Local vs national response to the pandemic

[sbarrera]

One narrative that has emerged out of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is that of state and local governments taking charge where national government has failed. Governors and mayors were the first to call for action, and the President has been playing catch up. 

Does this interpretation of recent events ring true?  It could be a story of government power devolving - the nation-state fraying and the U.S. Constitution failing, whereas state and local governments have more strength. Or it could be the particular actions of this "wrecking ball" administration - defunding the very institutions that are now needed the most, and sowing distrust of media and scientific expertise.

[Bob Butler 54]

The red tradition has been small government cut taxes spend less domestically (and on minorities). Trump has taken that perspective further than his predecessors. An unusual event came along to bite him that is about perfect to illustrate the error of his ways.

Linear thinking may be part of the culprit. If you take a trend too far and it starts to fail, the believers in that trend will insist on taking the trend further. The cyclical thinker will ask if it is time to swing the other way. The Republicans recognized perhaps that they were taking it too far and too long, and were hesitant to follow the Tea Party base. The Republican Establishment paused in the 2016 primaries, and Trump did take the trend far beyond the point of diminishing return.

The reluctance to recognize and solve problems, the valuing of the political 'small government' values over scientific ones that pointed out that the problems did in fact exist contributed.

But essentially the "wrecking ball' analysis is right.

[David Horn]

(03-17-2020, 11:34 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: The red tradition has been small government cut taxes spend less domestically (and on minorities).  Trump has taken that perspective further than his predecessors.  An unusual event came along to bite him that is about perfect to illustrate the error of his ways.

Linear thinking may be part of the culprit.  If you take a trend too far and it starts to fail, the believers in that trend will insist on taking the trend further.  The cyclical thinker will ask if it is time to swing the other way.  The Republicans recognized perhaps that they were taking it too far and too long, and were hesitant to follow the Tea Party base.  The Republican Establishment paused in the 2016 primaries, and Trump did take the trend far beyond the point of diminishing return.

The reluctance to recognize and solve problems, the valuing of the political 'small government' values over scientific ones that pointed out that the problems did in fact exist contributed.

But essentially the "wrecking ball' analysis is right.

Let's not be so Amero-centric about this.  The Brits have had the same problems and for the same reasons.  Never underestimate the power of misplaced priorities.