A ‘wish list’ to soften next blow
In planning for a postcoronavirus future, a candidate for public office recently called for some substantial policy changes both to prevent a recurrence and help soften the blow for the next catastrophe. These prescriptions included strengthening the social safety net, broadening the classification of “essential workers” and technological advances like allowing SNAP recipients to purchase groceries online.
These common-sense solutions were quickly dismissed by a letter writer as a “liberal wish list,” and it would be easy to count the interaction as one more partisan back and forth, where everything from watching football to eating a cheeseburger becomes a statement of political beliefs. But as we look to a post-virus future, it’s worth looking at what public policy changes would help soften the blow of the next COVID-19-level catastrophe. The virus, after all, doesn’t care about your political beliefs.
The direct toll from the virus may never have been avoidable, as even countries with robust health care systems have suffered greatly. But the indirect toll matters, too, and people have been avoiding necessary health care, including prevention, both because the system is overwhelmed dealing with COVID and because they’re scared of catching it at the hospital. A whole other contingent is suddenly without insurance altogether because, unlike every other rich nation in the world, we tie employment to health care.
That means when people lose their jobs, their health coverage tends to go, too. With millions of
The best way to prepare for our post-corona future would be plain old policy fixes
people out of work, the ability to access decent health care becomes harder at precisely the time when more people than ever need it. It’s a system that has never made sense and needs to change.
Then there is the economic cost of all those lost jobs. It’s true that many people will be rehired once the economy starts to open up again, but it’s not that simple. No one can simply flip a switch. That means millions of people have no money to pay rent or buy groceries, and the aid that has been offered is not sufficient to bridge those gaps.
A legitimately robust safety net would give people a cushion in a time of need. It would bridge the gap during a calamity in a way that wouldn’t leave millions worried about their future. The best way to prepare for our postcorona future would be plain old policy fixes, and getting lawmakers to walk down that aisle together would indeed be an innovation.