. Meaning that our own corporations are profiting while our own people #DieForTheDow.
Source --> https://theintercept.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-medical-supplies-export/
And Trump had the federal government compete with state governments for those limited domestic supplies.
Source --> https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2020/03/26/charlie-baker-trump-administration-medical-supplies
Should not the allegedly nationalistic Trump been consistently badgering our own corporations to make masks here, rather than import them? Why should our precious dollars be siphoned off to China? Although, the world is competing for those resources. Might as well beg, borrow, cheat, and steal…
Source --> https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/03/white-house-scrambles-scoop-up-medical-supplies-angering-canada-germany/
Source --> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/business/coronavirus-china-masks.html
Calling Jared Kushner, medical extraordinaire (snicker snack) to the rescue?
Source --> https://reason.com/2020/03/31/america-could-import-countless-more-face-masks-if-federal-regulators-would-get-out-of-the-way/
“[O]ne of the reasons why America is facing a face mask shortage is the CDC itself. Hospitals are only allowed to purchase masks from suppliers certified by both the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—though they can accept donations from any source (more on that in a moment). Many foreign companies that make face masks lack those certifications, which limits the imported supply available to meet America’s rising demand. Even suppliers who are certified to sell masks to Americans have to navigate a weeks-long bureaucratic process before orders can be fulfilled. Suppliers who aren’t certified by those federal agencies can’t legally bring their products into the United States. That means supplies of KN95 masks—a Chinese certification for face masks that 3M Corporation’s personal safety division says are “reasonable to consider….as equivalent” to N95 masks—can’t be legally imported by hospitals for health care workers to use.”
Learn how to properly argue and cite your sources.