The United States has done only about 10,000 tests for Coronavirus since we learned of it. South Korea is testing 10,000 people every day.That's why South Korea has been able to flatten the curve of new cases, and avoided their hospitals from becoming critically overloaded -- while the United States seems on a path towards the virus spiking and overloading hospitals ability to handle the crisis.
Donald Trump has finally begun to realize that he cannot lie the Coronavirus away -- after doing virtually nothing for the past month. On Wednesday, he spoke to the nation.
Unfortunately, he did nothing in his speech but exhibit his total incompetence. His big solution was to ban travel for anyone coming to the U.S. from the European mainland. That was a silly proposal in two ways.
First, he excluded travel from Great Britain and Ireland from the ban. So, a European can just go to one of those two countries and then fly to the United States unimpeded.
But more important, the travel ban will not prevent the Coronavirus from spreading in the United States. The virus is ALREADY HERE! The travel ban will have no effect.
Trump also floated the idea of a payroll tax cut. That also will do nothing to stop the virus from spreading -- and it will do nothing to help the economy. Those hardest hit (low-wage workers -- many of whom have no paid sick leave) will not be helped by a pittance added to their paycheck. All this will do is add to the funding problems of Social Security (which is probably what Trump is trying to do anyway, so he can cut benefits later).
But while Trump is displaying nothing but incompetence, the House Democrats are coming up with a bill that would actually help curb the virus and help those economically hurt by the pandemic.
Here, from Vox.com, is what the Democrats are proposing:
- Emergency paid sick days: The bill would require all employers to accrue seven days of paid sick leave, and provide an additional 14 days to be available immediately during the coronavirus (many employers are asking employees to work from home for that amount of time). It ensures sick leave to those impacted by quarantine orders, or those who must stay home to care for their children. The bill reimburses small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees) for the cost of the 14 additional days of leave.
- Emergency paid leave: The bill would create a new federal emergency paid leave program for those unable to work because they either have Covid-19, are quarantined, are caring for someone with the disease, or are caring for a child due to coronavirus-related school closings. Eligible workers would receive benefits for a month (the program goes up to three months), and the benefit amount would be two-thirds of the individual’s average monthly earnings. Those receiving pay or unemployment compensation directly through their employers aren’t eligible. There is some precedent for this; Congress expanded unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks for Americans left unemployed by the 2008 financial crisis.
- Expanding food security: The bill would direct $1 billion to expanding access to programs like WIC and the emergency food assistance program throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Progressive economists have long believed that expanding existing safety net programs is a highly effective way of stimulating the economy because the low-income people who benefit from them are highly likely to immediately spend any extra money they get — helping stabilize economy-wide demand. The 2009 stimulus bill featured many provisions along these lines. Conservatives, who are critical of those programs in general, tend to be highly skeptical of putting more money into them.
- Free coronavirus testing: Democratic leaders propose making coronavirus testing free to increase access by requiring private health insurers (plus government programs like Medicare and Medicaid) to cover the cost of testing, including emergency room visits and doctor fees in the process. Free testing is being offered in a number of states, but there’s no federal regulation mandating it so far.
- Increasing the capacity of the US medical system and ensuring affordable treatment: The bill also calls on insurance providers to reimburse coronavirus patients for any non-covered costs related to Covid-19. Again, they’re hoping this gets more people treated and makes it so people don’t put off going to the doctor because they are worried about costs.
