thenation--2020-08-05--Our Government Is Prioritizing Empire Over Health

American military personnel are getting sick in significant numbers in the midst of the ongoing pandemic .
As The New York Times reported in a piece buried in the back pages of its July 21 edition , “ The infection rate in the services has tripled over the past six weeks as the United States military has emerged as a potential source of transmission both domestically and abroad.
” Indeed , the military is sick and I think of it as both a personal and an imperial disaster .
As the wife of a naval officer , I bear witness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all sorts play out among military families and lately I ’ ve been bracing for the Covid-19 version of just such a disaster .
Normally , for my husband and me , the stressors are relatively mild .
After all , between us we have well-paid jobs , two healthy children , and supportive family and friends , all of which allow us to weather the difficulties of military life fairly smoothly .
In our 10 years together , however , over two submarine assignments and five moves , we ’ ve dealt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I will next be left to care for our children alone , and periods of 16-hour workdays for my spouse that strained us both , not to speak of his surviving a major submarine accident .
You would think that , as my husband enters his third year of “ shore duty ” as a Pentagon staffer , the immediate dangers of military service would finally be negligible .
No such luck .
Since around mid-June , as President Trump searched for scapegoats like the World Health Organization for his own Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection rates could mean for his approval ratings , he decided that it was time to push this country to “ reopen.
” As it turned out , that wouldn ’ t just be a disaster for states from Florida to California , but also meant that the Pentagon resumed operations at about 80 percent capacity .
So , after a brief reprieve , my spouse is now required to report to his office four days a week for eight-hour workdays in a poorly ventilated , crowded hive of cubicles where people neither @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this for what often adds up to an hour or two of substantive daily work .
Restaurants , dry cleaners , and other services where Pentagon staffers circulate only add to the possibility of his being exposed to Covid-19 .
My husband , in other words , is now unnecessarily risking his own and his family ’ s exposure to a virus that has to date claimed more than 150,000 American lives—already more than eight times higher than the number of Americans who died in both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed .
In mid-August , he will transfer to an office job in Maryland , a state where cases and deaths are again on the rise .
One evening , I asked him why it seemed to be business as usual at the Pentagon when numbers were spiking in a majority of states .
His reply : “ Don ’ t ask questions about facts and logic.
” After all , unless Secretary of Defense Mark Esper decides to speak out against the way President Trump has worked to reopen the country to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and personnel like my husband within and among duty stations will simply continue , even as Covid-19 numbers soar in the military .
Global freedom of movement has been a hallmark of America ’ s vast empire of bases , at least 800 of them scattered across much of the planet .
Now , it may prove part of the downfall of that very imperial structure .
After all , Donald Trump ’ s America is at the heart of the present pandemic .
So it ’ s hardly surprising that , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be carrying Covid-19 infections with them from hard-hit states like Arizona , California , Florida , and Texas , a number of which have had lax and inconsistently enforced safety guidelines , to other countries where they are stationed .
For example , at just one US base on the Japanese island of Okinawa , the Marine Corps reported nearly 100 cases in July , angering local officials because American soldiers had socialized off-base and gone to local bars in a place where the coronavirus had initially been suppressed .
No longer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counts are low but health care workers in large cities are reporting a spike in deaths among residents with symptoms , the US military arms , supplies , and trains the national security forces .
So a spike in cases among US troops now places local populations ( as well as those soldiers ) at additional risk in a country where testing and contact tracing are severely lacking .
And this is a problem now for just about any US ally from Europe to South Korea .
What this virus ’ s spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the US empire of bases that spans some 80 countries—about 40 percent of the nations on this planet—is now part of the growing American Covid-19 disaster .
There is increasing reason to believe that new outbreaks of what the president likes to call the “ Chinese virus ” in some of these countries may actually prove to be American imports .
Like many American civilians , our military personnel are traveling , going to work , socializing , buying things , often unmasked and ungloved , and anything but social distanced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the criteria for safely reopening the economy without sparking yet more outbreaks are numerous .
They include weeks of lower case counts , positive test rates at or beneath four new cases per 100,000 people daily , adequate testing capacity , enforcing strict social-distancing guidelines , and the availability of at least 40 percent of hospital ICU beds to treat any possible future surge .
To date , only three states have met these criteria : Connecticut , New Jersey , and New York .
The White House ’ s Opening Up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , includes guidelines of just the weakest and vaguest sort like noting a downward trajectory in cases over 14-day periods and “ robust testing capacity ” for health care workers ( without any definition of what this might actually mean ) .
Following White House guidance , the Department of Defense is deferring to local and state governments to determine what , if any , safety measures to take .
As the White House then suggested , in March when a military-wide lockdown began , troops needed to quarantine for 14 days before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the close of June , the Pentagon broadly removed travel restrictions , allowing both inter-state recreational and military travel by troops and their families .
Now , in a country that lacks any disciplined and unified response to the global pandemic , our ever-mobile military has become a significant conduit of its spread , both domestically and abroad .
To be sure , none of us knew how to tackle the dangers posed by this virus .
The last global pandemic of this sort , the “ Spanish Flu ” of 1918–19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died worldwide , suggested just how dire the consequences of such an outbreak could be when uncontained .
But facts and lived experience are two different things .
If you ’ re young , physically fit , have survived numerous viruses of a more known and treatable sort , and most of the people around you are out and about , you probably dismiss it as just another illness , even if you ’ re subject to some of the Covid-19 death risk factors that are indeed endemic among US military personnel .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ among our troops shows is that the military-civilian divide isn ’ t as great as we often think .
Full disclosure : I write this at a time when I ’ m frustrated and tired .
For the past month , I ’ ve provided full-time child care for our two pre-school age kids , even while working up to 50 hours a week , largely on evenings and weekends , as a psychotherapist for local adults and children themselves acutely experiencing the fears , health dangers , and economic effects of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country , I cram work , chores , pre-K Zoom sessions , pediatrician and dentist appointments , and grocery shopping into endless days , while taking as many security precautions as I can .
My husband reminds me of the need to abide by quarantines , as ( despite his working conditions ) he needs to be protected from exposing top Pentagon officials to the disease .
Yet the military has done little or nothing to deal with the ways the families of service members , asked to work and “ rotate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the dizziness of fatigue , I have little patience for any institution that carries on with business as usual under such circumstances .
What ’ s more , it ’ s hard to imagine how any efforts to quarantine will bear fruit in a country where even those Americans who do follow scientific news about Covid-19 have often dropped precautions against its spread .
I ’ ve noted that , these days , some of my most progressive friends have started to socialize , eat indoors at restaurants , and even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affected places by plane .
They are engaging in what we therapists sometimes call “ emotion-based reasoning , ” or “ I ’ m tired of safety precautions , so they must no longer be necessary.
” And that ’ s not even taking into account the no-maskers among us who flaunt the safety guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to indicate their supposed love of individual liberties .
A relative , an officer with the Department of Homeland Security , recently posted a picture on Facebook of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workmate watching fireworks arm in arm at an unmasked Fourth of July gathering .
The picture was clearly staged to provoke those like me who support social-distancing and masking guidelines .
When I talk with him , he quickly changes the subject to how he could , at any moment , be deployed to “ control the rioters in D.C. and other local cities.
” In other words , in his mind like those of so many others the president relies on as his “ base , ” the real threat isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people in the streets protesting police violence .
I wonder how the optics of American families celebrating together could have superseded safety based on an understanding of how diseases spread , as well as a healthy respect for the unknowns that go with them .
Sometimes , our misplaced priorities take my breath away , quite literally so recently .
Craving takeout from my favorite Peruvian chicken restaurant and wanting to support a struggling local business , I ordered such a meal and drove with my kids to pick it up .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple unmasked people packed inside despite a sign on the door mandating masks and social distancing .
Making a quick risk-benefit assessment , I opened the car windows , blasted the air conditioning , and ran into the restaurant without my kids , making faces at them through the window while I stood in line .
A voice suddenly cut through the hum of the rotisseries : “ Shameful !
Shameful !
” A woman , unmasked , literally spat these words , pointing right at me .
“ Leaving your kids in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Shameful !
” I caught my breath .
Riddled with guilt and fearful of what she might do , I returned to my car without my food .
She followed me , yelling , “ Shameful !
” Aside from the spittle flying from this woman ’ s mouth , notable was what she wasn ’ t ashamed of : entering such a place , unmasked and ready to spit , with other people ’ s children also in there running about .
( Not to mention that in Maryland reported abductions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) What has this country come to when we are more likely to blame the usual culprits—negligent mothers , brown and Black people , illegal immigrants ( you know the list ) —than accept responsibility for what ’ s actually going on and make the necessary sacrifices to deal with it ( perhaps including , I should admit , going without takeout food ) ?
Typically in these years , top Pentagon officials and the high command are prioritizing the maintenance of empire at the expense of protecting the very bodies that make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak of those inhabitants of other countries living near our hundreds of global garrisons ) .
After all , what ’ s the problem , when nothing could be more important than keeping this country in the ( increasingly embattled ) position of global overseer ?
More bodies can always be produced .
( Thank you , military spouses ! )
The spread of this virus around the globe , now aided in part by the US military , reminds me of one of those paint-with-water children ’ s books where the shading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the page , including in places you didn ’ t expect .
Everywhere that infected Americans socialize , shop , arm , and fight , this virus is popping up , eroding both our literal ability to be present and the institutions ( however corrupt ) we ’ re still trying to prop up .
If we are truly in a “ war ” against Covid-19—President Trump has , of course , referred to himself as a “ wartime president ” —then it ’ s time for all of us to make the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health over pleasure .
Otherwise , I fear that what ’ s good about life in this country will also be at risk , as will the futures of my own children .

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
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American military personnel are getting sick in significant numbers in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. As The New York Times reported in a piece buried in the back pages of its July 21 edition, “The infection rate in the services has tripled over the past six weeks as the United States military has emerged as a potential source of transmission both domestically and abroad.”
Indeed, the military is sick and I think of it as both a personal and an imperial disaster.
As the wife of a naval officer, I bear witness to the unexpected ways that disasters of all sorts play out among military families and lately I’ve been bracing for the Covid-19 version of just such a disaster. Normally, for my husband and me, the stressors are relatively mild. After all, between us we have well-paid jobs, two healthy children, and supportive family and friends, all of which allow us to weather the difficulties of military life fairly smoothly. In our 10 years together, however, over two submarine assignments and five moves, we’ve dealt with unpredictable months-long deployments, uncertainty about when I will next be left to care for our children alone, and periods of 16-hour workdays for my spouse that strained us both, not to speak of his surviving a major submarine accident.
You would think that, as my husband enters his third year of “shore duty” as a Pentagon staffer, the immediate dangers of military service would finally be negligible. No such luck. Since around mid-June, as President Trump searched for scapegoats like the World Health Organization for his own Covid-19 ineptitude and his concern over what rising infection rates could mean for his approval ratings, he decided that it was time to push this country to “reopen.”
As it turned out, that wouldn’t just be a disaster for states from Florida to California, but also meant that the Pentagon resumed operations at about 80 percent capacity. So, after a brief reprieve, my spouse is now required to report to his office four days a week for eight-hour workdays in a poorly ventilated, crowded hive of cubicles where people neither consistently mask nor social distance.
All of this for what often adds up to an hour or two of substantive daily work. Restaurants, dry cleaners, and other services where Pentagon staffers circulate only add to the possibility of his being exposed to Covid-19.
My husband, in other words, is now unnecessarily risking his own and his family’s exposure to a virus that has to date claimed more than 150,000 American lives—already more than eight times higher than the number of Americans who died in both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
In mid-August, he will transfer to an office job in Maryland, a state where cases and deaths are again on the rise. One evening, I asked him why it seemed to be business as usual at the Pentagon when numbers were spiking in a majority of states. His reply: “Don’t ask questions about facts and logic.”
After all, unless Secretary of Defense Mark Esper decides to speak out against the way President Trump has worked to reopen the country to further disaster, the movement of troops and personnel like my husband within and among duty stations will simply continue, even as Covid-19 numbers soar in the military.
America’s Archipelago of Bases
Global freedom of movement has been a hallmark of America’s vast empire of bases, at least 800 of them scattered across much of the planet. Now, it may prove part of the downfall of that very imperial structure. After all, Donald Trump’s America is at the heart of the present pandemic. So it’s hardly surprising that, according to the Times, US troops seem to be carrying Covid-19 infections with them from hard-hit states like Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, a number of which have had lax and inconsistently enforced safety guidelines, to other countries where they are stationed.
For example, at just one US base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, the Marine Corps reported nearly 100 cases in July, angering local officials because American soldiers had socialized off-base and gone to local bars in a place where the coronavirus had initially been suppressed. No longer. In Nigeria, where official case counts are low but health care workers in large cities are reporting a spike in deaths among residents with symptoms, the US military arms, supplies, and trains the national security forces. So a spike in cases among US troops now places local populations (as well as those soldiers) at additional risk in a country where testing and contact tracing are severely lacking. And this is a problem now for just about any US ally from Europe to South Korea.
What this virus’s spread among troops means, of course, is that the US empire of bases that spans some 80 countries—about 40 percent of the nations on this planet—is now part of the growing American Covid-19 disaster. There is increasing reason to believe that new outbreaks of what the president likes to call the “Chinese virus” in some of these countries may actually prove to be American imports. Like many American civilians, our military personnel are traveling, going to work, socializing, buying things, often unmasked and ungloved, and anything but social distanced.
Public health experts have been clear that the criteria for safely reopening the economy without sparking yet more outbreaks are numerous. They include weeks of lower case counts, positive test rates at or beneath four new cases per 100,000 people daily, adequate testing capacity, enforcing strict social-distancing guidelines, and the availability of at least 40 percent of hospital ICU beds to treat any possible future surge.
To date, only three states have met these criteria: Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The White House’s Opening Up America plan, on the other hand, includes guidelines of just the weakest and vaguest sort like noting a downward trajectory in cases over 14-day periods and “robust testing capacity” for health care workers (without any definition of what this might actually mean).
Following White House guidance, the Department of Defense is deferring to local and state governments to determine what, if any, safety measures to take. As the White House then suggested, in March when a military-wide lockdown began, troops needed to quarantine for 14 days before moving to their next duty station. At the close of June, the Pentagon broadly removed travel restrictions, allowing both inter-state recreational and military travel by troops and their families. Now, in a country that lacks any disciplined and unified response to the global pandemic, our ever-mobile military has become a significant conduit of its spread, both domestically and abroad.
To be sure, none of us knew how to tackle the dangers posed by this virus. The last global pandemic of this sort, the “Spanish Flu” of 1918–19 in which 50 million or more people died worldwide, suggested just how dire the consequences of such an outbreak could be when uncontained. But facts and lived experience are two different things. If you’re young, physically fit, have survived numerous viruses of a more known and treatable sort, and most of the people around you are out and about, you probably dismiss it as just another illness, even if you’re subject to some of the Covid-19 death risk factors that are indeed endemic among US military personnel.
Perhaps what the spread of this pandemic among our troops shows is that the military-civilian divide isn’t as great as we often think.
Protecting Life in the Covid-19 Era
Full disclosure: I write this at a time when I’m frustrated and tired. For the past month, I’ve provided full-time child care for our two pre-school age kids, even while working up to 50 hours a week, largely on evenings and weekends, as a psychotherapist for local adults and children themselves acutely experiencing the fears, health dangers, and economic effects of the coronavirus. Like many other moms across the country, I cram work, chores, pre-K Zoom sessions, pediatrician and dentist appointments, and grocery shopping into endless days, while taking as many security precautions as I can. My husband reminds me of the need to abide by quarantines, as (despite his working conditions) he needs to be protected from exposing top Pentagon officials to the disease.
Yet the military has done little or nothing to deal with the ways the families of service members, asked to work and “rotate,” might be exposed to infection. In the dizziness of fatigue, I have little patience for any institution that carries on with business as usual under such circumstances.
What’s more, it’s hard to imagine how any efforts to quarantine will bear fruit in a country where even those Americans who do follow scientific news about Covid-19 have often dropped precautions against its spread. I’ve noted that, these days, some of my most progressive friends have started to socialize, eat indoors at restaurants, and even travel out of state to more deeply affected places by plane. They are engaging in what we therapists sometimes call “emotion-based reasoning,” or “I’m tired of safety precautions, so they must no longer be necessary.”
And that’s not even taking into account the no-maskers among us who flaunt the safety guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to indicate their supposed love of individual liberties. A relative, an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, recently posted a picture on Facebook of his three young children and those of a workmate watching fireworks arm in arm at an unmasked Fourth of July gathering. The picture was clearly staged to provoke those like me who support social-distancing and masking guidelines. When I talk with him, he quickly changes the subject to how he could, at any moment, be deployed to “control the rioters in D.C. and other local cities.” In other words, in his mind like those of so many others the president relies on as his “base,” the real threat isn’t the pandemic, it’s the people in the streets protesting police violence.
I wonder how the optics of American families celebrating together could have superseded safety based on an understanding of how diseases spread, as well as a healthy respect for the unknowns that go with them.
Sometimes, our misplaced priorities take my breath away, quite literally so recently. Craving takeout from my favorite Peruvian chicken restaurant and wanting to support a struggling local business, I ordered such a meal and drove with my kids to pick it up. Stopping at the restaurant, I noted multiple unmasked people packed inside despite a sign on the door mandating masks and social distancing. Making a quick risk-benefit assessment, I opened the car windows, blasted the air conditioning, and ran into the restaurant without my kids, making faces at them through the window while I stood in line.
A voice suddenly cut through the hum of the rotisseries: “Shameful! Shameful!” A woman, unmasked, literally spat these words, pointing right at me. “Leaving your kids in the car! Someone could take them! Shameful!” I caught my breath. Riddled with guilt and fearful of what she might do, I returned to my car without my food. She followed me, yelling, “Shameful!”
Aside from the spittle flying from this woman’s mouth, notable was what she wasn’t ashamed of: entering such a place, unmasked and ready to spit, with other people’s children also in there running about. (Not to mention that in Maryland reported abductions of children by strangers are nil.)
What has this country come to when we are more likely to blame the usual culprits—negligent mothers, brown and Black people, illegal immigrants (you know the list)—than accept responsibility for what’s actually going on and make the necessary sacrifices to deal with it (perhaps including, I should admit, going without takeout food)?
Typically in these years, top Pentagon officials and the high command are prioritizing the maintenance of empire at the expense of protecting the very bodies that make up the armed services (not to speak of those inhabitants of other countries living near our hundreds of global garrisons). After all, what’s the problem, when nothing could be more important than keeping this country in the (increasingly embattled) position of global overseer? More bodies can always be produced. (Thank you, military spouses!)
The spread of this virus around the globe, now aided in part by the US military, reminds me of one of those paint-with-water children’s books where the shading appears gradually as the brush moves over the page, including in places you didn’t expect. Everywhere that infected Americans socialize, shop, arm, and fight, this virus is popping up, eroding both our literal ability to be present and the institutions (however corrupt) we’re still trying to prop up. If we are truly in a “war” against Covid-19—President Trump has, of course, referred to himself as a “wartime president”—then it’s time for all of us to make the sacrifices of a wartime nation by prioritizing public health over pleasure. Otherwise, I fear that what’s good about life in this country will also be at risk, as will the futures of my own children.


thenation--2020-08-05--America Is Headed for an Unprecedented Wave of Evictions

Just before she called me one day in late July , Dawn Miller ’ s phone lit up with calls from one particular number : the management office for her apartment building in Flatbush , Brooklyn , where she ’ s lived since 2009 .
She hasn ’ t paid rent in five months .
She can ’ t .
Before the pandemic , she worked at a food kiosk at Brooklyn College selling coffee and sandwiches .
But then the campus shut down , throwing her out of work .
She had to borrow money just to afford food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment benefits until June , and even then the money had to go to paying back what she had borrowed to travel to her home country of Jamaica when her sister recently died .
Rent had to wait .
Up until June 20 , she was protected from eviction by a statewide prohibition on all evictions issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo .
But once that blanket protection expired , Cuomo narrowed who was protected to those who were unable to pay rent because they suffered direct financial hardship due to the pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ tenants to court and the burden falls to renters to prove to a judge that they qualify .
The city ’ s courts have also paused eviction proceedings through at least August 5 , but without an extension , thousands of renters like Miller may be caught up in the gears of the system when it reactivates .
There were also protections that the federal government put in place .
When Congress passed the CARES Act , it included a moratorium on evictions in any federally subsidized housing .
Any landlord with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac , or who accepts Section 8 rent vouchers , couldn ’ t legally evict tenants .
But those expired on July 27 as Congress failed to pass an extension .
“ I ’ m not certain what ’ s going to happen , ” Miller said .
Even if her college campus reopens , she ’ s not sure they ’ ll want to have people buying food from kiosks .
“ I don ’ t know if I ’ m going to have a job in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s certain her landlord will try to evict her as soon as he can , so she ’ s been trying desperately to enroll in the state ’ s rent relief program , which was launched in mid-July .
But the online system kept shutting down before she could complete her application .
Miller lives with her youngest daughter and two grandchildren , and she ’ s the sole provider ; her daughter is in nursing school full-time .
“ I ’ m worried about becoming homeless with my family , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am truly stressed.
” Miller is one of millions across the country facing that stress .
When the pandemic first hit and officials ordered businesses to shut down , many also instituted protections to ensure that people weren ’ t thrown out of their homes just when they were being told to stay inside them to stem the spread of the disease .
Many were temporary measures under the assumption that by now the virus would be under control , and yet US case counts keep going up .
Even after some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment is horrifyingly high : More than 30 million people are either receiving unemployment benefits or have applied for them .
One in five renters was behind on rent at the beginning of July , while about a third of American households missed their housing payment that month .
The disappearance of eviction moratoriums will almost certainly lead to a housing crisis the likes of which the country hasn ’ t seen in a generation .
Estimates vary : One puts the number of households at risk of eviction at 17 million , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 23 million people could face eviction by the end of September .
Another found that as many as 28 million people could face eviction or foreclosure .
No matter which number proves to be accurate , the potential hardship is vast .
In all of 2016 , landlords filed 2.35 million evictions .
“ The courts can ’ t handle it , the states can ’ t catch the people who go through the system and end up unhoused , ” said Emily Benfer , a visiting professor of law at Wake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a really catastrophic situation.
” The country is poised to witness an even worse housing crisis than the one during the 2008 recession .
“ The United States has never seen this level of housing instability or threat of eviction , especially in such a truncated amount of time , ” Benfer said .
During that downturn , nearly 10 million people lost their homes to foreclosure in the span of eight years .
It seems certain that , without policy-makers ’ acting , far more will be displaced by the current crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that homelessness could increase by 40–45 percent this year .
“ We ’ ll see increases in homelessness the likes of which we haven ’ t seen in our country since the Great Depression , ” predicted Diane Yentel , president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition .
“ This will be a humanitarian disaster of our making if there isn ’ t intervention , ” Benfer .
The eviction moratoriums cities and states put in place at the start of the pandemic varied considerably .
Some protected everyone from eviction ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the pandemic had caused them financial hardship .
Some blocked landlords from filing evictions in the first place ; others allowed the whole process to move forward but merely barred sheriffs from carrying them out , which could still leave a black mark on a renter ’ s record .
“ The only thing they have in common is that they expire , ” Benfer said .
Still , overall , Benfer said , “ the moratoriums worked.
” Where they are in place , eviction filings are still low .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , state , and local eviction moratoriums prevented evictions , ” Yentel agreed .
“ That we can say with certainty.
” But where they ’ ve lifted , evictions have quickly jumped .
New Orleans offers a glimpse of what ’ s in store for other places as protections expire .
The state ’ s eviction moratorium was lifted on June 15 .
Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative , a community land trust and housing rights organization , estimated that about half of all tenants in the city were still protected by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , Breonne DeDecker , the group ’ s program director , and her fellow organizers posted flyers in buildings they knew were supported by federal money .
But landlords don ’ t want the information to be shared ; they kept taking the flyers down .
“ It ’ s not uncommon for organizers to go into common areas and put up fliers , ” DeDecker said , “ only to watch the property manger come by five minutes later and rip everything down and throw it away.
” Now that federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expect the deluge to start , ” DeDecker said .
Landlords had already moved to evict more than 230 city residents by the end of June , before the federal protection expired .
Legal aid attorneys say they ’ re fielding triple the number of eviction cases as compared to last year .
DeDecker ’ s group used to meet once a month ; now they ’ re meeting twice a week , trying to produce strategies to stem the tide .
They ’ ve sent hundreds of letters to local and state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as contacting the governor asking him to reimpose the eviction moratorium .
On July 30 , a group of activists blocked access to the courthouse to protest the resumption of eviction cases .
The Coronavirus Pushes State Budgets to the Brink How to Make Defunding the Police a Reality The disappearance of these protections is colliding with the expiration of the extra unemployment benefits Congress passed in response to the pandemic , money that many say has allowed people to keep paying rent .
“ That ’ s really been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here , ” Benfer said .
Those in dire straits seem to have turned to assistance for food—requests for food pantries doubled in March—in order to use their limited resources to pay rent .
They ’ re “ putting a priority on staying housed , ” Benfer said .
“ Which makes sense .
The primary response to Covid-19 is to shelter in place , so housing is literally preventative health care.
” As the pandemic rages , with cases increasing in 15 states , Puerto Rico , and Washington , D.C , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to any semblance of normal months , if not over a year , away , Congress still doesn ’ t have a deal to extend benefits .
Democrats want to keep them at the same level , while Republicans have proposed cutting the extra benefits from $ 600 a week to $ 200 , which would cut Americans ’ benefits by a cumulative $ 10 billion a week .
The current outbreak has many governors reimposing lockdowns on different businesses , including in California , Louisiana , and Texas .
Even in states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the best-case scenario , many of these renters were able to return to work , they have still likely accrued months of back rent that they owe .
“ Getting a job is not enough to help pay that off , ” Benfer noted .
And without the pandemic under control , allowing businesses to reopen doesn ’ t mean they can keep their doors open safely or that customers will feel safe enough to return .
Many will still remain out of a job .
In New York , 279,400 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of not being able to pay rent and facing eviction when unemployment benefits expire .
Another 111,500 families have experienced job loss without receiving unemployment benefits and are at immediate risk of eviction .
Even though proceedings to evict people have been on hold , landlords have still been able to file the paperwork on new cases by mail .
“ We don ’ t have any idea really how many , ” said Judith Goldiner , attorney-in-charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society .
Last year during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were about 50,000 cases filed , so she thinks that ’ s a baseline—likely a vast undercount—of how many people will face eviction once the system is up and running .
“ There is the possibility that tens of thousands of cases , maybe more than 100,000 cases , could be brought , ” she said .
“ Landlords are chomping at the bit to bring these cases.
” Housing advocates are baffled by the rush to evict .
“ I don ’ t see how [ landlords ] are going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goldiner said .
Even if they ’ re able to push nonpaying tenants out , there are not likely many who can take their place and make rent when so many are still out of work .
Initially , Goldiner advised clients to try to negotiate with their landlords , given the circumstances .
“ Over and over people told me , ‘ No one responds , ’ or they say , ‘ No , we won ’ t do anything for you , ’ ” she said .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be trying to work something out.
” The pain of eviction won ’ t be felt evenly .
Black and Latinx New Yorkers were already more likely to face eviction before the pandemic , a trend that the crisis has only exacerbated .
Half of Black renters and nearly a quarter of Latinx renters in New York State fell behind on their rent between late April and early June , compared to just 6 percent of white ones .
It ’ s the same case nationwide : 30 percent of Black renters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind on their rent , compared to 13 percent of whites .
Those who are covered by the federal eviction protections in the CARES Act should , in theory , have been protected until they expired toward the end of July , and will have 30 days to pay rent after landlords file a notice .
But it ’ s been very difficult to enforce .
“ The burden is on the renter to know whether or not they have any protection , ” Yentel said .
And they ’ ll struggle to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t know , ” Goldiner said , whether their landlord has a mortgage backed by the government .
There are also no penalties for landlords who flout the rules and move to evict tenants anyway .
ProPublica found landlords moving to evict in April despite being barred by the federal moratorium in four states .
“ The main thing tenants are experiencing in this exact moment is a lot of confusion , ” said Cea Weaver , campaign coordinator for Housing Justice for All in New York .
“ People are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the uncertainty and scared because of the lack of protections.
” In mid-July , New York Governor Cuomo announced the creation of an emergency rental assistance program for low-income state residents who lost their income during the pandemic .
But the $ 100 million he allocated only covers a small portion of the estimated $ 2 billion rent shortfall in the state , and applications were only open for two weeks .
He “ either doesn ’ t understand this is a crisis , or he doesn ’ t seem to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s just boggling to me that there ’ s been so little coming from him.
” “ We ’ re still in Covid , ” Miller argued , frustrated at how little assistance she has been able to get to stave off her eviction .
“ So come on , do something for the people .
What has he done ?
Nothing.
” Many other states and cities have also created rent relief programs and have seen their resources vastly outpaced by need .
Thirty percent had already been shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , according to Yentel .
“ In some places they were having to shut down within hours or days , ” Yentel said .
Louisiana ’ s program ran out in three days .
Houston ’ s program was depleted in 90 minutes “ Congress must act , ” Benfer said .
“ The states have done everything that they can .
They ’ ve depleted the funds that they have.
” States are facing down enormous budget shortfalls due to a drop in tax revenue and a greater outlay in assistance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but a bridge , advocates stress .
Many want to buy time until Congress passes substantial rental assistance .
Democrats included $ 100 billion in emergency rental assistance in the HEROES Act , which passed the House , along with a 12-month eviction moratorium for all renters who can ’ t pay rent .
The Senate hasn ’ t taken it up , even though Democratic senators have introduced stand-alone bills to extend a moratorium and offer significant rental assistance .
Republicans are instead offering their own package that doesn ’ t include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assistance for renters .
Other advocates just want to see rent canceled .
“ Every time [ organizers ] have to fight for an extension of a moratorium , it ’ s like a yo-yo , ” said Pam Phan , national field organizer with the Right to the City Alliance .
Renters bounce between the security of knowing they won ’ t face immediate eviction to having that security stripped away .
In Florida , for example , the governor keeps extending it month by month , forcing advocates to fight for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the while bracing for evictions as they near the expiration .
In June the governor extended it four hours before it would have elapsed .
“ It ’ s becoming clear the visionary solution is actually the most logical one , ” Phan said .
That visionary solution is , for her , Congress passing a bill introduced by Representative Ilhan Omar and cosponsored by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Rashida Tlaib , Pramila Jayapal , and Ayanna Pressley in April that would cancel all rent and home mortgage payments throughout the duration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for landlords and mortgage holders to cover losses .
Right to the City ’ s network of local advocates is trying to put pressure on state and local lawmakers to demand Congress actually pass it .
Even as each state tackles the problem in different ways , “ it ’ s a larger systemic problem , because it ’ s happening to all of us at once , ” she said .
“ The message to Congress is they need to act.
” But all advocates are united in one thing : Something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will follow .
“ The one positive is that this is entirely preventable .
We can stop this , ” Benfer said .
“ It doesn ’ t have to end with all of these catastrophic outcomes .
”

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Just before she called me one day in late July, Dawn Miller’s phone lit up with calls from one particular number: the management office for her apartment building in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where she’s lived since 2009. She hasn’t paid rent in five months. She can’t. Before the pandemic, she worked at a food kiosk at Brooklyn College selling coffee and sandwiches. But then the campus shut down, throwing her out of work. She had to borrow money just to afford food. She didn’t start receiving unemployment benefits until June, and even then the money had to go to paying back what she had borrowed to travel to her home country of Jamaica when her sister recently died. Rent had to wait.
Up until June 20, she was protected from eviction by a statewide prohibition on all evictions issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo. But once that blanket protection expired, Cuomo narrowed who was protected to those who were unable to pay rent because they suffered direct financial hardship due to the pandemic. That means landlords can still take their tenants to court and the burden falls to renters to prove to a judge that they qualify. The city’s courts have also paused eviction proceedings through at least August 5, but without an extension, thousands of renters like Miller may be caught up in the gears of the system when it reactivates.
There were also protections that the federal government put in place. When Congress passed the CARES Act, it included a moratorium on evictions in any federally subsidized housing. Any landlord with a federally subsidized loan through, say, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or who accepts Section 8 rent vouchers, couldn’t legally evict tenants. But those expired on July 27 as Congress failed to pass an extension.
“I’m not certain what’s going to happen,” Miller said. Even if her college campus reopens, she’s not sure they’ll want to have people buying food from kiosks. “I don’t know if I’m going to have a job in the future,” she said.
She’s certain her landlord will try to evict her as soon as he can, so she’s been trying desperately to enroll in the state’s rent relief program, which was launched in mid-July. But the online system kept shutting down before she could complete her application.
Miller lives with her youngest daughter and two grandchildren, and she’s the sole provider; her daughter is in nursing school full-time. “I’m worried about becoming homeless with my family,” she said. “Trust me, I am truly stressed.”
Miller is one of millions across the country facing that stress. When the pandemic first hit and officials ordered businesses to shut down, many also instituted protections to ensure that people weren’t thrown out of their homes just when they were being told to stay inside them to stem the spread of the disease. Many were temporary measures under the assumption that by now the virus would be under control, and yet US case counts keep going up. Even after some states have allowed businesses to reopen, unemployment is horrifyingly high: More than 30 million people are either receiving unemployment benefits or have applied for them. One in five renters was behind on rent at the beginning of July, while about a third of American households missed their housing payment that month. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
The disappearance of eviction moratoriums will almost certainly lead to a housing crisis the likes of which the country hasn’t seen in a generation. Estimates vary: One puts the number of households at risk of eviction at 17 million, while another predicts that between 19 million and 23 million people could face eviction by the end of September. Another found that as many as 28 million people could face eviction or foreclosure.
No matter which number proves to be accurate, the potential hardship is vast. In all of 2016, landlords filed 2.35 million evictions. “The courts can’t handle it, the states can’t catch the people who go through the system and end up unhoused,” said Emily Benfer, a visiting professor of law at Wake Forest University. “It’s a really catastrophic situation.”
The country is poised to witness an even worse housing crisis than the one during the 2008 recession. “The United States has never seen this level of housing instability or threat of eviction, especially in such a truncated amount of time,” Benfer said. During that downturn, nearly 10 million people lost their homes to foreclosure in the span of eight years. It seems certain that, without policy-makers’ acting, far more will be displaced by the current crisis. An economist at Columbia University predicts that homelessness could increase by 40–45 percent this year. “We’ll see increases in homelessness the likes of which we haven’t seen in our country since the Great Depression,” predicted Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
“This will be a humanitarian disaster of our making if there isn’t intervention,” Benfer.
The eviction moratoriums cities and states put in place at the start of the pandemic varied considerably. Some protected everyone from eviction; others targeted only those who could prove that the pandemic had caused them financial hardship. Some blocked landlords from filing evictions in the first place; others allowed the whole process to move forward but merely barred sheriffs from carrying them out, which could still leave a black mark on a renter’s record. “The only thing they have in common is that they expire,” Benfer said.
Still, overall, Benfer said, “the moratoriums worked.” Where they are in place, eviction filings are still low. “There is no doubt that the federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums prevented evictions,” Yentel agreed. “That we can say with certainty.” But where they’ve lifted, evictions have quickly jumped.
New Orleans offers a glimpse of what’s in store for other places as protections expire. The state’s eviction moratorium was lifted on June 15. Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, a community land trust and housing rights organization, estimated that about half of all tenants in the city were still protected by the CARES Act moratorium. To enforce that, Breonne DeDecker, the group’s program director, and her fellow organizers posted flyers in buildings they knew were supported by federal money. But landlords don’t want the information to be shared; they kept taking the flyers down. “It’s not uncommon for organizers to go into common areas and put up fliers,” DeDecker said, “only to watch the property manger come by five minutes later and rip everything down and throw it away.”
Now that federal protection has lapsed, “we really expect the deluge to start,” DeDecker said. Landlords had already moved to evict more than 230 city residents by the end of June, before the federal protection expired. Legal aid attorneys say they’re fielding triple the number of eviction cases as compared to last year. DeDecker’s group used to meet once a month; now they’re meeting twice a week, trying to produce strategies to stem the tide. They’ve sent hundreds of letters to local and state judges asking them to halt eviction court, as well as contacting the governor asking him to reimpose the eviction moratorium. On July 30, a group of activists blocked access to the courthouse to protest the resumption of eviction cases. More From Bryce Covert The New Law to Protect Pregnant Workers Is Already Changing Lives August 14, 2023 Finally, the Biden Administration Will Offer Some Relief for Childcare Costs July 11, 2023 One of #MeToo’s Biggest Wins Is About to Be Tested in Court June 13, 2023
The disappearance of these protections is colliding with the expiration of the extra unemployment benefits Congress passed in response to the pandemic, money that many say has allowed people to keep paying rent. “That’s really been the only break wall stemming the tide here,” Benfer said. Those in dire straits seem to have turned to assistance for food—requests for food pantries doubled in March—in order to use their limited resources to pay rent. They’re “putting a priority on staying housed,” Benfer said. “Which makes sense. The primary response to Covid-19 is to shelter in place, so housing is literally preventative health care.”
As the pandemic rages, with cases increasing in 15 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C, and the prospect of businesses’ returning to any semblance of normal months, if not over a year, away, Congress still doesn’t have a deal to extend benefits. Democrats want to keep them at the same level, while Republicans have proposed cutting the extra benefits from $600 a week to $200, which would cut Americans’ benefits by a cumulative $10 billion a week.
The current outbreak has many governors reimposing lockdowns on different businesses, including in California, Louisiana, and Texas. Even in states that have allowed businesses to reopen and, in the best-case scenario, many of these renters were able to return to work, they have still likely accrued months of back rent that they owe. “Getting a job is not enough to help pay that off,” Benfer noted. And without the pandemic under control, allowing businesses to reopen doesn’t mean they can keep their doors open safely or that customers will feel safe enough to return. Many will still remain out of a job.
In New York, 279,400 low-income renter families will be at risk of not being able to pay rent and facing eviction when unemployment benefits expire. Another 111,500 families have experienced job loss without receiving unemployment benefits and are at immediate risk of eviction. Even though proceedings to evict people have been on hold, landlords have still been able to file the paperwork on new cases by mail. “We don’t have any idea really how many,” said Judith Goldiner, attorney-in-charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society. Last year during the same period, she said, there were about 50,000 cases filed, so she thinks that’s a baseline—likely a vast undercount—of how many people will face eviction once the system is up and running.
“There is the possibility that tens of thousands of cases, maybe more than 100,000 cases, could be brought,” she said. “Landlords are chomping at the bit to bring these cases.”
Housing advocates are baffled by the rush to evict. “I don’t see how [landlords] are going to get blood from a stone,” Goldiner said. Even if they’re able to push nonpaying tenants out, there are not likely many who can take their place and make rent when so many are still out of work. Initially, Goldiner advised clients to try to negotiate with their landlords, given the circumstances. “Over and over people told me, ‘No one responds,’ or they say, ‘No, we won’t do anything for you,’” she said. “It’s crazy to me they wouldn’t be trying to work something out.”
The pain of eviction won’t be felt evenly. Black and Latinx New Yorkers were already more likely to face eviction before the pandemic, a trend that the crisis has only exacerbated. Half of Black renters and nearly a quarter of Latinx renters in New York State fell behind on their rent between late April and early June, compared to just 6 percent of white ones. It’s the same case nationwide: 30 percent of Black renters and about a quarter of Latinx renters are behind on their rent, compared to 13 percent of whites.
Those who are covered by the federal eviction protections in the CARES Act should, in theory, have been protected until they expired toward the end of July, and will have 30 days to pay rent after landlords file a notice. But it’s been very difficult to enforce. “The burden is on the renter to know whether or not they have any protection,” Yentel said. And they’ll struggle to figure it out. “Tenants certainly don’t know,” Goldiner said, whether their landlord has a mortgage backed by the government. There are also no penalties for landlords who flout the rules and move to evict tenants anyway. ProPublica found landlords moving to evict in April despite being barred by the federal moratorium in four states.
“The main thing tenants are experiencing in this exact moment is a lot of confusion,” said Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for Housing Justice for All in New York. “People are really scared. They’re scared because of the uncertainty and scared because of the lack of protections.”
In mid-July, New York Governor Cuomo announced the creation of an emergency rental assistance program for low-income state residents who lost their income during the pandemic. But the $100 million he allocated only covers a small portion of the estimated $2 billion rent shortfall in the state, and applications were only open for two weeks. He “either doesn’t understand this is a crisis, or he doesn’t seem to care,” Goldiner said. “It’s just boggling to me that there’s been so little coming from him.”
“We’re still in Covid,” Miller argued, frustrated at how little assistance she has been able to get to stave off her eviction. “So come on, do something for the people. What has he done? Nothing.”
Many other states and cities have also created rent relief programs and have seen their resources vastly outpaced by need. Thirty percent had already been shut down after running out of funding by late July, according to Yentel. “In some places they were having to shut down within hours or days,” Yentel said. Louisiana’s program ran out in three days. Houston’s program was depleted in 90 minutes
“Congress must act,” Benfer said. “The states have done everything that they can. They’ve depleted the funds that they have.” States are facing down enormous budget shortfalls due to a drop in tax revenue and a greater outlay in assistance.
Extending moratoriums is not a solution but a bridge, advocates stress. Many want to buy time until Congress passes substantial rental assistance. Democrats included $100 billion in emergency rental assistance in the HEROES Act, which passed the House, along with a 12-month eviction moratorium for all renters who can’t pay rent. The Senate hasn’t taken it up, even though Democratic senators have introduced stand-alone bills to extend a moratorium and offer significant rental assistance. Republicans are instead offering their own package that doesn’t include an eviction moratorium and has far less assistance for renters.
Other advocates just want to see rent canceled. “Every time [organizers] have to fight for an extension of a moratorium, it’s like a yo-yo,” said Pam Phan, national field organizer with the Right to the City Alliance. Renters bounce between the security of knowing they won’t face immediate eviction to having that security stripped away. In Florida, for example, the governor keeps extending it month by month, forcing advocates to fight for it over and over again, all the while bracing for evictions as they near the expiration. In June the governor extended it four hours before it would have elapsed.
“It’s becoming clear the visionary solution is actually the most logical one,” Phan said. That visionary solution is, for her, Congress passing a bill introduced by Representative Ilhan Omar and cosponsored by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Pramila Jayapal, and Ayanna Pressley in April that would cancel all rent and home mortgage payments throughout the duration of the pandemic while offering a relief fund for landlords and mortgage holders to cover losses. Right to the City’s network of local advocates is trying to put pressure on state and local lawmakers to demand Congress actually pass it. Even as each state tackles the problem in different ways, “it’s a larger systemic problem, because it’s happening to all of us at once,” she said. “The message to Congress is they need to act.”
But all advocates are united in one thing: Something must be done, or unimaginable suffering will follow. “The one positive is that this is entirely preventable. We can stop this,” Benfer said. “It doesn’t have to end with all of these catastrophic outcomes.”


thenation--2020-08-05--There Will Be No Return to Normality

There Will Be No Return to Normality

One of Donald Trump ’ s singular achievements is to drive political commentator George F. Will out of the Republican Party .
The very personification of bow-tied Toryism , Will voted for every Republican presidential candidate from Barry Goldwater in 1964 to Mitt Romney in 2012 .
But Trump ’ s vulgarity and overt racism were too much for Will .
In his most recent Washington Post column , Will made an affirmative case for Biden , which rested on the claim that after the chaos of the Trump years , the Democratic candidate would be good for “ an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for manifestations of presidential normality.
” Will quoted an anonymous Biden confidant who argued that the former vice president ’ s appeal rested on his ability to provide voters with reassurance “ that the world as they know it is recoverable.
” The great thing about Biden , to judge by Will ’ s endorsement , is that he wouldn ’ t do much .
He ’ d refrain from the sweeping policies like Medicare for All advocated by Bernie Sanders .
He ’ d be eager to work with Republicans , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t tweet or debase the presidency with childish feuds .
He ’ d be a captain who runs the ship on an even keel .
Former Republicans like Will are , of course , only a small sliver of the coalition that Biden is assembling .
But Will has fairly and accurately described qualities that a broader range of voters , including centrist liberals , find attractive in Biden .
After all , Biden ’ s campaign has rested on a nostalgic appeal for the pre-Trump world where America was less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundraiser in June , Biden promised that “ nothing would fundamentally change ” if he ’ s president .
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Biden ’ s vision is fundamentally one of restoration and recuperation .
It ’ s a liberal counterpart to Trump ’ s slogan “ Make America Great Again ” —except that the great America is not Trump ’ s dream of the white America of the 1950s or 1920 but the more tolerant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump won in 2016 as a novelty candidate who would shake things up , Biden ’ s most convincing pitch is that he ’ s the opposite : Far from being an outsider , he ’ s a Washington fixture going back decades .
His major credential is that he belongs to the past that people yearn to return to .
The politics of nostalgia are politically potent and could help Biden win the White House .
But they are also politically unfeasible as a governing strategy .
In the latest issue of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff writer for the magazine , has an important and comprehensive chronicle of the Covid-19 emergency .
“ Despite its epochal effects , COVID-19 is merely a harbinger of worse plagues to come , ” Yong notes .
“ The U.S. can not prepare for these inevitable crises if it returns to normal , as many of its people ache to do .
Normal led to this .
Normal was a world ever more prone to a pandemic but ever less ready for one .
To avert another catastrophe , the U.S. needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed us.
” In his survey of the pandemic , Yong draws up a long and blistering indictment of Trump ’ s actions as a president : No one should be shocked that a liar who has made almost 20,000 false or misleading claims during his presidency would lie about whether the U.S. had the pandemic under control ; that a racist who gave birth to birtherism would do little to stop a virus that was disproportionately killing Black people ; that a xenophobe who presided over the creation of new immigrant-detention centers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigrant workforce to remain open ; that a cruel man devoid of empathy would fail to calm fearful citizens ; that a narcissist who can not stand to be upstaged would refuse to tap the deep well of experts at his disposal ; that a scion of nepotism would hand control of a shadow coronavirus task force to his unqualified son-in-law ; that an armchair polymath would claim to have a “ natural ability ” at medicine and display it by wondering out loud about the curative potential of injecting disinfectant ; that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to distract from his greatest one by blaming China , defunding the WHO , and promoting miracle drugs ; or that a president who has been shielded by his party from any shred of accountability would say , when asked about the lack of testing , “ I don ’ t take any responsibility at all.
” Yong has written as damning and accurate an indictment of Trump as one could want .
Yet Trump occupies only a small part of Yong ’ s longer diagnosis of why the Covid-19 pandemic has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other countries .
To his credit , Yong is not content to blame everything on Trump , with the implication that getting rid of Trump will solve America ’ s problems .
As Yong explains , the larger roots of America ’ s botched Covid response are systematic : If Biden wins , he ’ ll be inaugurated next January and find himself presiding over a deeply broken country .
It ’ ll have one of the worst Covid-19 death rates in the world , if not the worst .
It ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , race , and gender , all of which will be exacerbated by the pandemic .
As the Black Lives Matter protests prove , there is now a large part of the population alienated from mainstream society and on the verge of revolt .
Biden will no doubt govern more competently than Trump has .
But even simple technocratic solutions will run into the problem of a polarized society .
If an effective Covid-19 vaccine is created , there will be millions who distrust the government and will refuse to take it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ health care system as it currently exists is capable of distributing such a hypothetical vaccine .
Ultimately , Biden will find that the promise of normality is useful in securing the votes of centrists and conservatives , but isn ’ t adequate for the needs of the time .
Biden will have to govern boldly , with comprehensive overhauls of health care and economy .
If he doesn ’ t , his presidency will be doomed from the start .

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One of Donald Trump’s singular achievements is to drive political commentator George F. Will out of the Republican Party. The very personification of bow-tied Toryism, Will voted for every Republican presidential candidate from Barry Goldwater in 1964 to Mitt Romney in 2012. But Trump’s vulgarity and overt racism were too much for Will.
In his most recent Washington Post column, Will made an affirmative case for Biden, which rested on the claim that after the chaos of the Trump years, the Democratic candidate would be good for “an exhausted nation” that is “eager for manifestations of presidential normality.” Will quoted an anonymous Biden confidant who argued that the former vice president’s appeal rested on his ability to provide voters with reassurance “that the world as they know it is recoverable.”
The great thing about Biden, to judge by Will’s endorsement, is that he wouldn’t do much. He’d refrain from the sweeping policies like Medicare for All advocated by Bernie Sanders. He’d be eager to work with Republicans, as he often did as senator. He won’t tweet or debase the presidency with childish feuds. He’d be a captain who runs the ship on an even keel.
Former Republicans like Will are, of course, only a small sliver of the coalition that Biden is assembling. But Will has fairly and accurately described qualities that a broader range of voters, including centrist liberals, find attractive in Biden. After all, Biden’s campaign has rested on a nostalgic appeal for the pre-Trump world where America was less polarized. Speaking to donors at a fundraiser in June, Biden promised that “nothing would fundamentally change” if he’s president. More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
Biden’s vision is fundamentally one of restoration and recuperation. It’s a liberal counterpart to Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”—except that the great America is not Trump’s dream of the white America of the 1950s or 1920 but the more tolerant America of the Obama years. If Trump won in 2016 as a novelty candidate who would shake things up, Biden’s most convincing pitch is that he’s the opposite: Far from being an outsider, he’s a Washington fixture going back decades. His major credential is that he belongs to the past that people yearn to return to.
The politics of nostalgia are politically potent and could help Biden win the White House. But they are also politically unfeasible as a governing strategy.
In the latest issue of The Atlantic, Ed Yong, a staff writer for the magazine, has an important and comprehensive chronicle of the Covid-19 emergency. “Despite its epochal effects, COVID-19 is merely a harbinger of worse plagues to come,” Yong notes. “The U.S. cannot prepare for these inevitable crises if it returns to normal, as many of its people ache to do. Normal led to this. Normal was a world ever more prone to a pandemic but ever less ready for one. To avert another catastrophe, the U.S. needs to grapple with all the ways normal failed us.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
In his survey of the pandemic, Yong draws up a long and blistering indictment of Trump’s actions as a president:
No one should be shocked that a liar who has made almost 20,000 false or misleading claims during his presidency would lie about whether the U.S. had the pandemic under control; that a racist who gave birth to birtherism would do little to stop a virus that was disproportionately killing Black people; that a xenophobe who presided over the creation of new immigrant-detention centers would order meatpacking plants with a substantial immigrant workforce to remain open; that a cruel man devoid of empathy would fail to calm fearful citizens; that a narcissist who cannot stand to be upstaged would refuse to tap the deep well of experts at his disposal; that a scion of nepotism would hand control of a shadow coronavirus task force to his unqualified son-in-law; that an armchair polymath would claim to have a “natural ability” at medicine and display it by wondering out loud about the curative potential of injecting disinfectant; that an egotist incapable of admitting failure would try to distract from his greatest one by blaming China, defunding the WHO, and promoting miracle drugs; or that a president who has been shielded by his party from any shred of accountability would say, when asked about the lack of testing, “I don’t take any responsibility at all.”
Yong has written as damning and accurate an indictment of Trump as one could want. Yet Trump occupies only a small part of Yong’s longer diagnosis of why the Covid-19 pandemic has hit America so much harder than many other countries.
To his credit, Yong is not content to blame everything on Trump, with the implication that getting rid of Trump will solve America’s problems. As Yong explains, the larger roots of America’s botched Covid response are systematic:
A sluggish response by a government denuded of expertise allowed the coronavirus to gain a foothold. Chronic underfunding of public health neutered the nation’s ability to prevent the pathogen’s spread. A bloated, inefficient health-care system left hospitals ill-prepared for the ensuing wave of sickness. Racist policies that have endured since the days of colonization and slavery left Indigenous and Black Americans especially vulnerable to COVID-19. The decades-long process of shredding the nation’s social safety net forced millions of essential workers in low-paying jobs to risk their life for their livelihood. The same social media platforms that sowed partisanship and misinformation during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa and the 2016 U.S. election became vectors for conspiracy theories during the 2020 pandemic.
If Biden wins, he’ll be inaugurated next January and find himself presiding over a deeply broken country. It’ll have one of the worst Covid-19 death rates in the world, if not the worst. It’ll be riven by huge disparities of class, race, and gender, all of which will be exacerbated by the pandemic. As the Black Lives Matter protests prove, there is now a large part of the population alienated from mainstream society and on the verge of revolt.
Biden will no doubt govern more competently than Trump has. But even simple technocratic solutions will run into the problem of a polarized society. If an effective Covid-19 vaccine is created, there will be millions who distrust the government and will refuse to take it. Nor is it obvious that the American health care system as it currently exists is capable of distributing such a hypothetical vaccine.
Ultimately, Biden will find that the promise of normality is useful in securing the votes of centrists and conservatives, but isn’t adequate for the needs of the time. Biden will have to govern boldly, with comprehensive overhauls of health care and economy. If he doesn’t, his presidency will be doomed from the start.