It's debatable: Who should bear primary responsibility in coronavirus battle?

[TexasTowelie]

This week, Arnold Loewy and Charles Moster debate whether the primary war against the coronavirus should be the responsibility of the state or federal government. Moster is a former litigation attorney in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidential administrations who has offices in Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Abilene and Georgetown. Loewy is the George Killiam Professor of Law at Texas Tech School of Law.

MOSTER 1

Although the federal government is doing its best to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the vast bureaucracy is incapable of responding rapidly to this scourge. The CDC was late in its response and continues to send out conflicting messages. The FDA is saddled with archaic regulations which will delay the discovery and release of a cure or treatment options until it is too late. The DOD fumbled the ball by delivering thousands of the wrong protective masks to state governments and failing to identify a bounty of ventilators which could have been distributed to overburdened hospitals which are rationing these devices and losing patients and first responders.

State governments as exemplified by the actions of Governor Abbott are in a better position to manage the allocation of resources and protect the public health but they need to be more aggressive. As in other states, our governor needs to issue a statewide shelter at home order and other measures to flatten the mortality rate before it is out of control. Critically, President Trump needs to suspend all FDA regulations and allow the private sector the ability to develop immediate vaccines and treatments. This would be facilitated by permitting volunteers to participate in testing protocols and/or incentivized monetarily. I would suggest that prisoners be offered a reduction in sentence or commutation in exchange for their role in human testing. The national guard needs to be coordinating the distribution of food to those in need, the establishment of mobile hospitals, and assistance to our truckers who need food and rest stops now. Test kits need to be made available immediately for anyone in Texas and across the country and without restriction. Only through detection can we hope to slow the spread of this virus.

In recognition of the enormous sacrifice of first responders in Texas, I would suggest the passage of legislation entitled the First Responders Care Act to provide families with life insurance pre-paid by the government, disability, childcare, and educational benefits at the college level similar to the GI Bill. Nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals are stepping into the line of fire for all of us and need to be recognized as heroes. These people are literally dying to save all of us.

Read more: https://www.lubbockonline.com/opinion/20200419/its-debatable-who-should-bear-primary-responsibility-in-coronavirus-battle
(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

[msongs]

1. problem is NOT federal government, the problem is TRUMP nt