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The U.S. response to COVID-19 has garnered heavy criticism, ranging from the lack of preparedness to contradictory statements made by government officials.

The coronavirus has killed over 4,000 people across over 100 countries, infected more than 120,000 more, and ravaged global markets. In response, paid sick leave has been suggested as a way to ease the burden on some of Americas workforce. However, this would need to be passed through Congress.

And the likelihood of Congress agreeing on legislation regarding coronavirus is not high, according to Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration.

In the spirit of anything that slows the spread of the virus is the best stimulus, paid sick leave is one of the best forms of stimulus, Goolsbee said on Yahoo Finances On the Move. That Congress cannot even agree on that, and youve got people saying: Wait a second, we should have to cut other things in order to that, Im flabbergasted. But at this moment of total crisis, both the president and Congress are utterly failing in their responsibilities.

Over 4,000 people have died around the world from coronavirus. (Graphic: David Foster/Yahoo Finance)

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats tried to pass emergency legislation that would require employers to provide their employees with 14 days of paid sick leave during a public health emergency amid the ongoing spread of coronavirus. However, it was stalled after Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) opposed it on the grounds that businesses would be required to pay for the leave, not the federal government.

Meanwhile, Trump has proposed suspending all Social Security and Medicare taxes throughout the end of the year. Democrats have indicated they would not support the cut.

Things as simple as Should we have paid sick leave for everyone temporarily? to me, its obvious that we should because before there ever was a coronavirus, when we were just looking at flu infections, paid sick leave is one of the most effective ways to keep sick people from going to the workplace and infecting everyone else, Goolsbee said.

President Trump has directly contradicted public health officials on several occasions. While touring the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, he said: Anybody that needs a test can have a test. However, access to coronavirus tests is still extremely limited, an issue thats borne heavy criticism.

Trump also asserted that the completion of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would help protect Americans against coronavirus, despite the fact that the CDC director said a wall would not be effective.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, Vice President Mike Pence, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield listen during a news conference. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Goolsbee said that Trumps statements have undermined the credibility of the U.S., and that its worse than just missing presidential leadership.

Paul Volcker was a dear friend, Goolsbee said. In the Financial Crisis of 2008, he would always say to me again and again that in a crisis, the only true asset you have is your credibility. And that is true for this every bit as much as a financial crisis.

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He continued: And when I say its worse than just a lack of leadership, the president of the United States himself has actively gone out and presented false and damaging information to people, saying we only have 14 cases and pretty soon its going to go down to zero, and a lot of people are finding that this isnt so bad and they can just go to work anyway.

WHO currently has the coronavirus mortality rate at 3.4%. But during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump expressed skepticism at those numbers on a hunch.Goolsbee stressed that the the stock market plunge is very much connected to President Trumps words and actions.

I dont think its a coincidence that the stock market had the day it had yesterday and the experience it had overnight after hearing the president talk, because in a way, they are passing judgment on the one asset we have, which is our credibility, Goolsbee said. And so far, were failing that. Were not getting a bad grade were absolutely failing.

There have been over 1,300 cases of coronavirus so far in the U.S. (Graphic: David Foster/Yahoo Finance)

Between January 18 and March 10, there have been 11,079 tests for COVID-19 in the U.S. In comparison, South Korea has conducted over 100,000 tests, and the U.K. has tested nearly 25,000 people.

If you look at Korea, if you look at Japan, the rate of spread of the virus there is half the rate that it has been in places like the United States, in Italy, and in others, Goolsbee said. So I think, No. 1, weve got to start establishing credibility, getting out testing, so that not everybody feels like Maybe I have it and I dont know. I dont want to go see my grandma. I dont want to go to the NBA game. My kids cant go to school.

A woman wearing a face mask and gloves pulls her luggage as she walks through Manhattan on March 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Lax coronavirus policies in the U.S. contributed to the stock market's worst week since the 2008 Financial Crisis, ending the historic bull market and bringing intense volatility. The Federal Reserve announced an over $1 trillion liquidity operation to help support markets, but according to Goolsbee, the best thing to do for the economy is simple.

Virus economics is different from regular business cycle economics in that the most important thing you can do for the economy has nothing to do with the economy, and that is slow the rate of spread of that virus, Goolsbee said. The thing is, we are going to experience a significant hit to GDP, to our standard of living.

We have already had a huge hit on our standard of living by all the restrictions and the equivalent of a giant tax on our normal way of life, he added. Anything that slows the rate of the virus will reduce the fear factor and thats the predicate. That is necessary for us to recover.

Adriana is a reporter and editor for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at adriana@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter@adrianambells.

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Former Obama official on coronavirus: 'Both the president and Congress are utterly failing' - Yahoo Finance

Among the four of us, one of us served in President Trumps administration and two of us served in President Obamas administration. Two of us are doctors and two of us are economists. All four of us strongly believe that one of the many critical steps Congress should take to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease, help the families and communities most affected by it, and aid the overall economy would be to increase the federal matching rate for the Medicaid program.

Currently the federal government pays about 60 percent of the cost of Medicaid, over 70 percent of the cost of the Childrens Health Insurance Program, and 90 percent of the cost the Medicaid expansion population, with the remaining costs paid by states. In a normal economic downturn, states face budget constraints as their revenue falls, forcing them to cut back on Medicaid and other spending to meet their balanced budget requirements. During the novel coronavirus outbreak, the burden on public health systems in states experiencing severe outbreaks could make these financial pressures even worse. That is why Presidents Bush and Obama both signed increases to the federal share of Medicaid, the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), to help fight the last two recessions.

Today the need for increasing the federal share of Medicaid is even more urgent and important than it was when Presidents Bush and Obama did it. State spending needs are mounting rapidly as they are forced to shoulder a substantial share of the burden of the response to the spread of COVID-19. As consumers pull back on spending, sales tax revenues will start to fall. Now is not the time for states to cut back on public health efforts, support for communities, or treatments for the sick. Raising the FMAP will allow states to immediately address public health needs, make it possible for states to use Medicaid to cover COVID-19 related needs, prevent states from reducing eligibility in the middle of a public health crisis, and would also provide macroeconomic stimulus by preventing contractionary cutbacks by states affected by the virus.

Jason Furman is a professor of the practice of economic policy at Harvard University and was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (20132017). Scott Gottlieb is a physician and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and was the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (20172019). Kavita Patel is a physician and fellow at the Brookings Institution, and was director of policy for the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement (20092010). Michael R. Strain is the director of economic policy studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute.

Their article first appeared in AEIdeas.

Image:A woman wears a face mask on the subway as thecoronavirusoutbreak continued in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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Obama and Trump Administration Veterans Agree: This Is How You Help States Stop Coronavirus - The National Interest

President Donald Trump, in his comments Friday on the lack of coronavirus tests, said, I dont take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time.

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Chris Wallace spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci and played that clip, asking, The president said the Obama Administration set up rules and regulations that made it impossible to do testing. You were in the same position under the Obama administration. Is that true? Is that what stopped it?

To be honest with you, Im not sure what regulations and when it was that theyre talking about. I really mean that, he said. Im trying to figure out what it is that these things were in place that were able to or inhibiting, but one thing that I do know now is that the ability to get a test had some regulatory and other restrictions on it but the FA now has just gotten rid of.

They could have done that day one, Wallace pointed out.

They could have but that problem is they didnt so instead of looking back, looking at where were going, Fauci responded.

You can watch above, via Fox News Sunday.

Have a tip we should know? [emailprotected]

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Chris Wallace Presses Fauci on Trump Going After Obama-Era Regulations: Is That True? - Mediaite

From the beginning of the presidential race, I have been fascinated with Joe Bidens campaign, but not because of his inevitable gaffes, appeal to white Midwestern voters, electability, or even his policies. Bidens campaign has been amazing to watch because the unofficial, unspoken ethos from day one has been, Im best friends with the black president you love. Give me a shot.

Biden is not generally thought of as terribly progressive of course and, on paper, hes not. But seeing a white man campaign for, and possibly win, the highest office in the land based mostly on his friendship with a black man and their shared accomplishments may be one of the most progressive things I have ever seen.

The fact that I have labelled Bidens campaign as progressive has befuddled my friends and will probably inflame social media. But I do not see how the ethos of Bidens campaign could be anything but progressive. Not only is it obviously progress, but this is the type of progress that Americans who arent racist love to see.

Americans love the narrative of the black and white male partnership with a redemptive arc. Normally, the trope consists of a crazy, wild, and/or racist white male who becomes a better person through his friendship with a black man. Think about the Lethal Weapon movie series. Mel Gibsons character, Martin Riggs, is crazy and troubled, and his partnership with Danny Glovers character, Roger Murtaugh, who is a mature and stable family man, helps Riggs become a better man.

The hit television show Miami Vice was also a celebration of the black-and-white male partnership. There, the white guy, Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson), was the main protagonist, but the black ex-New Yorker Rico Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) was an indispensable partner who at times served as Sonnys conscience. The 2018 film Green Book, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, also employs this trope, and so do countless other films.

Many of Sidney Poitiers films from the 1950s and 60s speak to Americas need for a black-and-white redemption narrative. In the Heat of the Night (1967) is obvious here, as Poitier teaches small-town Southern sheriff Rod Steiger a few things about race in America; less obviously, go watch The Defiant Ones (1960), in which Poitier co-stars with Tony Curtis. In both cases, the black man provides the moral frame, and the white man, hopefully, learns something.

The problem with this cinematic narrative has been that it never matched up with the reality of America. These films represented images of the America that white Americans say they want to see but do very little to create.

However, as America became more integrated, authentic friendships across our racial divide become more possible. Sports has taken the lead here. The rivalry and friendship of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird revitalized the NBA. John Stockton and Karl Malone became a Hall of Fame duo for the Utah Jazz. Even today, NBA fans celebrate that Alex Caruso is an integrated part of the Los Angeles Lakers, and not just a boring, isolated white NBA player who can only shoot threes.

Obama and Biden represent the pinnacle of the black-and-white male bromance. During Donald Trumps presidency, author Andrew Shaffer even reimagined the Obama-Biden bromance and published two satirical mystery novels, Hope Rides Again and Hope Never Dies, where Obama and Biden team up to fight crime and solve mysteries. They became another Lethal Weapon, and both books reached The New York Times bestseller list.

America loves this narrative, but Bidens campaign has taken it to a new level. Bidens all by himself. His partner in crime cant fight this fight with him, but Biden is still campaigning as one half of a dynamic duo.

At the beginning of his campaign, I wondered how effective this strategy would be. Would Bidens eight years as Obamas sidekick withstand the gaffes that undid Bidens previous presidential bids? Surely, campaigning as Obamas best friend would not protect him against attacks from Kamala Harris and Cory Booker as they sought to win support amongst voters of color, right? Also, at some point, he would inevitably take a position that was critical of Obama that could help him win support amongst progressive and Latino voters.

Yet he never did. Debate after debate, Biden got attacked for many of his unpopular pre-Obama policies and statements. Other Democrats attacked the immigration policies of the Obama administration, and Biden never criticized or broke from Obama. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren challenged him over health care, too. By Iowa, Biden was an old-school moderate who had been beaten up by the new wave of the Democratic Party, and was nearly down for the count.

Despite his decades of public service, white voters had moved on from Biden. They found a newer, younger model in Pete Buttigieg instead. Or they clamored around a more economically progressive candidate in Sanders. Or they had grown tired of white men and instead supported Warren or Amy Klobuchar.

Trust matters more than policy in the black community.

The black-and-white redemption narrative got very little real-world support at first. Specifically, it got very little support from white Americans. Incredibly, it took black voters to save his campaign and keep the story alive.

As I watched the results roll in in South Carolina, I obviously thought about how the Democrats had unintentionally given Biden a boost, but I also thought about some subtle differences between black and white voters that Ive noticed during this election.

Plenty of black voters might have policy disagreements with Biden. But his friendship with Obama and his pre-Obama connections to the black community make many African-Americans confident that they can trust Biden. Weve had countless white politicians try to win our votes via great policies, only to let us down. So trust matters more than policy in the black community.

Regarding policy, I align much more with Sanders than I do with Biden, but Bernies and his supporters emphasis on class and not race meant that he would never get enough support among black voters to win the nomination or presidency. Bernie is anything but a racist, but he hadnt spent as much time developing trust or creating a brotherhood for black voters to support him over Biden.

Bidens big win in South Carolina showed that black voters, young and old, trusted Obamas No. 2. Race and trust matter more than class and policy for many black voters, and Bidens quietly revolutionary campaign of celebrating black and white brotherhood speaks to this unspoken and rarely manifested American need.

America has never had a white person campaign for the highest office in the land based primarily on their brotherhood and friendship with a black man. But Joe Biden is. And while other candidates invoke revolution and he does not, this might actually be the revolution America needs the most.

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Why Biden-Obama Is the Ultimate White Guy-Black Guy Buddy Movie - The Daily Beast

DES MOINES It has become political lore, repeated on cable airwaves and by Democratic campaign consultants, even presidential candidates. In 2008, as the story goes, black voters were uncertain about Barack Obamas presidential candidacy until he won the Iowa caucuses, after which they rallied around him over the onetime front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

Some Democrats had suggested that a win in next Mondays Iowa caucuses could have a similar influence among black voters in South Carolina and elsewhere, to the detriment of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who leads among African-Americans in polls. But in reality, according to historical polling data and interviews with some advisers from the Obama campaign, Mr. Obamas political strength with black voters was stronger than many remember even as Mrs. Clinton was ahead in many polls in late 2007 and early 2008.

The persistence of the narrative that Iowa made Mr. Obama has long irritated some of his advisers, who said that this recollection from 2008 had led campaigns astray since then, discounted the agency of black voters and minimized the robust grass-roots strategy that Mr. Obamas team undertook in the South.

Cornell Belcher, Mr. Obamas chief pollster in South Carolina, said internal campaign polling data showed Mr. Obama surpassing Mrs. Clinton among black voters in South Carolina as early as November 2007, and leading throughout the entire state before Iowa voted. Public polling shows Mr. Obama with clear leads among black South Carolina voters through that November and December, with his numbers growing further after the Iowa caucuses.

Black voters arent waiting for white people to tell them what to do, Mr. Belcher said. Its racist. Its racial paternalism.

He added, Iowa gave Barack Obama the same thing it will give any candidate that surges and that beats the presumptive front-runner. It gives bounce and credibility but thats not just among black voting.

In applying lessons from Mr. Obamas Iowa victory to the current Democratic primary, Mr. Belcher and other political operatives have grim news for candidates hoping that a win in Iowa can reverse their luck with black and Latino voters across the country: dont count on it.

This includes Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who have showed little traction with black voters in state and national polls. In a new national poll released by ABC News and The Washington Post, 51 percent of black voters were behind Mr. Biden. The next closest candidate was Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who was at 15 percent.

Another recent poll of black voters from The Washington Post and Ipsos, showed Mr. Biden ahead by 60 percentage points with black voters aged 65 and older.

Mr. Belcher said campaigns seeking to challenge Mr. Biden in South Carolina had made a mistake waiting for this magic Iowa.

Its lazy thinking, he said. They think they dont have to put resources behind it, and is, in fact, taking a key constituency that they need for granted.

Valerie Jarrett, the former senior adviser to Mr. Obama, said any candidate looking to replicate their 2008 strategy required not only an organizing vision, but also significant resources.

Ms. Jarrett echoed Mr. Belcher, saying she thinks theres a good chance Mr. Obama would have won the black vote in South Carolina even if he hadnt been competitive in Iowa.

Him winning an overwhelming white state sent a message across the nation, she said. But was it the only factor? I dont think so.

How much the first nominating contest in Iowa truly matters as a political kingmaker has been debated for decades. In Iowa, it is common for voters to mention Mr. Obamas 2008 win as a point of pride, a justification for a state whose primary importance is under intense scrutiny. This election cycle, Iowans who support Mr. Sanders, Mr. Buttigieg, Ms. Warren or Ms. Klobuchar cite Mr. Obamas first campaign as a ready-made antidote to their candidates lagging status among black and Latino voters. Just do well in Iowa, they argue, and the other voters will follow.

But even as one of Mr. Bidens senior advisers describe South Carolina and black voters as his launching pad, there are signs his position may be more precarious than Mrs. Clintons in 2016 and Mr. Obamas in 2008. Mr. Biden also has below average favorability ratings and has struggled in particular with younger black voters. His polling lead among black voters is about 30 points, commanding but less than the 60-point advantage that Mrs. Clinton experienced in 2016.

Briahna Joy Gray, the national press secretary for Mr. Sanderss campaign, has said she believed that winning in the early states would help Mr. Sanders overcome skepticism.

For legitimate historical reasons, black voters tend to want to back the person they see as the most electable, Ms. Gray said late last year. And it sometimes takes a little bit longer to convince people that you are the right person to take out someone like Trump.

Mr. Sanderss campaign has been one of many to deploy this line of thinking. Former presidential candidates such as Senators Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, both of whom are black, had hoped to unlock support in South Carolina through strong Iowa finishes. At the end of her stump speech during her campaigns final months, Ms. Harris would tell Iowans about coming to the state during Mr. Obamas first run, and implored them to help her recreate that historic moment.

Mr. Buttigieg, who has gained traction among white liberals and moderates in Iowa and New Hampshire but has struggled to replicate his support nationwide, has cast himself repeatedly in the mold of Mr. Obama, also alluding to him during speeches on the trail.

The same state that took a chance on a young guy with a funny name, who a lot of folks didnt think could win 12 years ago, Mr. Buttigieg said in Council Bluffs recently, this state could help us make history one more time.

Ms. Jarrett said the importance of Iowa should be viewed through a broader lens. For Mr. Obama, it did not change the minds of black voters, but provided a stamp of legitimacy that was important for a first-time presidential candidate. In other races, including in 2004 when Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won the Democratic primary, Iowa has been a springboard for the eventual nominee.

There were people looking for early signals that he was a competitive candidate, Ms. Jarrett said of Mr. Obama.

She also said campaigns should take other lessons from Mr. Obamas success, including his campaigns reliance on grass-roots organizing, digital advertising tools and modern voter targeting. She also said Mr. Obamas campaign had financial resources to sustain the operation a luxury some candidates this cycle had not had.

Ultimately, its a combination of strategies, Ms. Jarrett said. Being able to raise money is important as well, and you cant support a field organization if you dont have the money.

In South Carolina last week, at an event held by the Democratic Womens Council of Darlington County, voters expressed an openness to voting for someone other than Mr. Biden. But they were looking to be wooed, by a candidate and a message that spoke directly to their concerns not someone who had proven the ability to win by succeeding in Iowa.

This is on the individual person, Caroline Hannatt, 67, said. Why is Iowa so important? Iowa doesnt have any bearing on who I vote for.

Jannie Lathan, 69, said the priorities of Democrats in Iowa, an overwhelmingly white state, were not the same as those of Democrats in South Carolina.

Ill stick with the criteria I laid out, Ms. Lathan said.

This is about our issues, she added, meaning black people. Not about whos popular in the moment but our issues.

Originally posted here:
The One About Iowa, Black Voters and Barack Obama - The New York Times