Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser May 14, 2020 By Joni Ashbrook
As a single mom I worked as a maid, a cook and a waitress. I often worked multiple jobs at a time just to make ends meet.
It was only when I became a teacher that I received paid sick days, holidays and precious health insurance. It was luxurious.
With that experience, I have a glimmer of the choice some workers may face today: to work and risk their life or have no money.
It’s also clear that the devastation to our economy is unsustainable. It’ll be a delicate balancing act to reopen the economy yet save lives.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on April 27 holds the Governor’s Report to Reopen Texas book during a news conference where he announced he would relax some restrictions imposed on some businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick looks on in the background. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
President Donald Trump and some GOP leaders favor tipping the scales to support business over life. But one side doesn’t have to outweigh the other.
Other countries like South Korea have proven that a national system of rapid testing, contact tracing and isolation contains the virus. Two months ago they had the same number of COVID-19 deaths as the U.S. Today we have over 80,000 deaths and South Korea has fewer than 300.
New virus models predict a sharp rise in new cases and deaths due to increased mobility. Health experts worry we’re not ready to reopen and cases could spiral out of control.
We desperately need Trump to fully invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to develop a national testing system similar to South Korea’s and produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for all essential workers.
The DPA was created to pressure industry into producing supplies for the national defense. When Trump was asked why he doesn’t fully invoke it he said, “We’re a country not based on nationalizing our business.” In other words, corporations lobbied against it.
Although Trump won’t use his power to ramp up testing and life-saving PPE, he did sign an executive order forcing meat processing plants to remain open with no protection for workers.Some GOP leaders have taken the old “pro-business” party to a grim level as they blame the workers, not the companies, for these plants becoming petri dishes for the virus. They conveniently overlook the fact that workers are made to stand shoulder to shoulder.
These and other workers may be called “essential” but they are being treated as if they are “expendable.” That’s exactly the messaging coming from Trump and trickling down throughout the GOP.
Trump calls workers “warriors,” but what he means is they’re “cannon fodder.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie personified that attitude when he was asked about the projection that nearly 3,000 people could die daily by June 1. Christie said our country has “sacrificed” before.
And I’m sure a slew of boots were hurled at televisions when Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested throwing grandparents under the bus to save the economy.
GOP messaging isn’t complete without right-wing talkers like Glenn Beck who said he’d “rather die than kill the country.” And disgraced, ousted Fox News host Bill O’Reilly chimed in about the death toll saying many were “on their last legs anyway.”
Leaders who are sending others into battle should put some skin in the game. I suggest those who feel so strongly about putting the economy above lives should send a loved one to work in a meat processing plant under the current safety conditions. Your sacrifice will be appreciated.
According to a recent PBS News Hour poll, a majority of adults say they are still uncomfortable reopening the country.
You can open up stores during a pandemic, but you can’t make people come in until they feel it’s safe. Containing the virus is the only way to bring the economy and humanity back.
