Hits and Misses
HIT: Many politicians have been playing footsie with protesters who have descended on state capitols and other large cities demanding that stay-at-home orders be lifted, even though those orders still enjoy broad public support and are recommended by public health officials. But one formerly very prominent Pennsylvania Republican made it clear this week he has no patience for their antics. In an op-ed published in USA Today, former Gov. Tom Ridge called the protesters “self-absorbed and selfish,” and said, “In recent days, we have seen images of Americans carrying weapons as part of their protests to immediately reopen society. What are they planning to do, shoot the virus with their AR-15s?” He also noted that staying at home can’t compare to the sacrifices veterans made who slogged through Vietnamese rice paddies or the trenches of France. We can only hope Ridge’s forceful arguments will make some people think twice when they complain about being stuck between their own four walls.
MISS: The allegation that a former staffer was sexually assaulted almost three decades ago by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden when he was a U.S. senator has received wide play across the national media even if it has not gotten the sort of attention it might have received were it not for a once-in-a-century pandemic. At this stage Biden is not subject to prosecution, and he has vehemently denied the accusation. His accuser claims she complained to members of Biden’s upper-level staff about his conduct. There is the possibility that there is a record of the complaints within Biden’s Senate papers, which are being stored at the University of Delaware and are not yet available for the public or scholars to examine. Biden reportedly does not want to move up the timetable that would make this happen. He should reconsider. As Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus pointed out, “There may well be no needle in the haystack -the material isn’t likely to include much in the way of personnel files – but it’s important to search anyway. Another nominee with another cloud over his head is the last thing this country needs.”
MISS: It’s become a cliche to say that these are extraordinary times, but actions that our leaders take must remain transparent no matter how fraught the moment. That’s why it’s disappointing that Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration have not been forthcoming on how businesses were given waivers to stay open when most other businesses were forced to shutter. The Department of Community and Economic Development has not revealed who received waivers or the criteria that were used. Granted, there’s not a pandemic playbook sitting in a dusty archive from, say, 1918, that would provide guidance, but business owners and the public need to know how the decisions were arrived at. Erik Arneson of Pennsylvania’s open records office said, “Transparency is always important, and one of the fundamental reasons why the Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act exist is to build trust. In the middle of any emergency, and especially one with the scope of this pandemic, it’s important for the public to trust government institutions, and being transparent about decision-making is critical to building that trust.”
MISS: Rates of poverty around the world have been falling for a little more than 20 years, a success story for all of mankind. Unfortunately, it appears the worldwide poverty rate is going to head back up as a result of the coronavirus. The World Bank reported this week that by the end of 2020 up to 8% of the world’s population could be impoverished. The hardest-hit regions will include sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This is a necessary reminder that the coronavirus is not just a crisis unique to the United States. It affects every corner of the globe.