Let’s talk about America’s response to the coronavirus response. As of today, May 19, 2020, there are 1,527,355 coronavirus cases and 91,872 deaths, which is an increase of 17,059 cases and 1,383 deaths compared to the day before, across all 50 states, D.C., and other U.S. territories. This means that America ranks number one in the world for the number of coronavirus cases and has a disproportionate amount of the world’s cases.
The virus first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread to the U.S. on January 19, 2020, with Trump declaring it a public health emergency on January 31. However, a travel ban on people from China was only implemented on February 2, and there was no required testing for anyone entering. Undeniably, the American response to the pandemic was very slow at first. In fact, fewer than 10,000 people were tested in the U.S. by early March, which could explain why the number of new cases grew so slowly at first. At this point, Trump continued to be very optimistic about the virus, saying that they were controlling it very well and even praising China at one point. Meanwhile, the virus continued to spread across America, and cases grew exponentially. On March 17, the virus spread to all 50 states and at this point, cases grew by 20-35% per day, as the number of tests administered continued to grow, causing the number of cases to skyrocket from fewer than 10,000 on March 18 to 241,000 by April 1.
How did the pandemic get this bad in America? For starters, aside from the federal government’s response being very slow (and still continues to lag behind), there were no nationwide guidelines or coordinated efforts to stem the spread of the virus. The federal government said one thing, state governments said another, the CDC said another, and Trump said another. People were left to decide for themselves whose advice they should follow.
This can partially be attributed to Americans’ individualism, which prioritizes individual freedom and liberty over anything else. As such, many state governments have been rather reluctant to implement serious lockdown measures, as it was seen to “infringe” on people’s liberties. Unfortunately, this very ideal that founded the United States is now causing partisan divide and polarization, distrust of the government, and in turn allowing the pandemic to spread quickly through the country.
In terms of laws passed by Congress to provide relief to those affected by this pandemic, the most notable one was the Coronavirus Aids, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed into law by President Trump on March 27. This act set aside over $2 trillion to provide more unemployment benefits, checks to individuals, relief to businesses and organizations, and gave assistance to those seeking healthcare services. This bill was fiercely debated in Congress by both parties before an agreement was reached. Unfortunately, despite such a large stimulus package, the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7%, resulting in over 36 million job losses.
The U.S. often prides itself on being a free, capitalist country. But, have we ever thought about what this means? For the first time in history, the richest 400 families paid a lower tax rate than the working class. Companies worth billions of dollars, like Amazon, only gave paid sick leave to employees after a huge struggle. The federal minimum wage has not been adjusted for inflation in more than 10 years. America is the only developed country that does not guarantee paid sick or maternity leave. While the top 0.1% of people add millions to their net worth every minute, the standard working-class individual may be suffering in silence, being forced to go to work through a deadly pandemic, while not being given any compensation for being sick.
Now, a few short months of lower profits, and these exact companies are now demanding huge bailouts from the federal government. The working-class are expected to have loads of excess cash to cover medical treatments, while companies worth billions are unable to pay their employees or taxes. In fact, Amazon paid exactly $0 in federal taxes in 2018. These companies are ripping off American taxpayers to ensure their millions keep flowing in, at the expense of thousands of people dying.
It’s time for a change. Americans need to cooperate with each other and get over their partisan ideals and work together to battle this deadly pandemic. Corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes to the federal government for a bailout. America can get over this, but a strong sense of unity, strength, and courage is required for everyone.