csmonitor--2020-03-24--Coronavirus generation gap: Mom fights to keep kids – and grandma – home

“ This is a really stressful time for people , because you can ’ t just jump on a plane and go to [ your parents ] , ” says Kathleen Kauth , an eldercare mediator and president of K.T .
Beck Enterprises in Omaha , Nebraska .
“ There ’ s a greater sense of separation.
” This is mounting pressure on the so-called sandwich generation : those caring for people both older and younger than themselves .
Many in this group are battling to get their aging parents to heed expert advice on “ social distancing , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids who may not understand why they need to make sacrifices unlike any they have ever known .
At one extreme of the spectrum are the spring breakers crowding beaches in Florida , symbolizing a generation that , unfazed by their own personal risk , is not putting collective public health first .
At the other end are baby boomers , who health officials say may be among the most vulnerable .
But anecdotally , they ’ ve sometimes shown as little caution about their health as youth , as they continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic has shined a spotlight on generational differences – and generated a blame game about who is not doing their part to confront it .
Pia Loeb has been waking up restless at 5 a.m. , her mind swirling with questions about where her mother should live and how to keep her young family safe from the coronavirus – although it sometimes seems like she ’ s the only one of them worrying .
Until last week , her septuagenarian mother was still playing tennis in her thrice-weekly clinic .
And on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother over the phone to stay put at home in her apartment in New York ’ s Westchester County , Ms. Loeb found out her tween daughter , who was sent to school to pick up her things before it shuttered and come right home , had instead gone to the local shopping center with a group of friends .
Ms. Loeb , who has health issues that put her at higher risk , says the generalized disquiet that everyone is feeling right now has been compounded by her own fears that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by those closest to her .
“ I ’ ve been really anxious , as a caregiver for my kids , and taking care of myself .
I want to do everything I can to protect all of us , ” says Ms. Loeb , who lives in Boulder , Colorado .
“ And for my mom , it makes me really sad to feel powerless that I can ’ t do anything at this point to help her.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage .
It ’ s free .
Her own struggle reflects pressure mounting on Generation X , many of whom are battling to get their aging parents to heed expert advice on “ social distancing , ” at the same time they are raising kids who may not understand why they need to make sacrifices unlike any they have ever known .
It can be especially heartbreaking for the so-called sandwich generation : those caring for both older and younger than themselves , who now face tough choices about how to live as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much risk .
“ This is a really stressful time for people , because you can ’ t just jump on a plane and go to [ your parents ] , ” says Kathleen Kauth , an eldercare mediator and president of K.T .
Beck Enterprises in Omaha , Nebraska .
“ There ’ s a greater sense of separation.
” The pandemic has shined a spotlight on generational differences – and generated a blame game about who is not doing their part to confront it .
At one end of the spectrum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida .
Their cavalier attitudes might be extreme , but they ’ ve come to symbolize a generation that , unfazed by their own personal risk , is not putting collective public health first .
At the other end are baby boomers .
Health officials say older adults may be among the most vulnerable .
But anecdotally , they ’ ve sometimes shown as little caution about their health as youth , earning reprimands from their children as they continue to attend exercise classes at the pool or meet friends at coffee shops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and attitudes have shifted since the U.S. government has changed its message about the risk of the coronavirus as cases mount .
A Pew Research Center poll showed the older you are , the more prone you are to think the outbreak presents a major risk to your personal health .
Much bigger differences were seen along party affiliation .
In a Kaiser poll , the only noticeable difference in behavior between those 60 or older and adults overall was the response to whether respondents were forgoing large gatherings , with 40 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have canceled plans , compared with 29 % of the older cohort .
In a March 5 to 9 Harris Poll survey reported by Forbes , 77 % of those over 65 said they think they are “ unlikely ” to catch the coronavirus based on their habits , the least concerned of all age groups .
Much of that attitude can be attributed to having lived or seen their parents live through much worse : wars , draft , rationing , or scarcity .
Baby boomers today are also much more physically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alter their sense of perceived risk .
Ms. Loeb ’ s mother , at 78 , is the youngest player in her tennis group .
Though frustrated , Ms. Loeb also empathizes with both her mother and her children .
“ It ’ s a lot to take in , for all of us , ” she says .
“ For society overall , it makes sense it takes time .
Not everyone is going to digest it at the same rate.
” Coming to terms with the virus has happened in waves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a certified senior adviser and founder of The Caregiver ’ s Guardian , a consulting service for family caregivers .
She says both her millennial son and 90-year-old father were at first skeptical about taking COVID-19 seriously .
“ We have had some interesting conversations around social distancing , because he really wasn ’ t buying into the necessity of it , not really understanding , ” she says of her son .
Like many Americans , now he does , she says , especially as they now know two people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As for her father , he initially didn ’ t want to give up regular church-going .
“ He didn ’ t think this message applied to him initially , ” she says .
Since his church has moved its services online , she says he now attends at home via livestream .
She herself now understands she can no longer fly from Denver to New Orleans visit him either .
Instead she mailed him a “ love letter , ” she says , something he “ would be able to read over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reminder to the incredibly , wonderfully perfect dad that he has been to me all of my life.
” That kind of separation can be morally crushing to the “ sandwich generation.
” Heather Benson is a Gen X mom and caregiver in Southampton , outside Philadelphia .
She is caring for her mother , who has dementia and lives in their home , and has two daughters , ages 11 and 13 .
Since the coronavirus outbreak , she had to let go of two aides since they also work in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread are higher .
And her daughters can ’ t go into their grandmother ’ s bedroom anymore – which places an emotional burden on all of them .
“ It ’ s been harder on my youngest than my oldest .
She ’ s the one that likes to go in and watch movies with my mom , ” she says .
“ I have been getting groceries delivered and have not been leaving the house so as to reduce the risk for my mom .
It ’ s even more complicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so of course family wants to see her , and we ’ re all concerned they may not get that chance.
” Ms. Loeb also struggles with the uncertainties of “ when ” and “ how.
” For weeks as the risks mounted , she considered bringing her mother to live with them in Colorado , dreaming of renting an RV to do the cross-country trek .
But she worried that would put her mother at greater risk , especially in a household with young children .
“ I said , ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other for a year , ’ ” she says .
“ It ’ s terrifying for me to think that if she gets sick , she ’ s alone , or if her whole building gets quarantined , there ’ s no one there to help her.
” She feels more at ease now that her mother agrees that she must stay home .
And so for now they ’ re relying on technology to bridge the separation and minimize the risks .
It ’ s not easy – “ It can take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screen , ” she laughs – but the other night her mother ate her dinner over FaceTime as her family cooked theirs in Colorado .
“ This is going to become a really big part of our everyday lives.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , we ’ ve removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

“This is a really stressful time for people, because you can’t just jump on a plane and go to [your parents],” says Kathleen Kauth, an eldercare mediator and president of K.T. Beck Enterprises in Omaha, Nebraska. “There’s a greater sense of separation.”
This is mounting pressure on the so-called sandwich generation: those caring for people both older and younger than themselves. Many in this group are battling to get their aging parents to heed expert advice on “social distancing,” at the same time they are raising kids who may not understand why they need to make sacrifices unlike any they have ever known.
For those taking care of both their parents and their children, the coronavirus pandemic is posing a major challenge. For not just the young, but seniors as well, don't always take social distancing to heart.
At one extreme of the spectrum are the spring breakers crowding beaches in Florida, symbolizing a generation that, unfazed by their own personal risk, is not putting collective public health first. At the other end are baby boomers, who health officials say may be among the most vulnerable. But anecdotally, they’ve sometimes shown as little caution about their health as youth, as they continue to go out and socialize.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on generational differences – and generated a blame game about who is not doing their part to confront it.
Pia Loeb has been waking up restless at 5 a.m., her mind swirling with questions about where her mother should live and how to keep her young family safe from the coronavirus – although it sometimes seems like she’s the only one of them worrying.
Until last week, her septuagenarian mother was still playing tennis in her thrice-weekly clinic. And on the same day she was pleading with her mother over the phone to stay put at home in her apartment in New York’s Westchester County, Ms. Loeb found out her tween daughter, who was sent to school to pick up her things before it shuttered and come right home, had instead gone to the local shopping center with a group of friends.
Ms. Loeb, who has health issues that put her at higher risk, says the generalized disquiet that everyone is feeling right now has been compounded by her own fears that it’s not being taken seriously enough by those closest to her.
Why We Wrote This For those taking care of both their parents and their children, the coronavirus pandemic is posing a major challenge. For not just the young, but seniors as well, don't always take social distancing to heart.
“I’ve been really anxious, as a caregiver for my kids, and taking care of myself. I want to do everything I can to protect all of us,” says Ms. Loeb, who lives in Boulder, Colorado. “And for my mom, it makes me really sad to feel powerless that I can’t do anything at this point to help her.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, we’ve removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.
Her own struggle reflects pressure mounting on Generation X, many of whom are battling to get their aging parents to heed expert advice on “social distancing,” at the same time they are raising kids who may not understand why they need to make sacrifices unlike any they have ever known. It can be especially heartbreaking for the so-called sandwich generation: those caring for both older and younger than themselves, who now face tough choices about how to live as a family in the face of so much risk.
“This is a really stressful time for people, because you can’t just jump on a plane and go to [your parents],” says Kathleen Kauth, an eldercare mediator and president of K.T. Beck Enterprises in Omaha, Nebraska. “There’s a greater sense of separation.”
Absorbing the risk
The pandemic has shined a spotlight on generational differences – and generated a blame game about who is not doing their part to confront it. At one end of the spectrum are the spring breakers crowding beaches in Florida. Their cavalier attitudes might be extreme, but they’ve come to symbolize a generation that, unfazed by their own personal risk, is not putting collective public health first.
At the other end are baby boomers. Health officials say older adults may be among the most vulnerable. But anecdotally, they’ve sometimes shown as little caution about their health as youth, earning reprimands from their children as they continue to attend exercise classes at the pool or meet friends at coffee shops.
Polling only partially bears this out, and attitudes have shifted since the U.S. government has changed its message about the risk of the coronavirus as cases mount. A Pew Research Center poll showed the older you are, the more prone you are to think the outbreak presents a major risk to your personal health. Much bigger differences were seen along party affiliation.
In a Kaiser poll, the only noticeable difference in behavior between those 60 or older and adults overall was the response to whether respondents were forgoing large gatherings, with 40% of the overall population saying they have canceled plans, compared with 29% of the older cohort.
In a March 5 to 9 Harris Poll survey reported by Forbes, 77% of those over 65 said they think they are “unlikely” to catch the coronavirus based on their habits, the least concerned of all age groups.
Much of that attitude can be attributed to having lived or seen their parents live through much worse: wars, draft, rationing, or scarcity. Baby boomers today are also much more physically active than earlier generations, which could alter their sense of perceived risk. Ms. Loeb’s mother, at 78, is the youngest player in her tennis group. Though frustrated, Ms. Loeb also empathizes with both her mother and her children. “It’s a lot to take in, for all of us,” she says. “For society overall, it makes sense it takes time. Not everyone is going to digest it at the same rate.”
An emotional burden
Coming to terms with the virus has happened in waves for the family of Nadine Roberts Cornish, a certified senior adviser and founder of The Caregiver’s Guardian, a consulting service for family caregivers. She says both her millennial son and 90-year-old father were at first skeptical about taking COVID-19 seriously. “We have had some interesting conversations around social distancing, because he really wasn’t buying into the necessity of it, not really understanding,” she says of her son. Like many Americans, now he does, she says, especially as they now know two people who have been diagnosed with the virus.
As for her father, he initially didn’t want to give up regular church-going. “He didn’t think this message applied to him initially,” she says. Since his church has moved its services online, she says he now attends at home via livestream. She herself now understands she can no longer fly from Denver to New Orleans visit him either. Instead she mailed him a “love letter,” she says, something he “would be able to read over and over and over again as a reminder to the incredibly, wonderfully perfect dad that he has been to me all of my life.”
That kind of separation can be morally crushing to the “sandwich generation.”
Heather Benson is a Gen X mom and caregiver in Southampton, outside Philadelphia. She is caring for her mother, who has dementia and lives in their home, and has two daughters, ages 11 and 13. Since the coronavirus outbreak, she had to let go of two aides since they also work in a nursing facility where the risks of coronavirus spread are higher. And her daughters can’t go into their grandmother’s bedroom anymore – which places an emotional burden on all of them.
“It’s been harder on my youngest than my oldest. She’s the one that likes to go in and watch movies with my mom,” she says. “I have been getting groceries delivered and have not been leaving the house so as to reduce the risk for my mom. It’s even more complicated because my mom just started on hospice, so of course family wants to see her, and we’re all concerned they may not get that chance.”
Ms. Loeb also struggles with the uncertainties of “when” and “how.” For weeks as the risks mounted, she considered bringing her mother to live with them in Colorado, dreaming of renting an RV to do the cross-country trek. But she worried that would put her mother at greater risk, especially in a household with young children. “I said, ‘Mom, we might not see each other for a year,’” she says. “It’s terrifying for me to think that if she gets sick, she’s alone, or if her whole building gets quarantined, there’s no one there to help her.”
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
She feels more at ease now that her mother agrees that she must stay home. And so for now they’re relying on technology to bridge the separation and minimize the risks. It’s not easy – “It can take 10 minutes to see us on the screen,” she laughs – but the other night her mother ate her dinner over FaceTime as her family cooked theirs in Colorado. “This is going to become a really big part of our everyday lives.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, we’ve removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-04-28--How coronavirus will change the US, from where we live to the way we connect

As history Professor Margaret O ’ Mara says , “ Great crises can change the rules of the game and people ’ s attitudes about political possibility really fast.
” The nation ’ s sense of what constitutes patriotic service may change after COVID-19 , which demonstrated that not all heroes wear camo .
It is everyday Americans , from doctors and nurses and EMTs to grocery workers and delivery drivers , who are putting their health and lives at risk to protect and provide for everyone else .
Life in American cities may not be the same .
Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; the pandemic may accelerate this movement as people flee to the perceived safety of open spaces .
If there ’ s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to shift into hyperdrive , it ’ s the movement of more and more of our activities online – but reliance on digital connection will also leave many behind .
As America continues to fight the coronavirus it seems increasingly likely that when we look back , the pandemic of 2020 will be a time when the world changed in sudden and profound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where we live and work to how we communicate with others , and even what counts as patriotic service .
As America continues to fight the COVID-19 virus it seems increasingly likely that when we look back , the pandemic of 2020 – like 9/11 and the 2008 financial crash – will be a time when the world around us changed in sudden and profound ways .
It will affect everything from where we live and work to how we communicate with and relate to others , and even what counts as patriotic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s salute .
That does not mean the post-coronavirus world will be different beyond recognition .
The pandemic will not change the basic direction of history so much as accelerate it , according to Richard Haass , president of the Council on Foreign Relations .
The importance of the United States to other nations may decline , while that of China increases ; but that is happening in some form already .
Our screen time may skyrocket along with reliance on Zoom , FaceTime , and other video connectors ; but that basic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to create redundant globalized production chains ; but far-sighted managers have pushed this for some time .
Nor are coming changes completely predictable .
The influenza epidemic of 1918 turned the world upside down and ravaged the U.S. population .
What followed was not a new seriousness of national purpose , but the Roaring ’ 20s , a free-spending decade remembered today as one of the shallowest eras of American life .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They override tendencies toward inertia , open room for the consideration of new ideas , and push aside past impediments .
The ideas for the big government programs that became the New Deal had been bouncing around U.S. politics for years before Franklin Roosevelt became president , says Margaret O ’ Mara , a professor of history at the University of Washington in Seattle .
It took the shock of the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression to make them law .
“ Great crises can change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s attitudes about political possibility really fast , ” Dr. O ’ Mara says .
If there ’ s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to shift into hyperdrive , it ’ s the movement of more and more of our activities online .
The most obvious of these changes are occurring in the midst of the outbreak as tens of millions of people struggle to keep up some semblance of their old routines .
Virtual schooling is now part of the curriculum for many of the 124,000-plus U.S. schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instance .
In the past , many school systems have resisted widespread online learning or found it difficult to integrate into existing lesson plans .
Now they have little choice .
But today ’ s basic diet of Zoom lectures and student show-and-tells don ’ t fully reflect what online education can do , say its advocates .
For instance , a more sophisticated integration of virtual and live instruction could help high schools match the achievement gains primary education has made in recent years .
Meanwhile , telemedicine is exploding .
Right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such basic questions as how online health care fits into existing billing practices , but in the future it could allow much greater collaboration among diverse team members and health organizations .
And of course , online ordering of everything from soup to bolts is for many people the new normal .
Related to this acceleration of the digital is the increasing importance of big tech to the national welfare .
If this moment in history is the moral equivalent of war , are Microsoft , Amazon , Google , Facebook , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democracy , as GM , Ford , and Chrysler did during World War II ?
After all Bill Gates , shed of his corporate responsibilities at Microsoft , is increasingly outspoken about fighting all manner of health crises .
Amazon is America ’ s delivery backbone .
Facebook is the new radio , the way an isolated society communicates and receives news .
President Donald Trump turned to a Google division to construct a website for locating COVID-19 test sites – though that hasn ’ t progressed much so far .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , ” says Dr. O ’ Mara , author of the recent book “ The Code : Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.
” This could mean a significant shift in big tech ’ s image , Dr. O ’ Mara notes .
Until recent years Silicon Valley has largely ignored politics as well as any concerns about the more unsavory aspects of its impact on society .
Then tech itself became a political headline , with Mark Zuckerberg hauled before Congress to defend Facebook policies on issues such as data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became very clear that tech was not only not adequate to address some of our most complicated social problems ... but that it was not changing the world in the right way , ” says Dr. O ’ Mara .
Then America was struck by a grave public health threat whose effect on society is unmatched by any crisis since World War II , and perhaps could surpass even that for its sheer breadth .
Leadership at the top of government , with some exceptions , has struggled to meet the challenge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sector of the economy , devastating some , such as airlines , hotels , and restaurants .
“ The only sector that may come out of this with more money in the bank is tech , ” says Dr. O ’ Mara .
With their global workforces and global reach , tech firms are uniquely situated to provide moral leadership and a global perspective , she says .
Yet their preexisting problems remain : worries about the privacy of personal data and the little-checked spread of false information .
It ’ s also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revolution will leave many people behind .
Laptops and Wi-Fi connections are expensive ; many low-income families can ’ t reliably connect for telework or virtual education .
Some 42 million Americans , and a quarter of all rural residents , don ’ t have access to broadband internet , according to a recent report from BroadbandNow Research .
Life in American cities may not be the same after the coronavirus recedes .
At the least , things probably won ’ t return to anything resembling the old normal for a long time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for decades as their populations migrate to inner-ring suburbs and more distant areas .
It ’ s possible the pandemic will accelerate this movement as people flee to the perceived safety of larger open spaces .
Some wealthy Americans packed up and left New York and other central cities for second homes or hotels in the Hamptons , or the Catskills , or on Cape Cod .
A percentage of these may not return if their work and family situations allow .
Similar dispersions may happen elsewhere around the globe , say some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witnessing the outlines of a new , and necessary , dispersion of population , not only in the wide open spaces of North America and Australia , but even in the megacities of the developing world , ” wrote Joel Kotkin , executive director of the Urban Reform Institute , in an article in the publication Quillette in late March .
But this may not mean cities per se are set to wither , or that their attributes will become less attractive to people drawn to the pulse of urban life .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destroy hard-hit cities , after all .
Pittsburgh was ravaged , as was Detroit .
Both thrived afterward .
“ The point is that no pandemic in history – and many have been worse [ than COVID-19 ] – has been enough to derail the force of urbanization , ” says Richard Florida , an urbanist and professor at the University of Toronto ’ s Rotman School of Management and School of Cities .
“ The clustering of people , clustering of ideas , and trading with one another have made the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What the coronavirus will do is reshape the way people work and interact in cities at a micro level for a midrange period of time , until a vaccine is able to bring it under control , says Dr. Florida .
It ’ s hard to anticipate exactly what these changes will be , he says .
People may be worried about returning to city offices and taking mass transit , so it ’ s possible they will opt to live in center cities and walk , or resume driving to work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will look different , with restaurant tables placed farther apart , hair salon chairs dispersed or divided from one another , and so forth .
Children will return to very different schools , Dr. Florida predicts , with temperature checks at the door and social distancing in the lunch room .
Other changes that he believes will need to take place before cities reopen for business include retrofitting airports , convention centers , and other infrastructure for screenings and personal separation , and financial support for arts and cultural institutions that help provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to prepare our communities , our playgrounds , our arenas to get up and running safely , ” Dr. Florida says .
In the post-pandemic world some types of urban areas might do better than others .
Los Angeles , a big world-class city built around the concept of sprawling neighborhoods of single-family homes , could benefit from people ’ s desire to insulate themselves in a bit of space .
So could smallish cities that offer some cultural amenities but are close enough to bigger places to serve as a type @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be Hudson , New York , up the river from New York City .
People can experience different degrees of density , despite living in the same city , based on their relative wealth and class , Dr. Florida says .
About a third of the workforce nationwide is wealthy enough to afford extensive deliveries of food and other staples , and to carry out much of their jobs through telework .
Another third is composed of blue-collar workers who stock the produce aisles , drive delivery trucks , and otherwise are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The last third are poor people , who have little choice but to hunker down .
Yes , the richest of the rich can jet to their second or third homes , moving to physically distance themselves from any health threat .
But could they actually root themselves in their chalets ?
If they have school-age children , they might not find local educational options attractive .
In any case , the isolation they see as a buffer might be illusory .
Rural health care options are often limited – and rural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the ski slopes of Colorado , have had a high per capita incidence of COVID-19 , Dr. Florida points out .
Coronavirus refugees have also sparked fear and resentment among those who live in rural areas full time .
In one infamous incident on the Maine island of Vinalhaven , a group of locals cut down a tree on March 27 in an attempt to forcibly barricade several New Jersey residents inside the home they were renting .
Dr. Florida says such conflicts could become bitter if they pit states against states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worries me is these border battles in general , ” he says .
The nation ’ s sense of what constitutes patriotic service may enlarge and change after COVID-19 .
For years many of America ’ s red-white-and-blue rituals have centered on celebrating the military .
There ’ s the honor guard for the national anthem , the F-22 flyovers for home openers , the line of greeters saying “ thank you for your service ” to the troops disembarking at airports for leave .
It ’ s meant to honor people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the larger community .
Some of it derives from the memory of the Vietnam years , when protesters in a bitterly divided U.S. turned their backs on veterans , and worse .
But not all heroes wear camo .
In the coronavirus pandemic it is everyday Americans , from doctors and nurses and EMTs to grocery workers and delivery drivers , who are putting their health and lives at risk to protect and provide for everyone else .
“ Hopefully we ’ ll have maybe a more inclusive sense of patriotism ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schrad , an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University and author of “ Vodka Politics : Alcohol , Autocracy , and the Secret History of the Russian State.
” Dr. Schrad says he ’ s come to this conclusion a roundabout way .
One of the things he teaches his students about is nationalism .
And a part of nationalism , he says , is constructing the “ we ” that defines the nation , against the “ them ” that stand outside it .
Patriotism is one aspect used in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current situation , the “ them ” isn ’ t the Soviet Union , or Al Qaeda , or humans at all .
It ’ s amorphous and as dangerous to our geopolitical adversaries as it is to us .
Dr. Schrad believes that , if the nation is in such a new place , maybe it needs a new kind of patriotism .
Election monitors serve the country – and in Wisconsin recently , working amid the pandemic , bravely so .
Teachers serve the community .
And now , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and agricultural field hands , and hospital orderlies , and a whole range of people whose jobs require them to continue to work with others despite the dangers and lockdowns .
Maybe grocery workers will be honored at halftime during NFL games when the league restarts .
Maybe the nurses of community hospitals will march at the front of small town July Fourth parades .
But even before then we can all start thanking them for their service .
“ They didn ’ t sign on for this , ” Dr. Schrad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bringing us closer together , in some ways , but also pushing us apart .
Technology has ensured that everybody remains booked – at least , everybody who has high-speed internet and wants to remain connected to friends and relatives .
Zoom this , Zoom that , it ’ s the book club on Mondays , conversations with grandmother on Tuesdays , then the parents group and the church rummage sale committee .
That doesn ’ t even include all the work-related videoconferencing .
Isolation has never seen such togetherness , noted Sherry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies of science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , in a recent appearance on the public radio show “ On Point.
” Online communication has long meant trying to present our best selves – pictures cropped and filtered , subjects curated to make our lives look as exciting as possible .
But the new online look is more of a human experience , all of us striving to maintain the authentic connections developed in real life , according to Dr. Turkle , author of “ Reclaiming Conversation : The Power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But online meetups can be exhausting .
It ’ s hard to say no – excuses to avoid online chats are more limited than for getting together in real life .
And there ’ s something about them that is just more restrictive .
They can ’ t really duplicate the full experience of personal connection .
And real-life conversation has more to it .
There are things you can ’ t duplicate via video screen .
There are subtle pauses , looks , being quiet together without saying anything .
Dr. Turkle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this sense , friction refers to the “ messiness of politics , of the dinner table , the intimate conversation , the playground , the public square.
” When the pandemic is over , we may come out of it , not hooked on the ease of transferring all our conversations to the infosphere , but missing and honoring the small glitches and unspoken connections that real life entails .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

As history Professor Margaret O’Mara says, “Great crises can change the rules of the game and people’s attitudes about political possibility really fast.”
The nation’s sense of what constitutes patriotic service may change after COVID-19, which demonstrated that not all heroes wear camo. It is everyday Americans, from doctors and nurses and EMTs to grocery workers and delivery drivers, who are putting their health and lives at risk to protect and provide for everyone else.
Life in American cities may not be the same. Many urban areas have been shrinking for decades; the pandemic may accelerate this movement as people flee to the perceived safety of open spaces.
Crises can shake up the status quo. The coronavirus may not alter the course of history, but it will change how people live their lives – and what they value as a society.
If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to shift into hyperdrive, it’s the movement of more and more of our activities online – but reliance on digital connection will also leave many behind.
As America continues to fight the coronavirus it seems increasingly likely that when we look back, the pandemic of 2020 will be a time when the world changed in sudden and profound ways. It will affect everything from where we live and work to how we communicate with others, and even what counts as patriotic service.
As America continues to fight the COVID-19 virus it seems increasingly likely that when we look back, the pandemic of 2020 – like 9/11 and the 2008 financial crash – will be a time when the world around us changed in sudden and profound ways. It will affect everything from where we live and work to how we communicate with and relate to others, and even what counts as patriotic service, worthy of the nation’s salute.
That does not mean the post-coronavirus world will be different beyond recognition. The pandemic will not change the basic direction of history so much as accelerate it, according to Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. The importance of the United States to other nations may decline, while that of China increases; but that is happening in some form already. Our screen time may skyrocket along with reliance on Zoom, FaceTime, and other video connectors; but that basic trend preexists. Manufacturers may diversify suppliers to create redundant globalized production chains; but far-sighted managers have pushed this for some time.
Nor are coming changes completely predictable. The influenza epidemic of 1918 turned the world upside down and ravaged the U.S. population. What followed was not a new seriousness of national purpose, but the Roaring ’20s, a free-spending decade remembered today as one of the shallowest eras of American life.
Why We Wrote This Crises can shake up the status quo. The coronavirus may not alter the course of history, but it will change how people live their lives – and what they value as a society.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
But crises can shake up the status quo. They override tendencies toward inertia, open room for the consideration of new ideas, and push aside past impediments. The ideas for the big government programs that became the New Deal had been bouncing around U.S. politics for years before Franklin Roosevelt became president, says Margaret O’Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington in Seattle. It took the shock of the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression to make them law.
“Great crises can change the rules of the game and people’s attitudes about political possibility really fast,” Dr. O’Mara says.
Mark J. Terrill/AP View caption Hide caption A cyclist rides with an American flag as the USNS Mercy docks at the Port of Los Angeles. The 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship was brought in to help take the load off Los Angeles area hospitals as they treat coronavirus patients.
Life moves online
If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to shift into hyperdrive, it’s the movement of more and more of our activities online.
The most obvious of these changes are occurring in the midst of the outbreak as tens of millions of people struggle to keep up some semblance of their old routines. Virtual schooling is now part of the curriculum for many of the 124,000-plus U.S. schools affected by a coronavirus shutdown, for instance. In the past, many school systems have resisted widespread online learning or found it difficult to integrate into existing lesson plans. Now they have little choice.
But today’s basic diet of Zoom lectures and student show-and-tells don’t fully reflect what online education can do, say its advocates. For instance, a more sophisticated integration of virtual and live instruction could help high schools match the achievement gains primary education has made in recent years.
Meanwhile, telemedicine is exploding. Right now, doctors are still struggling with such basic questions as how online health care fits into existing billing practices, but in the future it could allow much greater collaboration among diverse team members and health organizations. And of course, online ordering of everything from soup to bolts is for many people the new normal.
Related to this acceleration of the digital is the increasing importance of big tech to the national welfare. If this moment in history is the moral equivalent of war, are Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter emerging as the new arsenals of democracy, as GM, Ford, and Chrysler did during World War II?
After all Bill Gates, shed of his corporate responsibilities at Microsoft, is increasingly outspoken about fighting all manner of health crises. Amazon is America’s delivery backbone. Facebook is the new radio, the way an isolated society communicates and receives news. President Donald Trump turned to a Google division to construct a website for locating COVID-19 test sites – though that hasn’t progressed much so far.
“The tech companies are really part of this now,” says Dr. O’Mara, author of the recent book “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.”
This could mean a significant shift in big tech’s image, Dr. O’Mara notes. Until recent years Silicon Valley has largely ignored politics as well as any concerns about the more unsavory aspects of its impact on society. Then tech itself became a political headline, with Mark Zuckerberg hauled before Congress to defend Facebook policies on issues such as data sharing and election security.
“It became very clear that tech was not only not adequate to address some of our most complicated social problems ... but that it was not changing the world in the right way,” says Dr. O’Mara.
Then America was struck by a grave public health threat whose effect on society is unmatched by any crisis since World War II, and perhaps could surpass even that for its sheer breadth. Leadership at the top of government, with some exceptions, has struggled to meet the challenge. The economic fallout will ripple through every sector of the economy, devastating some, such as airlines, hotels, and restaurants.
“The only sector that may come out of this with more money in the bank is tech,” says Dr. O’Mara.
With their global workforces and global reach, tech firms are uniquely situated to provide moral leadership and a global perspective, she says. Yet their preexisting problems remain: worries about the privacy of personal data and the little-checked spread of false information.
It’s also important to remember that a continuing digital revolution will leave many people behind. Laptops and Wi-Fi connections are expensive; many low-income families can’t reliably connect for telework or virtual education. Some 42 million Americans, and a quarter of all rural residents, don’t have access to broadband internet, according to a recent report from BroadbandNow Research.
JL/SIPA/AP View caption Hide caption Jayen, a 13-year-old student in Miramar, Florida, participates in a virtual class from her bedroom. Schools in Florida’s Broward County, like elsewhere across the country, are shut down.
Another urban flight?
Life in American cities may not be the same after the coronavirus recedes. At the least, things probably won’t return to anything resembling the old normal for a long time.
Many urban areas have been shrinking for decades as their populations migrate to inner-ring suburbs and more distant areas. It’s possible the pandemic will accelerate this movement as people flee to the perceived safety of larger open spaces.
Some wealthy Americans packed up and left New York and other central cities for second homes or hotels in the Hamptons, or the Catskills, or on Cape Cod. A percentage of these may not return if their work and family situations allow. Similar dispersions may happen elsewhere around the globe, say some experts.
“We may now be witnessing the outlines of a new, and necessary, dispersion of population, not only in the wide open spaces of North America and Australia, but even in the megacities of the developing world,” wrote Joel Kotkin, executive director of the Urban Reform Institute, in an article in the publication Quillette in late March.
But this may not mean cities per se are set to wither, or that their attributes will become less attractive to people drawn to the pulse of urban life. The terrible flu pandemic of 1918 did not destroy hard-hit cities, after all. Pittsburgh was ravaged, as was Detroit. Both thrived afterward.
“The point is that no pandemic in history – and many have been worse [than COVID-19] – has been enough to derail the force of urbanization,” says Richard Florida, an urbanist and professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and School of Cities. “The clustering of people, clustering of ideas, and trading with one another have made the world a more productive and innovative place.”
What the coronavirus will do is reshape the way people work and interact in cities at a micro level for a midrange period of time, until a vaccine is able to bring it under control, says Dr. Florida. It’s hard to anticipate exactly what these changes will be, he says. People may be worried about returning to city offices and taking mass transit, so it’s possible they will opt to live in center cities and walk, or resume driving to work, creating more traffic congestion. Small businesses will look different, with restaurant tables placed farther apart, hair salon chairs dispersed or divided from one another, and so forth.
Children will return to very different schools, Dr. Florida predicts, with temperature checks at the door and social distancing in the lunch room. Other changes that he believes will need to take place before cities reopen for business include retrofitting airports, convention centers, and other infrastructure for screenings and personal separation, and financial support for arts and cultural institutions that help provide urban areas with vitality.
“We have to prepare our communities, our playgrounds, our arenas to get up and running safely,” Dr. Florida says.
In the post-pandemic world some types of urban areas might do better than others. Los Angeles, a big world-class city built around the concept of sprawling neighborhoods of single-family homes, could benefit from people’s desire to insulate themselves in a bit of space. So could smallish cities that offer some cultural amenities but are close enough to bigger places to serve as a type of satellite.
One example of this might be Hudson, New York, up the river from New York City. People can experience different degrees of density, despite living in the same city, based on their relative wealth and class, Dr. Florida says.
About a third of the workforce nationwide is wealthy enough to afford extensive deliveries of food and other staples, and to carry out much of their jobs through telework. Another third is composed of blue-collar workers who stock the produce aisles, drive delivery trucks, and otherwise are at risk on the pandemic front lines. The last third are poor people, who have little choice but to hunker down.
Yes, the richest of the rich can jet to their second or third homes, moving to physically distance themselves from any health threat. But could they actually root themselves in their chalets? If they have school-age children, they might not find local educational options attractive. In any case, the isolation they see as a buffer might be illusory. Rural health care options are often limited – and rural counties with attractive recreational amenities, such as the ski slopes of Colorado, have had a high per capita incidence of COVID-19, Dr. Florida points out.
Coronavirus refugees have also sparked fear and resentment among those who live in rural areas full time. In one infamous incident on the Maine island of Vinalhaven, a group of locals cut down a tree on March 27 in an attempt to forcibly barricade several New Jersey residents inside the home they were renting. Dr. Florida says such conflicts could become bitter if they pit states against states. “One of the things that worries me is these border battles in general,” he says.
John Locher/AP View caption Hide caption Medical student Claire Chen (right) tests for virus cases at a makeshift camp for the homeless in Las Vegas. Officials opened part of a city parking lot as a temporary homeless shelter.
Not all heroes wear camo
The nation’s sense of what constitutes patriotic service may enlarge and change after COVID-19. For years many of America’s red-white-and-blue rituals have centered on celebrating the military. There’s the honor guard for the national anthem, the F-22 flyovers for home openers, the line of greeters saying “thank you for your service” to the troops disembarking at airports for leave.
It’s meant to honor people who have agreed to risk their lives to protect the larger community. Some of it derives from the memory of the Vietnam years, when protesters in a bitterly divided U.S. turned their backs on veterans, and worse.
But not all heroes wear camo. In the coronavirus pandemic it is everyday Americans, from doctors and nurses and EMTs to grocery workers and delivery drivers, who are putting their health and lives at risk to protect and provide for everyone else.
“Hopefully we’ll have maybe a more inclusive sense of patriotism” after the pandemic, says Mark Lawrence Schrad, an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University and author of “Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State.”
Dr. Schrad says he’s come to this conclusion a roundabout way. One of the things he teaches his students about is nationalism. And a part of nationalism, he says, is constructing the “we” that defines the nation, against the “them” that stand outside it.
Patriotism is one aspect used in building that “we.” But in the current situation, the “them” isn’t the Soviet Union, or Al Qaeda, or humans at all. It’s amorphous and as dangerous to our geopolitical adversaries as it is to us.
Dr. Schrad believes that, if the nation is in such a new place, maybe it needs a new kind of patriotism. Election monitors serve the country – and in Wisconsin recently, working amid the pandemic, bravely so. Teachers serve the community. And now, so do UPS drivers, and postal workers, and agricultural field hands, and hospital orderlies, and a whole range of people whose jobs require them to continue to work with others despite the dangers and lockdowns.
Maybe grocery workers will be honored at halftime during NFL games when the league restarts. Maybe the nurses of community hospitals will march at the front of small town July Fourth parades.
But even before then we can all start thanking them for their service. “They didn’t sign on for this,” Dr. Schrad says.
Alex Gallardo/Reuters View caption Hide caption Joseph Alvarado makes deliveries for Amazon in Costa Mesa, California. Shopping online for everything is becoming part of the new normal as much of the world remains on lockdown.
Valuing real connection
The coronavirus crisis is certainly bringing us closer together, in some ways, but also pushing us apart.
Technology has ensured that everybody remains booked – at least, everybody who has high-speed internet and wants to remain connected to friends and relatives. Zoom this, Zoom that, it’s the book club on Mondays, conversations with grandmother on Tuesdays, then the parents group and the church rummage sale committee. That doesn’t even include all the work-related videoconferencing. Isolation has never seen such togetherness, noted Sherry Turkle, a professor of the social studies of science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a recent appearance on the public radio show “On Point.”
Online communication has long meant trying to present our best selves – pictures cropped and filtered, subjects curated to make our lives look as exciting as possible. But the new online look is more of a human experience, all of us striving to maintain the authentic connections developed in real life, according to Dr. Turkle, author of “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.”
But online meetups can be exhausting. It’s hard to say no – excuses to avoid online chats are more limited than for getting together in real life. And there’s something about them that is just more restrictive. They can’t really duplicate the full experience of personal connection.
And real-life conversation has more to it. There are things you can’t duplicate via video screen. There are subtle pauses, looks, being quiet together without saying anything. Dr. Turkle calls these communication extras “friction.” In this sense, friction refers to the “messiness of politics, of the dinner table, the intimate conversation, the playground, the public square.”
When the pandemic is over, we may come out of it, not hooked on the ease of transferring all our conversations to the infosphere, but missing and honoring the small glitches and unspoken connections that real life entails.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
“Empathy requires conversations with friction,” says Dr. Turkle.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-04-27--Boris Johnson goes back to work as U.K. pandemic ebbs

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is returning to work after recovering from a coronavirus infection that put him in intensive care , with his government facing growing criticism over the deaths and disruption the virus has caused .
Johnson ’ s office said he would be back at his desk in 10 Downing St. on Monday , two weeks after he was released from a London hospital .
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab , who has been standing in for the prime minister , said Sunday that Johnson — the only world leader to be diagnosed with the coronavirus — was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recorded 20,732 deaths among people hospitalized with COVID-19 , the fifth country in the world to surpass 20,000 deaths .
Thousands more are thought to have died in nursing homes .
Johnson , 55 , spent a week at St. Thomas ’ Hospital , including three nights in intensive care , where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers .
After he was released on April 12 , he recorded a video message thanking staff at the hospital for saving his life .
Johnson has n't been seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Chequers , the prime minister ’ s country retreat outside London .
While he convalesced , Britain 's coronavirus death toll has mounted , with another 413 virus-related deaths announced Sunday .
Scientists say the U.K. has reached the peak of the pandemic but is n't yet out of danger .
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is declining and the number of daily deaths peaked on April 8 .
But with hundreds of new deaths announced each day , some health experts say Britain could eventually have the highest virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say Britain 's death toll could have been lower if Johnson 's Conservative government had imposed a nationwide lockdown sooner .
But they are also demanding to know when and how the government will ease the restrictions that were imposed March 23 and run to at least May 7 .
Some people and businesses are growing impatient with the restrictions , which have brought much of the economy and daily life to a halt .
Road traffic has begun to creep up after plummeting when the lockdown first was imposed , and some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social-distancing measures .
“ Decisions need to be taken quicker and communication with the public needs to be clearer , ” opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said in a letter to Johnson .
“ The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work , ” he wrote .
“ They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next.
” But Johnson ’ s government , facing criticism for being too slow to impose the lockdown , appears in no hurry to end it .
Raab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change to the restrictions .
“ We won ’ t just have this binary easing up of measures .
We will end up moving to a new normal , ” he told the BBC .
“ We need to take a sure-footed step forward which protects life but also preserves our way of life .
So we are very focused on doing the homework that can allow us to do that.
” As fears recede that the health system will be overwhelmed , opponents are criticizing Johnson ’ s government over shortages of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack of testing for the virus .
More than 100 infected medical workers have died so far .
The government has promised to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month , but has yet to reach even 30,000 a day .
Increasing testing , so that all people with the virus can be identified and their contacts traced and isolated , is key to loosening the lockdown .
The British government says all health care staff and other essential workers can be tested if they show symptoms .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing sites , staffed by soldiers , to conduct tests at nursing homes , police stations , prisons and other sites .
In the first two days of expanded testing , however , the online system handling daily demand for the tests had exceeded the supply by early morning .

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is returning to work after recovering from a coronavirus infection that put him in intensive care, with his government facing growing criticism over the deaths and disruption the virus has caused.
Johnson’s office said he would be back at his desk in 10 Downing St. on Monday, two weeks after he was released from a London hospital. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for the prime minister, said Sunday that Johnson — the only world leader to be diagnosed with the coronavirus — was “raring to go.”
Britain has recorded 20,732 deaths among people hospitalized with COVID-19, the fifth country in the world to surpass 20,000 deaths. Thousands more are thought to have died in nursing homes.
Johnson, 55, spent a week at St. Thomas’ Hospital, including three nights in intensive care, where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers. After he was released on April 12, he recorded a video message thanking staff at the hospital for saving his life.
Johnson hasn't been seen in public since, as he recovered at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat outside London.
While he convalesced, Britain's coronavirus death toll has mounted, with another 413 virus-related deaths announced Sunday.
Scientists say the U.K. has reached the peak of the pandemic but isn't yet out of danger. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is declining and the number of daily deaths peaked on April 8.
But with hundreds of new deaths announced each day, some health experts say Britain could eventually have the highest virus death toll in Europe.
Opposition politicians say Britain's death toll could have been lower if Johnson's Conservative government had imposed a nationwide lockdown sooner. But they are also demanding to know when and how the government will ease the restrictions that were imposed March 23 and run to at least May 7.
Some people and businesses are growing impatient with the restrictions, which have brought much of the economy and daily life to a halt. Road traffic has begun to creep up after plummeting when the lockdown first was imposed, and some businesses have begun to reopen after implementing social-distancing measures.
“Decisions need to be taken quicker and communication with the public needs to be clearer,” opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said in a letter to Johnson.
“The British public have made great sacrifices to make the lockdown work,” he wrote. “They deserve to be part of an adult conversation about what comes next.”
But Johnson’s government, facing criticism for being too slow to impose the lockdown, appears in no hurry to end it. Raab said there would be no dramatic sudden change to the restrictions.
“We won’t just have this binary easing up of measures. We will end up moving to a new normal,” he told the BBC. “We need to take a sure-footed step forward which protects life but also preserves our way of life. So we are very focused on doing the homework that can allow us to do that.”
As fears recede that the health system will be overwhelmed, opponents are criticizing Johnson’s government over shortages of protective equipment for medical workers and a lack of testing for the virus. More than 100 infected medical workers have died so far.
The government has promised to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month, but has yet to reach even 30,000 a day. Increasing testing, so that all people with the virus can be identified and their contacts traced and isolated, is key to loosening the lockdown.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
The British government says all health care staff and other essential workers can be tested if they show symptoms. It is rolling out almost 100 mobile testing sites, staffed by soldiers, to conduct tests at nursing homes, police stations, prisons and other sites.
In the first two days of expanded testing, however, the online system handling daily demand for the tests had exceeded the supply by early morning.


csmonitor--2020-04-27--How the oil crash affects oil-dependent countries like Iraq

Iraq is planning painful cuts in social benefits relied on by millions of government workers .
Saudi Arabia will likely have to delay mega-projects .
Egypt and Lebanon face a blow as their workers in the Gulf send back less of the much-needed dollars that help keep their fragile economies afloat .
The historic crash in oil prices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is reverberating across the Middle East as crude-dependent countries scramble to offset losses from a key source of state revenue – and all this at a time when several of them already face explosive social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arab Gulf oil exporters are expected to contract this year , as much as 5 % in Iraq , according to the International Monetary Fund .
While some Gulf countries can rely on a cushion of foreign currency reserves , nowhere in the region are the circumstances more dire than in Iraq , where oil sales fund 90 % of the state budget .
Iraq saw massive protests in the past months by a populace angry over the weak economy and rampant corruption – and the turmoil could erupt again .
Cutbacks in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a population struggling to get by under coronavirus restrictions .
In the capital 's Tahrir Square , protesters are still camped out , determined not to let their movement die .
`` Coming into summer the conditions are developing for a perfect storm for the government , '' said Sajad Jiyad , an Iraq-based analyst .
Oil is currently trading at $ 20 per barrel , dipping even lower some days to levels not seen since 2001 .
Further constraints will be felt as an OPEC agreement to cut production levels by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes hold .
May and June are expected to be particularly difficult as that is when oil storage space will be full , making it harder for countries to market oil , according to Robin Mills , CEO of Dubai-based Qamar Energy .
So far it 's early , and no one has reached a stage where the budget runs out , Mr. Mills said .
`` But that is inevitable – Iraq will probably hit first . ''
In its draft 2020 budget , Iraq had been counting on revenues from oil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fund badly needed development projects and the bloated public sector , costing nearly $ 45 billion in compensation and pensions .
Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban said recently that revenue from crude exports has dropped by 50 % .
Now officials are debating difficult salary cuts .
One proposed idea would defer paying public sector workers part of their social benefits until the financial sector improves , according to three Iraqi officials .
The question is how much to cut and from whom ; one recommendation is that higher-end earners take a 50 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of anonymity so as not to derail ongoing talks .
That would save Iraq hundreds of millions of dollars , but risks triggering unrest .
Public sector workers receive a host of benefits that effectively add 50-70 % to their take-home wages .
They include family allowances and so-called danger pay benefits for security forces .
Still , experts said that wo n't be enough if oil prices remain between $ 20-30 per barrel .
`` Cuts need to be deeper to make a dent in payroll , and even then , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point where cuts are not enough , '' Mr. Jiyad said .
On top of this , expected compliance with OPEC will require Iraq to cut over 1 million barrels per day from production in May and June .
Moreover , the country has been left without an effective executive to carry out reforms by an ongoing leadership vacuum since December , when Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned under pressure from protesters .
Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Kadhimi is due to present his proposed Cabinet to Parliament next week , but he faces opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government is in place , a 2020 budget is unlikely to be approved .
This limits Iraq 's ability to borrow from international agencies for budgetary support .
Across the region , the drop in oil prices will derail future investment and development plans .
The region 's largest crude producer , Saudi Arabia , plans to cut spending by 5 % , or about $ 13.3 billion .
Additional cuts and measures are expected as it digs into its roughly $ 500 billion in foreign reserves .
Target dates of Crown Prince @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completion of new cities and mega projects will likely be delayed as businesses suffer and foreign investment dips amid the pandemic .
Kuwait has ample reserves as well .
But the island nation of Bahrain faces a debt estimated to be equal to 105 % of its GDP , even after it received a $ 10 billion bailout from its neighbors to avoid defaulting on a $ 750 million Islamic bond repayment in 2018 .
Other giant global oil producers will have to grapple with job losses and economic shocks .
U.S. producers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of employees , and greater job losses are expected as the pandemic drags on .
Many shale producers were already struggling before the pandemic hit , and some have filed for bankruptcy , with more expected .
The price crash has dealt a blow to Russia at a time of partial economic shutdown .
Russian officials say that the nation 's solid hard currency reserves can help sustain the shock and insist low production costs allow Russian oil companies to stay profitable .
The double shock of the pandemic and dropping oil prices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Egypt , Jordan , and Lebanon , which rely on a large diaspora and workers in oil-rich Arab Gulf countries who send foreign currency home .
In Lebanon , remittances once made up 12.5 % of GDP ; in Egypt , they account for 10 % of GDP .
Coupled with its own economic crisis and financial turmoil , the anticipated losses for Lebanon will be devastating .
`` How are we expected to survive from now on ?
Hunger is knocking at the doors , '' a Lebanese man told reporters this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long line outside a money transfer shop in Beirut , on the last day he would be allowed to collect a wire transfer in dollars from his older brother in Qatar .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Iraq is planning painful cuts in social benefits relied on by millions of government workers. Saudi Arabia will likely have to delay mega-projects. Egypt and Lebanon face a blow as their workers in the Gulf send back less of the much-needed dollars that help keep their fragile economies afloat.
The historic crash in oil prices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is reverberating across the Middle East as crude-dependent countries scramble to offset losses from a key source of state revenue – and all this at a time when several of them already face explosive social unrest.
The economies of all the Arab Gulf oil exporters are expected to contract this year, as much as 5% in Iraq, according to the International Monetary Fund.
While some Gulf countries can rely on a cushion of foreign currency reserves, nowhere in the region are the circumstances more dire than in Iraq, where oil sales fund 90% of the state budget.
Iraq saw massive protests in the past months by a populace angry over the weak economy and rampant corruption – and the turmoil could erupt again. Cutbacks in spending will only add to the pain for a population struggling to get by under coronavirus restrictions.
In the capital's Tahrir Square, protesters are still camped out, determined not to let their movement die.
"Coming into summer the conditions are developing for a perfect storm for the government," said Sajad Jiyad, an Iraq-based analyst.
Oil is currently trading at $20 per barrel, dipping even lower some days to levels not seen since 2001. Further constraints will be felt as an OPEC agreement to cut production levels by 23% to stabilize the oil market takes hold. May and June are expected to be particularly difficult as that is when oil storage space will be full, making it harder for countries to market oil, according to Robin Mills, CEO of Dubai-based Qamar Energy.
So far it's early, and no one has reached a stage where the budget runs out, Mr. Mills said. "But that is inevitable – Iraq will probably hit first."
In its draft 2020 budget, Iraq had been counting on revenues from oil prices at $56 a barrel to fund badly needed development projects and the bloated public sector, costing nearly $45 billion in compensation and pensions. Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban said recently that revenue from crude exports has dropped by 50%.
Now officials are debating difficult salary cuts. One proposed idea would defer paying public sector workers part of their social benefits until the financial sector improves, according to three Iraqi officials. The question is how much to cut and from whom; one recommendation is that higher-end earners take a 50% cut. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to derail ongoing talks.
That would save Iraq hundreds of millions of dollars, but risks triggering unrest. Public sector workers receive a host of benefits that effectively add 50-70% to their take-home wages. They include family allowances and so-called danger pay benefits for security forces.
Still, experts said that won't be enough if oil prices remain between $20-30 per barrel.
"Cuts need to be deeper to make a dent in payroll, and even then, if revenues are so low there comes a point where cuts are not enough," Mr. Jiyad said.
On top of this, expected compliance with OPEC will require Iraq to cut over 1 million barrels per day from production in May and June.
Moreover, the country has been left without an effective executive to carry out reforms by an ongoing leadership vacuum since December, when Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned under pressure from protesters. Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Kadhimi is due to present his proposed Cabinet to Parliament next week, but he faces opposition from key political blocs.
Until his government is in place, a 2020 budget is unlikely to be approved. This limits Iraq's ability to borrow from international agencies for budgetary support.
Across the region, the drop in oil prices will derail future investment and development plans.
The region's largest crude producer, Saudi Arabia, plans to cut spending by 5%, or about $13.3 billion. Additional cuts and measures are expected as it digs into its roughly $500 billion in foreign reserves.
Target dates of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan for the completion of new cities and mega projects will likely be delayed as businesses suffer and foreign investment dips amid the pandemic.
Kuwait has ample reserves as well. But the island nation of Bahrain faces a debt estimated to be equal to 105% of its GDP, even after it received a $10 billion bailout from its neighbors to avoid defaulting on a $750 million Islamic bond repayment in 2018.
Other giant global oil producers will have to grapple with job losses and economic shocks.
U.S. producers and service companies have laid off thousands of employees, and greater job losses are expected as the pandemic drags on. Many shale producers were already struggling before the pandemic hit, and some have filed for bankruptcy, with more expected.
The price crash has dealt a blow to Russia at a time of partial economic shutdown. Russian officials say that the nation's solid hard currency reserves can help sustain the shock and insist low production costs allow Russian oil companies to stay profitable.
The double shock of the pandemic and dropping oil prices is also expected to hit hard in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, which rely on a large diaspora and workers in oil-rich Arab Gulf countries who send foreign currency home.
In Lebanon, remittances once made up 12.5% of GDP; in Egypt, they account for 10% of GDP. Coupled with its own economic crisis and financial turmoil, the anticipated losses for Lebanon will be devastating.
"How are we expected to survive from now on? Hunger is knocking at the doors," a Lebanese man told reporters this week, as he waited in a long line outside a money transfer shop in Beirut, on the last day he would be allowed to collect a wire transfer in dollars from his older brother in Qatar.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-04-24--Doug Ford’s leadership is making friends out of foes in Ontario

Marie Henein , a high-profile defense attorney in Toronto , has written Op-Eds both for and against Mr. Ford .
Today she sees his change as an antidote to a larger problem , in North America and beyond .
“ Somehow acting without evidence and acting contrary to information is viewed as being authentic , ” she says .
But “ evidence-based leadership is not contrary to strong , powerful , and decisive leadership.
” In March , his government didn ’ t appear to take the coronavirus seriously .
Before schools ’ spring break , he told families to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the risks of the pandemic grew , Mr. Ford shifted his stance .
At his daily press conferences , he speaks plainly and defers to the health experts – surprising critics , and prompting their praise in return .
Mr. Ford has battled teachers over cuts to public education , cut Toronto ’ s City Council in half during municipal elections , and raged against the federal government ’ s carbon tax to address climate change .
While the pandemic is serving as a super-sized object of partisanship in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s a unity that ’ s not immutable , but officials at all levels have put aside politics to address the coronavirus .
No relationship demonstrates that better than that of Ontario ’ s Premier Doug Ford to his opponents .
His political foes on the left labeled him “ Donald Trump of the North.
” Not entirely accurate , but Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been known as a brawler .
The government spent most of this academic year battling with teachers over cuts to public education .
It cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during municipal elections , which was decried as undemocratic .
Mr. Ford has raged noisily against the federal government ’ s carbon tax to address climate change .
In March , his government didn ’ t appear to take the coronavirus seriously .
Before spring break , he told Ontario families to travel and “ have fun.
” But as the risks of the pandemic grew , Mr. Ford shifted his stance .
He still rails , but now it ’ s not against political rivals , but at price gougers or at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the buck stops here ” – about Ontario ’ s lagging behind on testing , for example .
At daily press conferences , he speaks plainly and defers to the health experts on the stage – surprising critics , and prompting their praise in return .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
Canada ’ s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland , of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ’ s Liberal government , told the Toronto Star that she and Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another as each other ’ s therapists.
” Andrew Weaver , former Green Party leader of British Columbia , tweeted : “ While I can ’ t say I have historically been a fan of @ fordnation , I have to say he is doing an incredible job on the COVID-19 file .
He has shown strong , decisive and compassionate leadership at a critical moment in Ontario ’ s history.
” The media , arguably his biggest foe , have earned his praise – and they ’ ve given it right back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bitterly partisan divide in the United States , with protests over lockdowns that President Donald Trump has appeared to endorse , Canada has strived for consensus .
That unity is not immutable , and stressors have already built up .
But many Canadian politicians have put aside politics to address the threat of COVID-19 , and no relationship demonstrates that better than that of Mr. Ford to his opponents .
“ His government came into office being completely obtuse about criticism , just completely unwilling to listen to people and doing things almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tim Abray , a political communications expert in Ottawa , “ and I think that tone has disappeared.
” Mr. Abray says Premier Ford has always been a street-level politician with a skill for talking to people , even if foes failed to see it .
“ The thing I ’ m pleasantly surprised about is that he ’ s making the most of his grassroots , ground-level political instincts , while at the same time , paying attention to expert advice.
” As citizens rally around leaders , approval ratings generally go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and this pandemic is no different ( although President Trump ’ s approval has gone down to 43 % , according to a Gallup poll ) .
An Angus Reid Institute poll in March showed 74 % of respondents in Ontario saying the provincial government was handling the crisis well .
Over the weekend , Canadian protesters calling for an end to lockdowns in Toronto did get a scathing rebuke from Mr. Ford , when he called them “ a bunch of yahoos.
” Marie Henein , a defense lawyer in Toronto , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the April 9 opinion pages of The Globe and Mail , she penned a piece describing her new “ uncomfortable reality.
” “ It is not easy to heap praise in his direction , ” she wrote .
In fact , 18 months earlier she wrote a warning to the Ontario premier about bullying .
“ So here is your final lesson : Mr. Trump is not a good example to follow .
Do not forget , Premier Ford , we are Canadian and inherently decent to a fault .
The rough-and-tumble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , aspire has long-term , negative consequences for the country.
” Today she says that as Mr. Ford has listened to experts , speaking authentically and with empathy in a crisis , she has come to gradually shift her view – and sees his change as an antidote to a larger problem with politics , in North America and beyond .
“ Somehow acting without evidence and acting contrary to information is viewed as being authentic .
… And I think what is important is really to remember that that is very much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
“ Evidence-based leadership is not contrary to strong , powerful , and decisive leadership.
” Mr. Ford has been a voice for cooperation across the political aisle .
In the Ontario legislature he told politicians in March : “ Now is the time to put politics aside .
No matter what our political stripe , we must all be Team Ontario and Team Canada.
” A survey by the Media Ecosystem Observatory reflected consensus at the national level , showing no differences along party lines in views on distancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 .
While Mr. Abray cautions that politics will return and break some of the consensus , he says that Canada still has room for bipartisan friendships , like that of Mr. Ford and Ms. Freeland – even if in recent years more partisanship has crept into Canada ’ s system .
Cristine de Clercy , a political science professor at Western University in Ontario , says that Canada is smaller than the U.S. and has a unique political structure that marries federalism to a parliamentary system .
“ Because the premier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislators with the cabinet , that creates a very top-heavy executive-dominant political system , which in normal times we complain about , but in times of crisis can act quickly and efficiently.
” She is cautious about defining Mr. Ford ’ s leadership at this early stage .
Mr. Ford released a roadmap Monday for Ontario ’ s economic reopening to mixed reviews .
Still grappling with among the nation ’ s highest infection rates , Ontario is currently under a spotlight for funding cuts and low wages that have made long-term care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ontario requested that Canada ’ s armed forces be sent into nursing homes to reinforce care .
Mr. Ford choked up last week during a daily press conference , saying “ we can do better ” when it comes to COVID-19 hitting long-term care homes .
He also revealed that his mother-in-law , who is 95 and lives in a home , has tested positive .
“ But what I would credit him for is that he followed the lead of other leaders like Mr. Trudeau … in terms of accepting input @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and paying rapt attention to their predictions about the seriousness of COVID , ” says Professor de Clercy .
Is that a low bar ?
“ On the normative question , ‘ Should he listen to his scientific advisers ?
’ Of course .
One presumes political leaders ought to , especially in the case of a pandemic .
But empirically , we know that many have chosen not to , ” she says .
“ Many American governors still are refusing to listen to their scientific advisers to force citizens to isolate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ”

Marie Henein, a high-profile defense attorney in Toronto, has written Op-Eds both for and against Mr. Ford. Today she sees his change as an antidote to a larger problem, in North America and beyond. “Somehow acting without evidence and acting contrary to information is viewed as being authentic,” she says. But “evidence-based leadership is not contrary to strong, powerful, and decisive leadership.”
In March, his government didn’t appear to take the coronavirus seriously. Before schools’ spring break, he told families to travel and “have fun.” But as the risks of the pandemic grew, Mr. Ford shifted his stance. At his daily press conferences, he speaks plainly and defers to the health experts – surprising critics, and prompting their praise in return.
More partisanship has crept into Canada’s politics in recent years, but the pandemic has many voices united against COVID-19. One official epitomizes how a crisis can inspire leaders to rise to the occasion.
Mr. Ford has battled teachers over cuts to public education, cut Toronto’s City Council in half during municipal elections, and raged against the federal government’s carbon tax to address climate change.
While the pandemic is serving as a super-sized object of partisanship in the United States, Canada is striving for consensus. It’s a unity that’s not immutable, but officials at all levels have put aside politics to address the coronavirus. No relationship demonstrates that better than that of Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford to his opponents.
His political foes on the left labeled him “Donald Trump of the North.” Not entirely accurate, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been known as a brawler.
The government spent most of this academic year battling with teachers over cuts to public education. It cut Toronto’s City Council in half during municipal elections, which was decried as undemocratic. Mr. Ford has raged noisily against the federal government’s carbon tax to address climate change.
In March, his government didn’t appear to take the coronavirus seriously. Before spring break, he told Ontario families to travel and “have fun.”
Why We Wrote This More partisanship has crept into Canada’s politics in recent years, but the pandemic has many voices united against COVID-19. One official epitomizes how a crisis can inspire leaders to rise to the occasion.
But as the risks of the pandemic grew, Mr. Ford shifted his stance. He still rails, but now it’s not against political rivals, but at price gougers or at no one in particular – saying “the buck stops here” – about Ontario’s lagging behind on testing, for example.
At daily press conferences, he speaks plainly and defers to the health experts on the stage – surprising critics, and prompting their praise in return.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, told the Toronto Star that she and Mr. Ford have “come to describe one another as each other’s therapists.”
Andrew Weaver, former Green Party leader of British Columbia, tweeted: “While I can’t say I have historically been a fan of @fordnation, I have to say he is doing an incredible job on the COVID-19 file. He has shown strong, decisive and compassionate leadership at a critical moment in Ontario’s history.”
The media, arguably his biggest foe, have earned his praise – and they’ve given it right back.
While the pandemic has generated a bitterly partisan divide in the United States, with protests over lockdowns that President Donald Trump has appeared to endorse, Canada has strived for consensus. That unity is not immutable, and stressors have already built up. But many Canadian politicians have put aside politics to address the threat of COVID-19, and no relationship demonstrates that better than that of Mr. Ford to his opponents.
“His government came into office being completely obtuse about criticism, just completely unwilling to listen to people and doing things almost belligerently because they could,” says Tim Abray, a political communications expert in Ottawa, “and I think that tone has disappeared.”
Mr. Abray says Premier Ford has always been a street-level politician with a skill for talking to people, even if foes failed to see it. “The thing I’m pleasantly surprised about is that he’s making the most of his grassroots, ground-level political instincts, while at the same time, paying attention to expert advice.”
As citizens rally around leaders, approval ratings generally go up in a time of crisis, and this pandemic is no different (although President Trump’s approval has gone down to 43%, according to a Gallup poll). An Angus Reid Institute poll in March showed 74% of respondents in Ontario saying the provincial government was handling the crisis well.
Over the weekend, Canadian protesters calling for an end to lockdowns in Toronto did get a scathing rebuke from Mr. Ford, when he called them “a bunch of yahoos.”
Marie Henein, a defense lawyer in Toronto, has not been a fan. But in the April 9 opinion pages of The Globe and Mail, she penned a piece describing her new “uncomfortable reality.” “It is not easy to heap praise in his direction,” she wrote.
In fact, 18 months earlier she wrote a warning to the Ontario premier about bullying. “So here is your final lesson: Mr. Trump is not a good example to follow. Do not forget, Premier Ford, we are Canadian and inherently decent to a fault. The rough-and-tumble populist appeal to which you, apparently, aspire has long-term, negative consequences for the country.”
Today she says that as Mr. Ford has listened to experts, speaking authentically and with empathy in a crisis, she has come to gradually shift her view – and sees his change as an antidote to a larger problem with politics, in North America and beyond. “Somehow acting without evidence and acting contrary to information is viewed as being authentic. … And I think what is important is really to remember that that is very much contrary to what effective leadership is,” she says. “Evidence-based leadership is not contrary to strong, powerful, and decisive leadership.”
Mr. Ford has been a voice for cooperation across the political aisle. In the Ontario legislature he told politicians in March: “Now is the time to put politics aside. No matter what our political stripe, we must all be Team Ontario and Team Canada.”
A survey by the Media Ecosystem Observatory reflected consensus at the national level, showing no differences along party lines in views on distancing measures or the seriousness of the threat of COVID-19. While Mr. Abray cautions that politics will return and break some of the consensus, he says that Canada still has room for bipartisan friendships, like that of Mr. Ford and Ms. Freeland – even if in recent years more partisanship has crept into Canada’s system.
Cristine de Clercy, a political science professor at Western University in Ontario, says that Canada is smaller than the U.S. and has a unique political structure that marries federalism to a parliamentary system. “Because the premier or the prime minister sits among the legislators with the cabinet, that creates a very top-heavy executive-dominant political system, which in normal times we complain about, but in times of crisis can act quickly and efficiently.”
She is cautious about defining Mr. Ford’s leadership at this early stage. Mr. Ford released a roadmap Monday for Ontario’s economic reopening to mixed reviews. Still grappling with among the nation’s highest infection rates, Ontario is currently under a spotlight for funding cuts and low wages that have made long-term care facilities particularly vulnerable. Along with Quebec, Ontario requested that Canada’s armed forces be sent into nursing homes to reinforce care. Mr. Ford choked up last week during a daily press conference, saying “we can do better” when it comes to COVID-19 hitting long-term care homes. He also revealed that his mother-in-law, who is 95 and lives in a home, has tested positive.
“But what I would credit him for is that he followed the lead of other leaders like Mr. Trudeau … in terms of accepting input from his science and health policy advisers and paying rapt attention to their predictions about the seriousness of COVID,” says Professor de Clercy.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Is that a low bar? “On the normative question, ‘Should he listen to his scientific advisers?’ Of course. One presumes political leaders ought to, especially in the case of a pandemic. But empirically, we know that many have chosen not to,” she says. “Many American governors still are refusing to listen to their scientific advisers to force citizens to isolate, to shut down key industries.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated Tuesday morning, April 28.