Will Californians let coronavirus kill their grandparents to please Wall Street? Hell no
Would you risk the lives of your parents, grandparents or friends to boost Wall Street profits during the coronavirus pandemic?
There’s only one correct answer: “Hell no!”
Yet President Donald Trump is now floating the idea of letting COVID-19 kill more Americans in an effort to boost the stock market. Against the advice of experts like Dr. Tony Fauci, Trump and an extreme group of Wall Street figures are publicly suggesting that we should scale back our efforts to contain COVID-19.
They believe a spike in the coronavirus infection curve is better than a drop in the Dow Jones. This vile proposal – which could result in the deaths of millions of Americans, many of them elderly – should outrage every one of us.
COVID-19 has killed over 400 Americans so far, including 38 Californians, five of them in the Sacramento area. The global death toll has reached 14,000 and experts say it will only get worse. Gov. Gavin Newsom says California needs an extra 50,000 hospital beds to be prepared for incoming patients. That’s why he took the unprecedented step of ordering a statewide stay-in-place order for 39 million Californians – not the kind of thing any politician ever wants to do.
But this is a life or death situation. Thankfully, most of us have embraced our patriotic duty and mobilized to defend public health. We are united in this historic effort to slow the coronavirus’ spread. Unfortunately, Trump now appears to be on the side of the virus.
Days ago, Trump described himself as a “wartime president” fighting an “invisible enemy.” Now, he’s contemplating a full surrender.
“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!” he tweeted on Sunday.
The reversal comes after Trump, who initially downplayed the coronavirus threat as a “hoax,” had finally appeared to be taking the threat seriously. Then, influential Wall Street voices got upset. They don’t like our decision to prioritize public health in a deadly pandemic.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board urged the U.S. to quickly abandon social distancing and make Americans go back to work – never mind the advice of doctors or the lives that will be lost. Wall Street figures like former Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein rushed to agree. White House advisor Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC host who said on Feb. 25 that the virus was “contained,” now warns that Americans face “difficult tradeoffs.”
Translation: Prepare to trade American lives for Wall Street profits.
This deadly idea quickly filtered down to the local level. On Sunday, Fresno City Councilmember Gary Bredefeld put out of video message criticizing California’s stay-in-place orders and saying he wanted to see more data, according to The Fresno Bee.
But the science is clear: If we don’t “flatten the curve” of infections, our hospitals will get overwhelmed and large numbers of Americans will die preventable deaths. In the worst-case scenario, it could kill millions.
That’s why Californians are staying home and avoiding social contact. Yes, this creates painful economic consequences, but our lives – and the lives of our neighbors – are more valuable than stocks or money. We can save the economy without deliberately causing mass deaths. We can immediately protect workers and their families from economic pain without ignoring doctors and scientists.
Besides, surrendering to the virus would only increase the economic devastation. Who wants to play Russian roulette with a deadly pandemic? Many of us would lose family members, friends and colleagues. That’s a lot of funerals.
We would also lose basic morality and the soul of our nation.
COVID-19 threatens all of us, but so far it seems especially fatal to the elderly, making the “let Americans die” approach a bizarre political strategy for Republicans.
“Translation (1): ‘Let the old folks die,’” tweeted Jim Ashford, a retired Legislative Counsel attorney in Fresno.
Mr. Ashford is correct. Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, stunned the nation on Monday by declaring on live television that older Americans should be willing to die. “I’m all in,” he said, in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox show.
Social distancing saves lives. We must trust doctors and scientists to guide our response – not billionaires, stockbrokers or anti-science politicians who value their fortunes more than our families. All of us, including California’s elected leaders, must forcefully condemn Wall Street’s murderous proposal before it’s too late. And no matter what Trump decides, California must continue to follow the science.
Had Trump listened to intelligence reports and acted sooner, we would not be in this situation. Instead, he listened to Fox, ignored science and put us in this grim situation. Now, he wants us to sacrifice American lives to cover up his mistake and appease Wall Street.
Hell no!
Editor’s note: This column has been updated to reflect Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s statement that grandparents should be willing to die of the coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 9:16 AM with the headline "Will Californians let coronavirus kill their grandparents to please Wall Street? Hell no."