Here's a glaring example of a government that has sold out to a ruling
class built upon profit. The American Ruling Class is actually
America's Traitors, selling out the American Working Class for the
gold in Grandma's teeth. Decent people should be shocked into action
by this ruthless behavior of Wall Street Pirates.
Carl Jarvis...aurgh
On 3/24/20, miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Trump Won't Order Vital Coronavirus Supplies Because Corporate CEOs Asked
Him Not To
By Bess Levin, Vanity Fair
24 March 20
They’re worried it could be bad for business.
ne of the most mind-boggling aspects of the coronavirus crisis in America is
the fact that one of the wealthiest countries in the world doesn’t have the
basic medical supplies necessary to deal with the situation. In addition to
a lack of beds, hospitals across the nation have nowhere near the number of
ventilators and masks doctors require to both do their jobs and protect
themselves. While governors have pleaded with Donald Trump to help them
obtain such equipment, he’s literally told them they’re on their own,
seemingly forgetting the fact that he’s the one with the power here. For
instance, Andrew Cuomo can’t invoke the Defense Production Act, which allows
the federal government to take some control of the private sector to ensure
production of materials relevant to national defense, but Trump can. And yet
he’s chosen not to. Why? Because corporate CEOs don’t like the idea, and the
president is more concerned with keeping big business happy than keeping
Americans alive.
Yes, according to the New York Times, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and heads
of major corporations have “lobbied the administration against using the
act,” arguing that it could impose “red tape” on companies at a time when
they need the government out of their hair. Unsurprisingly, free market
die-hard Larry Kudlow, i.e., Trump’s never-right National Economic Council
director, was “persuaded” by such arguments, as was Trump’s not-very-bright
son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Instead the Trump Brain Trust has insisted that
it can just convince businesses to help bridge the shortfall of vital
medical supplies without making a formal demand, an initiative that thus far
has had predictable results:
The government has essentially thrown out its existing playbook for dealing
with pandemics, seizing the issue from the Department of Health and Human
Services and moving it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But it is
far from clear that the effort to enlist companies like General Motors,
Apple, and Hanes, just a few of the firms that have promised to free up
existing supplies of masks or repurpose 3D printers to produce ventilator
parts, constitutes an effective strategy.
In interviews with participants in the process, from business executives to
government officials, there is still widespread confusion about how much and
what exactly each firm is supposed to produce. Corporate executives say they
face a bewildering number of requests from dozens of nations around the
world, along with governors and mayors around the country, for scarce
supplies. The White House has not said who will set the priority list for
deliveries. And it is not clear that any of it will arrive in time for the
cities and the states that are hit the hardest, including New York.
Administration officials, asked why they have been reluctant to use the full
force of the Defense Production Act to press industry into action, say the
country is not in such dire straits. There is plenty of volunteer
cooperation, they say, and there is always the implicit threat of ordering
mandatory measures if they do not. Mr. Trump, at the news briefing,
suggested an ideological concern as well. “We’re a country not based on
nationalizing our business,” he said.
During that briefing on Sunday, White House economic adviser Peter Navarro
told reporters, “We’re getting what we need without putting the heavy hand
of government down.” Navarro, you may recall, is the West Wing’s resident
China crackpot whom Kushner hired after finding him on Amazon, and who
attempts to sway government policy by issuing memos under a pen name. That’s
the kind of expertise that’s led to, among other things, the production of
basically worthless underwear masks:
Anderson Warlick, the chief executive of the textile company Parkdale Mills,
said Mr. Navarro had called him early last week to ask what the company
could make. By Saturday, Parkdale Mills joined Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, and
other companies in announcing a coalition to produce masks. But they are not
the kind hospitals most need. The new masks will be made of a three-ply
underwear fabric, and do not provide the level of protection given by the
N95 masks that health care workers need for intubation and other
procedures.
While the corporate announcements, like Apple’s move to donate millions of
masks, may have generated some positive headlines for the Trump
administration, critics say the ad hoc approach is falling far short of the
challenge. Industry executives say companies are reluctant to crank up
production lines without purchasing guarantees from the government. With the
economy in free-fall and factories shuttering around the country, few
manufacturers are eager to invest in new machinery or venture into new
products.
On Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others, issued a public plea
for Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act, saying, “We cannot wait
until people start really dying in large numbers to start production,
especially of more complicated equipment like ventilators and hospital
beds.”
Andrew Cuomo
✔
@NYGovCuomo
We need the federal government to use the Defense Production Act so that we
can get the medical supplies we desperately need.
We can’t just wait for companies to come forward with offers and hope they
will.
This is a national emergency.
40.2K
11:12 - 23 Mar 2020
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Of course it’s in no way surprising that Trump would prioritize the needs
and desires of big business over matters of life and death, which would
explain why he’s already ready to let people get out in the world and spread
the virus further in an effort to shore up the economy:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE
15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!
318K
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Update: In a statement, Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief
Policy Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Defense Production Act
isn’t a magic wand to immediately solve medical supply shortages. It can’t
produce highly specialized manufacturing equipment overnight. It can’t
convert a refrigerator factory into a ventilator factory.
The proponents of invoking the Defense Production Act have not identified
what problem exists that this law can solve. What is it that businesses are
not already doing that the Defense Production Act would compel them to do?
The fact is American companies are working around the clock to support our
country’s response to the pandemic. Companies that have the necessary
expertise and infrastructure are working closely with all levels of
government to get the products to those who need them most. A variety of
manufacturers have risen to the task and suggested that their equipment can
be reconfigured to produce medical equipment. The real challenge is that we
need to produce sophisticated products that can’t easily be made without the
right specialty equipment, which may not be readily available.
The Defense Production Act was designed for defense industry products with a
single supplier, often with purely domestic production chains. Invoking the
law may do more harm than good in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and
medical equipment because it creates uncertainty and confusion for the
companies now working day and night to make these needed supplies.
It’s time to get back to work on fighting this global pandemic.”
