Friday, April 3rd, 2020
Another beautiful sun-filled day, albeit a little windy. Only got out for our walk in the late afternoon, which is a busier time than over lunch. Otherwise, just another normal day in the area of work from home. I am quite pleased with myself as I was very productive today, spending the better part of it on meticulous research. And rather than general webex briefings and presentations, I had a couple of calls with individuals.
Funny how grateful one becomes for any “life” interaction. This article had me reflect on how fortunate we are to be able to continue our work with only minor disruptions, compared to others. People like me are lucky to have a job which is not only meaningful and fulfilling but which we are able to mostly conduct remotely.
In 2010 as part of IFC’s corporate leadership development program, I spent a week in Mongolia, meeting with leaders and learning about their leadership journey. As parliamentarians, we were introduced to by then IFC’s regional vice president said something which I took to heart and although buried somewhere in the depth of my mind comes back to me now. She spoke of her journey back to Mongolia after a career in the UK and about her work as a parliamentarian, which at the time she said, she was not going to carry out forever. Her rationale was, that it takes three things to have a fulfilled work life - GEM she termed it. GEM stands for “Good”, “Enjoy” and “Meaningful”. It made sense to me then and it makes even more sense to me now. If one is good at one's job, enjoys it and it is meaningful, it is like a jackpot to a fulfilled working life. For most of my career, I have been lucky enough to mostly hold GEM jobs. My work is especially rewarding when I can interact with clients, existing or potential, enabling me to share knowledge, understand their challenges and be part of developing solutions. Over the coming weeks, this will need to be in virtual form; hopefully no less successful and geared towards addressing the challenges emerging markets face caused by the pandemic. Reading on the pandemic remains frustrating – mostly. On the positive side, curves in Italy, Spain and possibly Germany are beginning to flatten, giving rise to hope. Also, South Africa seems to be doing a good job of curbing the spread.
I have always loved the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, but he is taking it to new levels with very interesting interviews. I was particularly impressed by his discussion with Bill Gates today. Gates seems to be one of the few people in the US who has a vision. Unlike the folks in 1616 Pennsylvania Ave.
Reads on that front are scary at best. It seems like the son in law is now becoming the pandemic advisor in chief. May God help us. The message that States are on their own and only those “loyal” receive the help requested is reinforced.
What if after this episode States who were discriminated against by the federal government decided to stay on their own and retain their resources for state interests? While some part of me thinks they should, it would mean the end of the USA I suppose and that is not something anyone would wish for.
What baffles me most all though is how guns become essential in this situation. Are they an instrument to get what you need if doctors and overwhelmed hospitals choose to give critical support to those they deem more in need or with a better chance of survival? Again, Trevor Noah's take is the spot.
Lastly, the below piece was reposted by one of my FB friends. The original post is by a person called Heather Cox Richardson (mentioning for attribution purposes) and while I do not intend to advocate any conspiracy theories, this made sense on many levels. I will leave it to you to judge.
Behind the confusion and foot-dragging as the White House confronts the global pandemic is the administration’s desire to dismantle the federal government and give power to business people.
The Trump administration has been clear that it does not want the federal government to assume responsibility for American citizens any longer. Trump has refused to issue a stay at home order from the federal government, insisting instead that governors make their own calls. He has refused to use the Defense Production Act to mobilize industry to produce the masks and ventilators that Americans so desperately need.
He is refusing to tell manufacturers where to place their supplies. In place of government coordination, his administration officials are counting on business people to assume leadership.
[As a result,] the fifty states are trying to respond on their own. They are making their own decisions about what to shut down, when, and are bidding against each other for supplies. This piecemeal response to the pandemic crisis means we are not effectively cutting off the spread of the virus, or supporting the healthcare we will need.
Today [ April 2nd, 2020] Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) wrote to Trump to urge him to appoint a “senior military officer” as a “czar” to coordinate a federal response to the crisis and to use the DPA to increase production, procurement, and distribution of medical devices and equipment. “America cannot rely on a patchwork of uncoordinated voluntary efforts to combat the awful magnitude of this pandemic,” Schumer wrote. “The existing federal void has left America with an ugly spectacle in which States and cities are literally fending for themselves, often in conflict and competition with each other, when trying to procure precious medical supplies and equipment. The only way we will fix our PPE (personal protective equipment) and ventilator shortage is with a data-driven, organized and robust plan from the federal government. Anything short of that will inevitably mean this problem will remain unsolved and prolong this crisis.”
Trump responded with a letter that was remarkable, even by his standards. It began: “Thank you for your Democrat public relations letter and incorrect sound bites, which are wrong in every way.” Trump denied that there was anything wrong with his administration’s response to the crisis. “As you are aware, the Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments. Unfortunately, your state needed far more of a back-up than most states.” He went on: “If you spent less time on your ridiculous impeachment hoax, which went haplessly on forever and ended up going nowhere (except increasing my poll numbers), and instead focused on helping the people of New York, then New York would not have been unprepared for the ‘invisible enemy.’” (Schumer called for a declaration of a public health emergency on January 26.) “I’ve known you for many years, but I never knew how bad a Senator you are for the state of New York, until I became President.”
Meanwhile, today Republican Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts gave a press conference in which he announced that the Kraft family, which owns the New England Patriots football team, had generously used the Patriots’ plane to transport more than 1 million masks the state had purchased in China, as well as picking up $2 million of the cost of the masks. While warmly complimenting the Kraft family’s generosity, state representative Katherine Clark said “this is not how it’s supposed to work…. What we need is a coordinated federal system.”
But there isn’t one. Instead, the White House is turning to private interests to manage the national response. It is a philosophical position embraced by those who would overturn the active government that has presided over the United States since the New Deal.
There was a remarkable moment tonight in the press conference tonight at the White House, flagged by Josh Marshall at TPM (Talking Points Memo). Countries have been sending supplies of masks, gowns, and so forth that our medical professionals so desperately need. But at the same time, ProPublica has reported that states are paying up to 15 times what medical supplies usually cost to get this equipment. So what’s going on?
At the press conference, Weijia Jiang of CBS News asked the official in charge of the shipments, Rear Admiral John P. Polowczyk, what was happening to them. He explained they are not going directly to the states or to FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency). Rather, they are going to the private sector, which has systems in place for distributing such materials. But the states are in a bidding war in the private sector to buy this equipment, which is driving prices up. Shouldn’t the federal government step in to stop profiteering and make sure states get the supplies they need? “I’m not here to disrupt a (commercial) supply chain,” the admiral said.
04.04.2020 03:37
Mark Hughes
The one good thing about Trump’s letter is that you know he wrote it. No one who is actually paid to write would produce anything remotely like that.