vox--2020-03-31--Coronavirus primary delays mean some states could lose delegates at the Democratic National Conventi

Coronavirus primary delays mean some states could lose delegates at the Democratic National Convention

New York has delayed its 2020 presidential primary until June 23 due to coronavirus concerns , a delay that the Democratic party said could result in the state losing delegates at the national convention in July .
New York is just the latest of more than a dozen states figuring out how to balance public health concerns with concluding a Democratic primary .
New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo announced the delay at his daily coronavirus press conference Saturday , saying , “ I don ’ t think it ’ s wise to be bringing a lot of people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people touching one doorknob , a lot of people touching one pen.
” The move will be an easy one , he explained , because the state had a state- and congressional-level primary already scheduled for June 23 .
But the choice to delay the Democratic contest could come with consequences .
Democratic National Committee rules mandate states that push their primaries to a date after June 9 have their delegates reduced by 50 percent .
And the rules also say any candidate campaigning in a state with a contest outside of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not be awarded any delegates from that state .
Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden , the last two candidates in the primary race , aren ’ t physically campaigning in New York ( or any other state ) , but the DNC defines “ campaigning ” broadly as being inclusive of but “ not limited to ” : The DNC further notes its Rules and Bylaws Committee can add to this list and has final say over whether a campaign ’ s activities are in violation of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for instance , podcasting isn ’ t included in this list , Biden ’ s new podcast could perhaps be seen as being in violation of this rule , given it is distributed nationwide , including to New York , Louisiana , and Kentucky — all states that now have post-June 9 primaries .
In light of these rules , most states rescheduling their primaries set new dates just ahead of this June 9 cutoff .
Pennsylvania , Connecticut , and Ohio , for example , joined a growing list of states holding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like Puerto Rico , cut things a little closer : Its primary will be on June 7 .
It is not yet clear whether these rules will be enforced , particularly now that the most delegate-rich state left on the calendar , New York , has chosen a delay , and the DNC has not yet responded to a request for clarifying comment .
But DNC chairman Tom Perez did say in a mid-March statement that the committee would “ continue to monitor the situation and work with state parties around their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around how states elect their delegates to the national convention.
” How much flexibility remains to be seen .
In the meantime , however , the DNC is making it plain that it doesn ’ t want states postponing primaries at all .
The DNC argues mail-in voting is the solution to the coronavirus voting issue Following Ohio ’ s Super Tuesday III announcement that it would delay its primary , Perez said in a statement , “ States that have not yet held primary elections should focus on implementing the aforementioned measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote , instead of moving primaries to later in the cycle when timing around the virus remains unpredictable.
” In a Sunday USA Today op-ed by Perez and six other Democratic Party leaders , the party expounded upon this point , arguing that states should simply expand their voting periods to at least 20 days before elections — and their voting hours — to allow voters to cast ballots in socially distant ways .
This would not solve the problem Cuomo cited as his primary concern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into contact with high-touch surfaces such as ballot pens and the handles of polling place doors .
To that end , the authors also suggest states work to expand their mail-in voting programs , writing : And the DNC is now committing to helping states pay for these reforms , with the leaders writing , “ any state that voluntarily complies with such reforms will receive payments equal to the costs they ’ ve incurred.
” Ahead of November , Perez and his colleagues further pressed Congress and the White House to embrace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Ron Wyden that , as Vox ’ s Ella Nilsen has explained , “ if 25 percent of US states declare an emergency ... would trigger a requirement to allow any voter to vote from home via a mail-in ballot.
” All states have done so , which would place the bill in effect if it were to become law as written .
Nilsen noted the bill ’ s authors hoped the proposal would be included in the Covid-19 stimulus package Congress passed last week ; it was not , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken up until at least April 20 , when the Senate ends its current recess , if at all .
The ratification of such a proposal would go a long way toward addressing Perez ’ s second concern earlier this March , namely that the “ timing around the virus remains unpredictable.
” While delays certainly allow states to strengthen — and in some cases fully develop — their vote-by-mail infrastructure , it is true that on June 23 or November 3 the United States may still find itself needing to maintain extreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many experts say this is likely , and that unless a precise system of testing , surveillance , and tracking is developed , the United States may have to continue to shelter in place until a vaccine is developed , a process that could take until September 2021 — if not longer .
This means that Perez is correct in arguing the delays that have been decided on so far may not enfranchise those who would like to vote but are concerned about contracting the coronavirus .
It is important to note , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : those infected with the virus during their state ’ s primary .
This is particularly true in New York .
Saturday , Cuomo said the state is likely to see its case peak in three weeks — that is , right around April 28 , the day it was meant to hold its presidential primary .
As of March 30 , the state has nearly 60,000 confirmed cases , meaning more than 60,000 New Yorkers will be at home in bed or in hospitals on ventilators when its original primary date comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be Democrats , but given New York is a solidly blue state , a large number of them will be , and the postponement should allow most of them to vote .
Officials hope social distancing measures will force the state ’ s case count much lower , allowing more people to participate than would have otherwise been able to .
Public health experts like Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci have both said the US can expect confirmed case counts to go up in the weeks to come and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of social distancing .
This would suggest that delaying primaries in general will allow them to be held at a time when fewer people are sick .
But also that it would be wise to , as the DNC has recommended , adopt vote-by-mail measures that will keep people from having to travel to the polls .
Ultimately , the delays seem unlikely to change the course of the race Before the full scope of the coronavirus pandemic became apparent , Biden appeared poised to become his party ’ s presidential nominee .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nomination without the aid of superdelegates , and with March ’ s contests behind him , Biden leads the delegate race with 1,168 pledged delegates to Sanders ’ s 884 .
Before the restructuring of the primary calendar , contests in delegate-heavy states the former vice president was expected to win — like Georgia , Pennsylvania , and New York —meant he had the potential to come close to that 1,991 threshold by the end of April , or at the very least , amass so many delegates as to make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to him .
While this might seem to suggest the delays are beneficial to Sanders ’ s campaign , this does not currently seem to be the case .
The next states scheduled to vote — Kansas , Nebraska , and West Virginia — all favor Biden .
None of these states has a massive number of delegates and much could change between now and June , facts giving Sanders little pressure to drop out .
This makes it more likely both candidates will continue to campaign until the summer , in turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to devote resources toward fundraising for its eventual nominee and toward making preparations for the general election against President Donald Trump .
Stripping states that vote post-June 9 of their delegates would further complicate Biden ’ s path to victory , as doing so would take at least 191 pledged delegates out of the equation .
And punishing Sanders and Biden for campaigning in late voting states would have an even greater effect ; all together , New York , Kentucky , and Louisiana have 382 delegates on offer , more than Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The DNC may be inclined to make an exception to current rules to let the primary process play out in a manner that would allow one man to claim a clean victory .
Whether they do remains to be seen , but either way , come June 3 , the nation should finally have a clearer view of who will be the Democratic nominee .

New York has delayed its 2020 presidential primary until June 23 due to coronavirus concerns, a delay that the Democratic party said could result in the state losing delegates at the national convention in July. New York is just the latest of more than a dozen states figuring out how to balance public health concerns with concluding a Democratic primary.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the delay at his daily coronavirus press conference Saturday, saying, “I don’t think it’s wise to be bringing a lot of people to one location to vote, a lot of people touching one doorknob, a lot of people touching one pen.”
The move will be an easy one, he explained, because the state had a state- and congressional-level primary already scheduled for June 23.
But the choice to delay the Democratic contest could come with consequences. Democratic National Committee rules mandate states that push their primaries to a date after June 9 have their delegates reduced by 50 percent.
And the rules also say any candidate campaigning in a state with a contest outside of the DNC’s designated primary calendar will not be awarded any delegates from that state. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, the last two candidates in the primary race, aren’t physically campaigning in New York (or any other state), but the DNC defines “campaigning” broadly as being inclusive of but “not limited to”:
Purchasing print, internet, or electronic advertising that reaches a significant percentage of the voters in the aforementioned state; hiring campaign workers; opening an office; making public appearances; holding news conferences; coordinating volunteer activities; sending mail, other than fundraising requests that are also sent to potential donors in other states; using paid or volunteer phoners or automated calls to contact voters; sending emails or establishing a website specific to that state; holding events to which Democratic voters are invited; attending events sponsored by state or local Democratic organizations; or paying for campaign materials to be used in such a state.
The DNC further notes its Rules and Bylaws Committee can add to this list and has final say over whether a campaign’s activities are in violation of this rule. That means that although, for instance, podcasting isn’t included in this list, Biden’s new podcast could perhaps be seen as being in violation of this rule, given it is distributed nationwide, including to New York, Louisiana, and Kentucky — all states that now have post-June 9 primaries.
In light of these rules, most states rescheduling their primaries set new dates just ahead of this June 9 cutoff. Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Ohio, for example, joined a growing list of states holding primaries on June 2. Other places, like Puerto Rico, cut things a little closer: Its primary will be on June 7.
It is not yet clear whether these rules will be enforced, particularly now that the most delegate-rich state left on the calendar, New York, has chosen a delay.
In a statement to Vox, DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa said, “We will continue to monitor the situation and work with state parties around their delegate selection plans, and if states move beyond the June 9th window stated in our rules, the Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet to discuss and determine next steps.”
What those next steps are remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, the DNC is making it plain that it doesn’t want states postponing primaries at all.
The DNC argues mail-in voting is the solution to the coronavirus voting issue
Following Ohio’s Super Tuesday III announcement that it would delay its primary, DNC chairman Tom Perez said in a statement, “States that have not yet held primary elections should focus on implementing the aforementioned measures to make it easier and safer for voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote, instead of moving primaries to later in the cycle when timing around the virus remains unpredictable.”
In a Sunday USA Today op-ed by Perez and six other Democratic Party leaders, the party expounded upon this point, arguing that states should simply expand their voting periods to at least 20 days before elections — and their voting hours — to allow voters to cast ballots in socially distant ways. This would not solve the problem Cuomo cited as his primary concern: that voters risk exposure by coming into contact with high-touch surfaces such as ballot pens and the handles of polling place doors.
To that end, the authors also suggest states work to expand their mail-in voting programs, writing:
States should automatically mail ballots to registered voters; voters should be able to mail back those ballots for free or with prepaid postage by the date of the primary; voters should also be able to drop off ballots at predesignated locations, as is the case in Arizona, or have someone else drop it off for them; and ballots should be accepted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days of the election.
And the DNC is now committing to helping states pay for these reforms, with the leaders writing, “any state that voluntarily complies with such reforms will receive payments equal to the costs they’ve incurred.”
Ahead of November, Perez and his colleagues further pressed Congress and the White House to embrace a proposal by Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden that, as Vox’s Ella Nilsen has explained, “if 25 percent of US states declare an emergency ... would trigger a requirement to allow any voter to vote from home via a mail-in ballot.” All states have done so, which would place the bill in effect if it were to become law as written.
Nilsen noted the bill’s authors hoped the proposal would be included in the Covid-19 stimulus package Congress passed last week; it was not, and it won’t be able to be taken up until at least April 20, when the Senate ends its current recess, if at all.
The ratification of such a proposal would go a long way toward addressing Perez’s second concern earlier this March, namely that the “timing around the virus remains unpredictable.”
While delays certainly allow states to strengthen — and in some cases fully develop — their vote-by-mail infrastructure, it is true that on June 23 or November 3 the United States may still find itself needing to maintain extreme social distancing practices. In fact, many experts say this is likely, and that unless a precise system of testing, surveillance, and tracking is developed, the United States may have to continue to shelter in place until a vaccine is developed, a process that could take until September 2021 — if not longer.
This means that Perez is correct in arguing the delays that have been decided on so far may not enfranchise those who would like to vote but are concerned about contracting the coronavirus. It is important to note, however, delays will re-enfranchise some voters: those infected with the virus during their state’s primary.
This is particularly true in New York. Saturday, Cuomo said the state is likely to see its case peak in three weeks — that is, right around April 28, the day it was meant to hold its presidential primary.
As of March 30, the state has nearly 60,000 confirmed cases, meaning more than 60,000 New Yorkers will be at home in bed or in hospitals on ventilators when its original primary date comes around. Not all of that number will be Democrats, but given New York is a solidly blue state, a large number of them will be, and the postponement should allow most of them to vote. Officials hope social distancing measures will force the state’s case count much lower, allowing more people to participate than would have otherwise been able to.
Public health experts like Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci have both said the US can expect confirmed case counts to go up in the weeks to come and that it takes time to see the benefits of social distancing. This would suggest that delaying primaries in general will allow them to be held at a time when fewer people are sick. But also that it would be wise to, as the DNC has recommended, adopt vote-by-mail measures that will keep people from having to travel to the polls.
Ultimately, the delays seem unlikely to change the course of the race
Before the full scope of the coronavirus pandemic became apparent, Biden appeared poised to become his party’s presidential nominee. A candidate needs 1,991 delegates to win the nomination without the aid of superdelegates, and with March’s contests behind him, Biden leads the delegate race with 1,168 pledged delegates to Sanders’s 884.
Before the restructuring of the primary calendar, contests in delegate-heavy states the former vice president was expected to win — like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New York —meant he had the potential to come close to that 1,991 threshold by the end of April, or at the very least, amass so many delegates as to make it mathematically impossible for Sanders to catch up to him.
While this might seem to suggest the delays are beneficial to Sanders’s campaign, this does not currently seem to be the case. The next states scheduled to vote — Kansas, Nebraska, and West Virginia — all favor Biden.
None of these states has a massive number of delegates and much could change between now and June, facts giving Sanders little pressure to drop out. This makes it more likely both candidates will continue to campaign until the summer, in turn making it more difficult for the party to devote resources toward fundraising for its eventual nominee and toward making preparations for the general election against President Donald Trump.
Stripping states that vote post-June 9 of their delegates would further complicate Biden’s path to victory, as doing so would take at least 191 pledged delegates out of the equation. And punishing Sanders and Biden for campaigning in late voting states would have an even greater effect; all together, New York, Kentucky, and Louisiana have 382 delegates on offer, more than Texas and almost as many as California.
The DNC may be inclined to make an exception to current rules to let the primary process play out in a manner that would allow one man to claim a clean victory. Whether they do remains to be seen, but either way, come June 3, the nation should finally have a clearer view of who will be the Democratic nominee.


vox--2020-03-31--The best $193 I ever spent: A mountain of detective fiction when my wife was pregnant

Share All sharing options for : The best $ 193 I ever spent : A mountain of detective fiction when my wife was pregnant When my wife was pregnant last year , I found myself reading all the wrong things .
In preparation for the momentous journey that we were undertaking together , she threw herself into proper research mode .
Her bedside table was stacked with memoirs , evidence-based birth tomes , and graphic novels about pregnancy , from Like a Mother to Kid Gloves to What No One Tells You — that last one with a sinister title @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Gillian Flynn or Patricia Highsmith .
Meanwhile , my own reading list was a little ... different .
Around the third trimester , I had stumbled into a fugue state courtesy of Michael Connelly and his Bosch novels — a popular , 22-book-long-and-counting series of detective fiction that debuted in 1992 .
The timing , in retrospect , seems suspicious .
For most of my 38 years , I ’ ve been an unrepentant literary snob .
So why , as I hurtled toward the beauty and chaos of my son ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find myself hopelessly obsessed with this hard-living , I-don ’ t-need-no-stinkin ’ -rules cop ?
What was Bosch to me ?
Could it simply be that the road to fatherhood is paved with mass-market paperbacks ?
Growing up , I kindled my own ambitions of writing a novel .
It would , of course , be something Big and Serious , more Infinite Jest than Da Vinci Code .
Almost no one would read it , but those who did would be changed in subtle and irrevocable ways .
My father was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by dads the world over , dad-lit icons like Dean Koontz and Ken Follett .
Maybe , he would gently suggest , I could write something like that — populist , commercial , entertaining !
— in order to grease the wheels for the real literature that might follow .
The thought was disgusting to my teenage self .
To sully craft and passion with something so base !
He might as well have suggested I start selling crystal meth in order to fund a few years in the Peace Corps .
My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t understand artistic integrity .
If success meant selling out , I ’ d rather starve .
Could it simply be that the road to fatherhood is paved with mass-market paperbacks ?
Fast-forward a few decades : I ’ ve still yet to write a novel , though I ’ ve read enough of them to fill several small storage units .
My dad passed away 10 years ago .
My tastes have changed along the way , and I ’ d like to think I take myself a bit less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zadie Smith shares a shelf with Harlan Coben , Big Little Lies with Remembrance of Things Past ( which I ’ ve never read and , who am I kidding , probably never will ) .
It ’ s possible , of course , to enjoy both Chipotle and filet mignon , although I tried to keep my highs and lows balanced .
And yet the second I met Bosch last November I knew I was a goner .
I gave in , gave up .
I found myself buying the series in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon Prime , with the self-deception of someone scoring loose cigarettes at the bodega .
A new $ 7.99 mass-market paperback fell into my cart every few days , when I really should have just ordered the whole bunch together .
If I finished a Bosch before the next arrived in the mail , I got cranky , fidgeted .
I didn ’ t know what to do with my hands .
Daily life was a ball of stress .
My wife and I — worriers both , if not full-blown catastrophists — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It doesn ’ t help that the internet is basically a giant machine designed to breed anxiety for prospective parents .
Weird sonogram shadows resolved , replaced by the waiting game of genetic tests .
I was emailing neighborhood pre-K programs , inquiring about the future enrollment of my son who wasn ’ t quite born yet .
Throughout , Michael Connelly ’ s “ methodical , traditional , superstitious ” detective was an anchor .
Over the course of several months , I devoured a Bosch novel every 72 hours or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my living room .
The satisfying thing about mass-market paperbacks is that , once finished , their spines shattered , they look more obliterated than read .
A friend of ours in her late 20s came over one afternoon and noticed the wobbly tower of beat-up books .
“ Ah , Michael Connelly , ” she said .
My heart leaped : Had I found an unexpected fellow traveler ?
“ Nah , ” she admitted .
“ I think my dad likes him ... ” So what the hell had happened to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like these ?
Why do I ?
From my present perch — proud papa of what is objectively the most adorable and intelligent 2-month-old in existence — I feel somewhat ready to psychoanalyze my own mania .
Part of the appeal of Bosch is , to be sure , the sense of a sane world where decency prevails by the bullet-riddled third act .
It ’ s the same reason why so many people ( not just dads ) adore Law & Order : SVU .
( No less than Hannah Gadsby and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like most procedurals , SVU is beholden to a narrative formula , ” Laura Barcella wrote in Rolling Stone , surveying the “ soothingly formulaic rhythms ” of the never-ending show .
“ In fact , part of the reason it feels so eerily comforting is because it serves as a sort of parallel universe where victims of unspeakable crimes are believed and often find justice.
” But forget about plot for a second .
I ’ d venture that there ’ s something about Michael Connelly ’ s very prose that lends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal clock .
Readers get long stretches of boredom and repetition , of waiting around and dead-end interviews and paperwork and meals , punctuated by blasts of action that make your eyeballs shake — and that isn ’ t so far off from the lived experience of parenthood .
Though some of the Bosch novels were adapted into a popular Amazon TV franchise , that show lacks this unique flavor .
Connelly ’ s books are pure police procedural , loosely defined as a type of writing that , obviously , focuses on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crimes .
And yet Connelly ’ s plodding , almost brutal insistence on cataloging the mundane along with the dramatic makes his work something closer to a life procedural .
A truly faithful cinematic adaptation of these books would be maddening .
Entire episodes would pass with Bosch reading through old files until 4 am , drinking beer and listening to Art Pepper .
Half the season would be spent sitting in traffic .
I ’ m not saying that Connelly is a boring writer , or that dads like to be bored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of parenting .
( Although : maybe . )
But the surplus of details — the wild and implausible next to the insignificant — does have an undeniably pleasant effect .
I may not know how to soothe my infant ’ s monstrous gas , but I have a basic understanding of how a detective ’ s murder book is organized Beyond this , reading Bosch provides an illusion of semi-pro mastery that might otherwise be lacking in a dad ’ s life .
I may not know how to soothe my infant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a basic understanding of how a detective ’ s murder book is organized .
I could probably bullshit my way through a summer barbecue conversation that inexplicably turned to ballistics analysis .
I ’ m no longer just listening in to the baby monitor — I ’ m “ monitoring our freeks , ” because we armchair cops swim in a sea of jargon , slang , and acronyms .
Our kid isn ’ t noisily breastfeeding , he ’ s taking a code 7 .
I ’ m not the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s a mini empire of brands out there that cater to dads who want to pretend that fatherhood is just like war , and they ’ re on the front lines .
Another , less comfortable theory I ’ ve been trying on for size : Bosch as substitute father figure .
While the detective is played on television by the clean-shaven , handsomely battered Titus Welliver , Connelly ’ s Bosch — much like my own late father — sports curly hair and a mustache .
By the most recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fire , the aging detective is hobbling due to knee replacement surgery .
He ’ s also suffering from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia , courtesy of radioactive material he was exposed to back in 2007 ’ s The Overlook .
Substitute “ chronic ” for “ acute ” and that ’ s what killed my dad .
The scene where Bosch shares the diagnosis with his daughter Maddie in the middle of a crowded coffee shop is the only time Michael Connelly has made me cry .
I ’ m still convinced , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ father ’ s AML was kickstarted , not by rogue cesium , but by an underground oil tank that exploded in our suburban backyard .
It ’ s a truism that you can ’ t understand your own parents until you have a kid yourself , but my own compass had gone haywire .
Here I was triangulating between memory and fiction , between Hieronymous “ Harry ” Bosch and Peter Bergen Indrisek .
Maybe dad lit is just a blank canvas on which to project all our hopes and fears , our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the future .
Maybe — more likely — it ’ s just me .
If my father were still alive , I ’ d cherish this chance to bond over Michael Connelly ’ s hard-boiled cop hero .
Instead , I ’ ve plowed through the series alone , much to my wife ’ s chagrin .
“ Bosch has been kidnapped !
” I yelp , while her glare withers .
Reading them as quickly as I did , the stories have all bled together .
In my mind , Bosch is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his daughter in Hong Kong ; shooting a serial killer ; going undercover as an opioid junkie ; falling in , and out , of love , again .
In another life , I might have saved this stack of books for my own son to read when he ’ s older .
“ Someday , ” I ’ d whisper , “ all this shall be yours !
” Instead , Bosch feels like a phase I ’ ve passed through , a case that will remain open but inactive .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s free section , and a stranger named Kenneth came to take them away .
Am I done with dad lit ?
It ’ s hard to say .
There ’ s a good chance I ’ ll dabble in the rest of Michael Connelly ’ s back catalog , now that a global pandemic has us all hibernating indoors for the foreseeable future .
But these past months , so full of anxious wonder , will be forever linked to Bosch .
The LA detective ’ s motto , repeated whenever he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or nobody counts.
” Thanks , Dad .
Scott Indrisek is a writer and editor living in Bedford-Stuyvesant , Brooklyn .

Share All sharing options for: The best $193 I ever spent: A mountain of detective fiction when my wife was pregnant
When my wife was pregnant last year, I found myself reading all the wrong things.
In preparation for the momentous journey that we were undertaking together, she threw herself into proper research mode. Her bedside table was stacked with memoirs, evidence-based birth tomes, and graphic novels about pregnancy, from Like a Mother to Kid Gloves to What No One Tells You — that last one with a sinister title that could double as a lost work by Gillian Flynn or Patricia Highsmith.
Meanwhile, my own reading list was a little ... different. Around the third trimester, I had stumbled into a fugue state courtesy of Michael Connelly and his Bosch novels — a popular, 22-book-long-and-counting series of detective fiction that debuted in 1992.
The timing, in retrospect, seems suspicious. For most of my 38 years, I’ve been an unrepentant literary snob. So why, as I hurtled toward the beauty and chaos of my son’s impending birth, did I suddenly find myself hopelessly obsessed with this hard-living, I-don’t-need-no-stinkin’-rules cop? What was Bosch to me? Could it simply be that the road to fatherhood is paved with mass-market paperbacks?
Growing up, I kindled my own ambitions of writing a novel. It would, of course, be something Big and Serious, more Infinite Jest than Da Vinci Code. Almost no one would read it, but those who did would be changed in subtle and irrevocable ways. My father was a fan of the bestselling white dudes beloved by dads the world over, dad-lit icons like Dean Koontz and Ken Follett. Maybe, he would gently suggest, I could write something like that — populist, commercial, entertaining! — in order to grease the wheels for the real literature that might follow.
The thought was disgusting to my teenage self. To sully craft and passion with something so base! He might as well have suggested I start selling crystal meth in order to fund a few years in the Peace Corps. My dad meant well, but he clearly didn’t understand artistic integrity. If success meant selling out, I’d rather starve.
Could it simply be that the road to fatherhood is paved with mass-market paperbacks?
Fast-forward a few decades: I’ve still yet to write a novel, though I’ve read enough of them to fill several small storage units. My dad passed away 10 years ago. My tastes have changed along the way, and I’d like to think I take myself a bit less seriously. I see no problem if Zadie Smith shares a shelf with Harlan Coben, Big Little Lies with Remembrance of Things Past (which I’ve never read and, who am I kidding, probably never will). It’s possible, of course, to enjoy both Chipotle and filet mignon, although I tried to keep my highs and lows balanced.
And yet the second I met Bosch last November I knew I was a goner. I gave in, gave up. I found myself buying the series in order, one by one, via Amazon Prime, with the self-deception of someone scoring loose cigarettes at the bodega. A new $7.99 mass-market paperback fell into my cart every few days, when I really should have just ordered the whole bunch together. If I finished a Bosch before the next arrived in the mail, I got cranky, fidgeted. I didn’t know what to do with my hands.
Daily life was a ball of stress. My wife and I — worriers both, if not full-blown catastrophists — had so many new fears to discover. It doesn’t help that the internet is basically a giant machine designed to breed anxiety for prospective parents. Weird sonogram shadows resolved, replaced by the waiting game of genetic tests. I was emailing neighborhood pre-K programs, inquiring about the future enrollment of my son who wasn’t quite born yet.
Throughout, Michael Connelly’s “methodical, traditional, superstitious” detective was an anchor.
Over the course of several months, I devoured a Bosch novel every 72 hours or so. A small stack grew in my living room. The satisfying thing about mass-market paperbacks is that, once finished, their spines shattered, they look more obliterated than read.
A friend of ours in her late 20s came over one afternoon and noticed the wobbly tower of beat-up books. “Ah, Michael Connelly,” she said. My heart leaped: Had I found an unexpected fellow traveler? “Nah,” she admitted. “I think my dad likes him ...”
So what the hell had happened to me? Why do dads love books like these? Why do I? From my present perch — proud papa of what is objectively the most adorable and intelligent 2-month-old in existence — I feel somewhat ready to psychoanalyze my own mania.
Part of the appeal of Bosch is, to be sure, the sense of a sane world where decency prevails by the bullet-riddled third act. It’s the same reason why so many people (not just dads) adore Law & Order: SVU. (No less than Hannah Gadsby and Roxanne Gay are superfans.) “Like most procedurals, SVU is beholden to a narrative formula,” Laura Barcella wrote in Rolling Stone, surveying the “soothingly formulaic rhythms” of the never-ending show. “In fact, part of the reason it feels so eerily comforting is because it serves as a sort of parallel universe where victims of unspeakable crimes are believed and often find justice.”
But forget about plot for a second. I’d venture that there’s something about Michael Connelly’s very prose that lends itself to a new parent’s internal clock. Readers get long stretches of boredom and repetition, of waiting around and dead-end interviews and paperwork and meals, punctuated by blasts of action that make your eyeballs shake — and that isn’t so far off from the lived experience of parenthood.
Though some of the Bosch novels were adapted into a popular Amazon TV franchise, that show lacks this unique flavor. Connelly’s books are pure police procedural, loosely defined as a type of writing that, obviously, focuses on the procedures that cops use to solve crimes. And yet Connelly’s plodding, almost brutal insistence on cataloging the mundane along with the dramatic makes his work something closer to a life procedural. A truly faithful cinematic adaptation of these books would be maddening. Entire episodes would pass with Bosch reading through old files until 4 am, drinking beer and listening to Art Pepper. Half the season would be spent sitting in traffic.
I’m not saying that Connelly is a boring writer, or that dads like to be bored as an antidote to the daily chaos of parenting. (Although: maybe.) But the surplus of details — the wild and implausible next to the insignificant — does have an undeniably pleasant effect.
I may not know how to soothe my infant’s monstrous gas, but I have a basic understanding of how a detective’s murder book is organized
Beyond this, reading Bosch provides an illusion of semi-pro mastery that might otherwise be lacking in a dad’s life. I may not know how to soothe my infant’s monstrous gas, but I have a basic understanding of how a detective’s murder book is organized. I could probably bullshit my way through a summer barbecue conversation that inexplicably turned to ballistics analysis.
I’m no longer just listening in to the baby monitor — I’m “monitoring our freeks,” because we armchair cops swim in a sea of jargon, slang, and acronyms. Our kid isn’t noisily breastfeeding, he’s taking a code 7. I’m not the only one prone to such weird cosplay; there’s a mini empire of brands out there that cater to dads who want to pretend that fatherhood is just like war, and they’re on the front lines.
Another, less comfortable theory I’ve been trying on for size: Bosch as substitute father figure. While the detective is played on television by the clean-shaven, handsomely battered Titus Welliver, Connelly’s Bosch — much like my own late father — sports curly hair and a mustache.
By the most recent novel, 2019’s The Night Fire, the aging detective is hobbling due to knee replacement surgery. He’s also suffering from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, courtesy of radioactive material he was exposed to back in 2007’s The Overlook.
Substitute “chronic” for “acute” and that’s what killed my dad. The scene where Bosch shares the diagnosis with his daughter Maddie in the middle of a crowded coffee shop is the only time Michael Connelly has made me cry. I’m still convinced, after years of Google-based sleuthing, that my father’s AML was kickstarted, not by rogue cesium, but by an underground oil tank that exploded in our suburban backyard.
It’s a truism that you can’t understand your own parents until you have a kid yourself, but my own compass had gone haywire. Here I was triangulating between memory and fiction, between Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch and Peter Bergen Indrisek. Maybe dad lit is just a blank canvas on which to project all our hopes and fears, our sappy nostalgia and our hazy vision of the future. Maybe — more likely — it’s just me.
If my father were still alive, I’d cherish this chance to bond over Michael Connelly’s hard-boiled cop hero. Instead, I’ve plowed through the series alone, much to my wife’s chagrin. “Bosch has been kidnapped!” I yelp, while her glare withers. Reading them as quickly as I did, the stories have all bled together. In my mind, Bosch is doing everything at once: searching for his daughter in Hong Kong; shooting a serial killer; going undercover as an opioid junkie; falling in, and out, of love, again.
In another life, I might have saved this stack of books for my own son to read when he’s older. “Someday,” I’d whisper, “all this shall be yours!” Instead, Bosch feels like a phase I’ve passed through, a case that will remain open but inactive.
I posted my paperback bounty on Craigslist’s free section, and a stranger named Kenneth came to take them away. Am I done with dad lit? It’s hard to say. There’s a good chance I’ll dabble in the rest of Michael Connelly’s back catalog, now that a global pandemic has us all hibernating indoors for the foreseeable future. But these past months, so full of anxious wonder, will be forever linked to Bosch. The LA detective’s motto, repeated whenever he has a chance? “Everybody counts, or nobody counts.” Thanks, Dad.
Scott Indrisek is a writer and editor living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.


vox--2020-03-31--The grim ethical dilemma of rationing medical care, explained

Evidence-based explanations of the coronavirus crisis , from how it started to how it might end to how to protect yourself and others .
With medical experts and politicians now predicting that coronavirus cases will dramatically exceed the capacities of hospitals across America , doctors and nurses face the prospect of picking which patients to prioritize for treatment .
Though the term “ triage ” may conjure images of rough battlefield medicine and crude estimates of patients ’ survival odds , excruciating decisions on whom to treat already confront doctors in some places and will likely soon be necessary in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skyrocketed so quickly that its fatalities have surpassed China ’ s , where the outbreak started , and doctors are already weighing whom to treat as sick patients overwhelm the hospital system .
The published guidelines for an Italian intensive care unit noted that it may become necessary to establish an age limit for access to intensive care .
Doctors are reportedly weeping in the hallways as they decide which patients to save .
“ If you have a 99-year-old male or a female patient , that ’ s a patient with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ a ] young kid that need [ s ] to be intubated and you only have one ventilator , I mean , you ’ re not going to ... toss the coin , ” a surgeon and oncologist in Rome named Carlo Vitelli told NPR last week .
The United States is likely not far behind , with the confirmed case count already above Italy ’ s , and the country may soon experience an equally severe scarcity crisis .
In New York City , health care workers are reporting that their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ These decisions run counter to everything that we stand for and are incredibly painful , ” tweeted Meredith Case , an internal medicine resident at Columbia/New York-Presbyterian Hospital , on March 25 .
“ Our ICU is completely full with intubated Covid patients .
… We are rapidly moving to expand capacity .
We are nearly out of PPE .
I anticipate we will begin rationing today.
” Guidelines for rationing scarce resources differ by state , though many assign rankings based on a patient ’ s odds of both short-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not yet released official recommendations for the Covid-19 pandemic .
But difficult moral questions about how to allocate scarce medical resources have received extensive consideration from both philosophers and doctors , and it ’ s been the subject of rigorous academic study among bioethicists .
After Hurricane Katrina , professors at Stanford University developed a widely used framework to guide medical decision-making in situations of resource scarcity , such as pandemics and natural disasters .
In an influential 2009 article in The Lancet , Ezekiel Emanuel , chair of the Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Pennsylvania , and two co-authors gave a systemic analysis of moral principles of allocation and how doctors can use them .
Some researchers have even developed mathematical models to help decide whom to treat first .
As the coronavirus sweeps across America , these ethical principles will collide with the messy realities of limited medical resources in dramatic ways .
Despite the best efforts of philosophers and physicians , the results will inevitably be imperfect compromises that invite a thousand more questions on how to judge whose life is worth saving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an ethical dilemma There are three theories of how to make ethical triage decisions , according to David Magnus , director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics : egalitarianism , utilitarianism , and prioritarianism .
Doctors and nurses aren ’ t philosophizing about these approaches as they make long rounds and rush to treat patients .
Rather , these frameworks allow health care professionals to streamline decisions and focus on medical tasks , not be mired in moral questions or burdened by guilt after making hard decisions .
“ As much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from forcing clinicians to make bedside decisions and to have broader decision-making about these issues in advance , ” said Magnus .
Each theory has its own moral logic .
Egalitarianism seeks to treat patients equally ; using a lottery system to select vaccine recipients is one example .
Utilitarianism aims to maximize total benefit , generally measured by the remaining life years — or expected remaining high-quality years — that decisions will save .
If a 20-year-old and an 80-year-old both required a ventilator , treating the 20-year-old would likely maximize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two people of the same age , the quality of life that each could expect upon recovery would become relevant .
Prioritarianism , or the “ rule of rescue , ” treats the sickest people first ; emergency rooms operate on this principle , for example , choosing to treat the gunshot wound victim before the person with a broken leg .
“ If you have a patient on a ventilator and they have to be taken off – that is probably the most horrible of all decisions for a doctor or nurse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain moral intuitions , they all have serious problems .
To treat patients equally , for example , is also to treat them indiscriminately — because egalitarianism does not distinguish between the age of patients or the severity of their conditions , it can easily seem like an arbitrary or wasteful use of resources .
Utilitarianism confronts the notorious difficulty of ranking quality of life and ignores the moral imperative of urgency .
Imagine that the same medical resources could be used either to save one 75-year-old from coronavirus or perform a dozen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latter might ultimately create more years of happy , healthy life , most would consider it the wrong choice , as the recent cancellations of elective surgeries around the country show .
Meanwhile , a rule to prioritize the sickest patients first can clash with the goal of helping the greatest number possible : Lavishing extensive resources on a single patient with only a small chance of surviving could mean refusing treatment to multiple patients who are less sick but more likely to live if treated .
While analyzing trade-offs among these principles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implementing decisions in real time can be excruciatingly difficult .
“ If you have a patient on a ventilator and they have to be taken off — that is probably the most horrible of all decisions for a doctor or nurse , ” said Emanuel .
“ Vaccines are not always life-and-death .
But if someone who doesn ’ t have a ventilator is going to die , having to withdraw that person is incredibly psychologically traumatic , and this is likely to happen.
” And the nature of medicine makes some ambiguities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual judgment , for instance , about what constitutes an urgent versus elective surgery , or when respiratory failure is irreversible .
If an older patient with coronavirus and a short life expectancy required CPR , it could be difficult to decide whether saving the patient justified exposing health care workers to significant risk .
In normal circumstances , many patients on ventilators in America have only a very small chance of survival , Magnus explained .
Family members often insist on continued treatment even when loved ones will almost certainly not recover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICU often becomes a place for grieving and prolonging the dying process .
It ’ s not obvious that this is a good use of resources even in normal circumstances , but it ’ s just not going to be possible now , ” he said .
What makes one life more worth saving than another ?
The ethical dilemmas posed by the coronavirus are real-world examples of deep moral questions philosophers have studied for centuries .
Princeton ’ s Peter Singer , probably the world ’ s most famous living utilitarian philosopher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told Vox , “ There ’ s always a scarcity of resources in medicine , but situations like this make it particularly clear.
” Singer said he favors a utilitarian approach that considers multiple factors : the life expectancy of patients , some types of adjustment for quality of life , and perhaps the patient ’ s ability to help others .
He gave the example of a patient with severe dementia or terminal cancer with a six-month life expectancy as cases where it might be reasonable to prioritize other patients .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ controversial , particularly in cases of disability , but they are also already widely used .
In the United Kingdom , quality-adjusted life year , or QALY , scores are a crucial factor in health care decision-making and are calculated by multiplying years of life by quality of life .
If a given medical treatment would allow a patient one year with full quality of life , the patient would have a quality score of 1 .
If the same treatment would produce a year of life with only half of the normal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a quality score of 0.5 .
Numerical scores might give the illusion of objectivity , but the complexities of actual life inevitably complicate such decisions .
Mental health , family size , income , temperament , pain tolerance , and professional , personal , and relationship satisfaction — a vast array of factors that escape quantification still influence the quality of one ’ s life but are not accounted for in current equations .
These are incredibly challenging and controversial decisions to make .
In particular , people with disabilities have spoken up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left behind whenever triage decisions are made .
“ People with disabilities deserve to have equal access to scarce medical resources , ” wrote the American Association of People With Disabilities in a letter to Congress , “ and should not be subject to resource allocation discrimination when needs exceed supply ... we believe that during this difficult period it is especially important to protect patients with disabilities from discrimination.
” The Office for Civil Rights at the US Department of Health and Human Services has also announced that it is investigating states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compliant with civil rights law .
As Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project told the New York Times , “ I deserve the same treatments as any patient .
As a disabled person , I ’ ve been clawing my way into existence ever since I was born .
I will not apologize for my needs.
” “ The only way to solve this is through massive social collaboration ” For a utilitarian , prioritizing those who can benefit others is a defensible choice .
“ The classic case might be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he will be able to treat others , ” Singer said .
“ I suppose in the current situation maybe it ’ s possible to make a case that certain doctors would be in a similar position , but of course you would want to be careful that you were not just prioritizing the health of your colleagues.
” In fact , prioritizing medical workers is one of the suggestions made by Emanuel in an article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine making recommendations for triage in the Covid-19 pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to others is also difficult and controversial .
Elizabeth Anderson , a MacArthur “ genius ” grant winner and philosophy professor at the University of Michigan , cautioned against thinking in too “ ruthlessly consequentialist ” a manner .
“ In strictly consequentialist terms , you might ask who are the most valuable workers , but actually , that ’ s not the right way to think about it , ” she told Vox .
“ In reality , if the CEO of a major corporation had a heart attack , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young children , who need specific individuals to be there for them and have a very personal relationship with their parents .
It ’ s an argument for prioritizing caretakers , ” she said .
One factor that doctors and philosophers agree should not be relevant is the wealth of patients .
But it ’ s also an undeniable reality of American health care that wealth improves quality of care .
“ It ’ s a huge flaw in the American system compared to any other affluent society , ” Singer said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ scarce supply of coronavirus vaccines became available on the open market .
“ You don ’ t want a vaccine that only the rich can buy , ” he said , adding that some form of random selection like a lottery would be preferable .
“ There is no moral framework in which wealth plays a role.
” As the number of cases continues to spike , American health care workers will likely face agonizing decisions on how to ration care — and soon .
That ’ s why for now , self-quarantining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can all make that can have significant impacts .
“ How bad the triage will be depends enormously on the behavior of ordinary people now , ” Anderson said .
“ The only way to solve this is through massive social collaboration.
” Taking collective action to decrease the scale of infections will ultimately reduce the suffering not only of patients but of nurses and doctors .
“ Triage is awful — it ’ s traumatizing , ” said Anderson .
“ Doctors who have dedicated their careers to helping people now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s dreadful .
It ’ s really on all of us to pull together so that we don ’ t force these horrible triage choices.
” Nick Romeo is an author and journalist whose work has also appeared in the New Yorker , the Washington Post , the Atlantic , National Geographic , and more .

With medical experts and politicians now predicting that coronavirus cases will dramatically exceed the capacities of hospitals across America, doctors and nurses face the prospect of picking which patients to prioritize for treatment. Though the term “triage” may conjure images of rough battlefield medicine and crude estimates of patients’ survival odds, excruciating decisions on whom to treat already confront doctors in some places and will likely soon be necessary in America.
In Italy, infections have skyrocketed so quickly that its fatalities have surpassed China’s, where the outbreak started, and doctors are already weighing whom to treat as sick patients overwhelm the hospital system. The published guidelines for an Italian intensive care unit noted that it may become necessary to establish an age limit for access to intensive care. Doctors are reportedly weeping in the hallways as they decide which patients to save. “If you have a 99-year-old male or a female patient, that’s a patient with a lot of diseases. And you have [a] young kid that need[s] to be intubated and you only have one ventilator, I mean, you’re not going to ... toss the coin,” a surgeon and oncologist in Rome named Carlo Vitelli told NPR last week.
The United States is likely not far behind, with the confirmed case count already above Italy’s, and the country may soon experience an equally severe scarcity crisis. In New York City, health care workers are reporting that their resources are or will soon be overwhelmed. “These decisions run counter to everything that we stand for and are incredibly painful,” tweeted Meredith Case, an internal medicine resident at Columbia/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, on March 25. “Our ICU is completely full with intubated Covid patients. … We are rapidly moving to expand capacity. We are nearly out of PPE. I anticipate we will begin rationing today.”
Guidelines for rationing scarce resources differ by state, though many assign rankings based on a patient’s odds of both short-term and long-term survival. The federal government has not yet released official recommendations for the Covid-19 pandemic.
But difficult moral questions about how to allocate scarce medical resources have received extensive consideration from both philosophers and doctors, and it’s been the subject of rigorous academic study among bioethicists. After Hurricane Katrina, professors at Stanford University developed a widely used framework to guide medical decision-making in situations of resource scarcity, such as pandemics and natural disasters. In an influential 2009 article in The Lancet, Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and two co-authors gave a systemic analysis of moral principles of allocation and how doctors can use them. Some researchers have even developed mathematical models to help decide whom to treat first.
As the coronavirus sweeps across America, these ethical principles will collide with the messy realities of limited medical resources in dramatic ways. Despite the best efforts of philosophers and physicians, the results will inevitably be imperfect compromises that invite a thousand more questions on how to judge whose life is worth saving.
Deciding whom to treat comes down to an ethical dilemma
There are three theories of how to make ethical triage decisions, according to David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics: egalitarianism, utilitarianism, and prioritarianism.
Doctors and nurses aren’t philosophizing about these approaches as they make long rounds and rush to treat patients. Rather, these frameworks allow health care professionals to streamline decisions and focus on medical tasks, not be mired in moral questions or burdened by guilt after making hard decisions. “As much as possible, we want to move away from forcing clinicians to make bedside decisions and to have broader decision-making about these issues in advance,” said Magnus.
Each theory has its own moral logic. Egalitarianism seeks to treat patients equally; using a lottery system to select vaccine recipients is one example. Utilitarianism aims to maximize total benefit, generally measured by the remaining life years — or expected remaining high-quality years — that decisions will save. If a 20-year-old and an 80-year-old both required a ventilator, treating the 20-year-old would likely maximize life years. In a choice between two people of the same age, the quality of life that each could expect upon recovery would become relevant. Prioritarianism, or the “rule of rescue,” treats the sickest people first; emergency rooms operate on this principle, for example, choosing to treat the gunshot wound victim before the person with a broken leg.
“If you have a patient on a ventilator and they have to be taken off – that is probably the most horrible of all decisions for a doctor or nurse”
Though each of these appeals to certain moral intuitions, they all have serious problems. To treat patients equally, for example, is also to treat them indiscriminately — because egalitarianism does not distinguish between the age of patients or the severity of their conditions, it can easily seem like an arbitrary or wasteful use of resources.
Utilitarianism confronts the notorious difficulty of ranking quality of life and ignores the moral imperative of urgency. Imagine that the same medical resources could be used either to save one 75-year-old from coronavirus or perform a dozen hip replacements for 65-year-olds. While the latter might ultimately create more years of happy, healthy life, most would consider it the wrong choice, as the recent cancellations of elective surgeries around the country show.
Meanwhile, a rule to prioritize the sickest patients first can clash with the goal of helping the greatest number possible: Lavishing extensive resources on a single patient with only a small chance of surviving could mean refusing treatment to multiple patients who are less sick but more likely to live if treated.
While analyzing trade-offs among these principles is vexing in theory, making and implementing decisions in real time can be excruciatingly difficult. “If you have a patient on a ventilator and they have to be taken off — that is probably the most horrible of all decisions for a doctor or nurse,” said Emanuel. “Vaccines are not always life-and-death. But if someone who doesn’t have a ventilator is going to die, having to withdraw that person is incredibly psychologically traumatic, and this is likely to happen.”
Related Americans are sewing homemade masks to fight coronavirus
And the nature of medicine makes some ambiguities inevitable. There’s space for individual judgment, for instance, about what constitutes an urgent versus elective surgery, or when respiratory failure is irreversible. If an older patient with coronavirus and a short life expectancy required CPR, it could be difficult to decide whether saving the patient justified exposing health care workers to significant risk.
In normal circumstances, many patients on ventilators in America have only a very small chance of survival, Magnus explained. Family members often insist on continued treatment even when loved ones will almost certainly not recover. “In our society, the ICU often becomes a place for grieving and prolonging the dying process. It’s not obvious that this is a good use of resources even in normal circumstances, but it’s just not going to be possible now,” he said.
What makes one life more worth saving than another?
The ethical dilemmas posed by the coronavirus are real-world examples of deep moral questions philosophers have studied for centuries. Princeton’s Peter Singer, probably the world’s most famous living utilitarian philosopher and a vocal proponent of effective altruism, told Vox, “There’s always a scarcity of resources in medicine, but situations like this make it particularly clear.”
Singer said he favors a utilitarian approach that considers multiple factors: the life expectancy of patients, some types of adjustment for quality of life, and perhaps the patient’s ability to help others. He gave the example of a patient with severe dementia or terminal cancer with a six-month life expectancy as cases where it might be reasonable to prioritize other patients. Attempts to rank quality of life are controversial, particularly in cases of disability, but they are also already widely used.
In the United Kingdom, quality-adjusted life year, or QALY, scores are a crucial factor in health care decision-making and are calculated by multiplying years of life by quality of life. If a given medical treatment would allow a patient one year with full quality of life, the patient would have a quality score of 1. If the same treatment would produce a year of life with only half of the normal quality of life, they would have a quality score of 0.5.
Numerical scores might give the illusion of objectivity, but the complexities of actual life inevitably complicate such decisions. Mental health, family size, income, temperament, pain tolerance, and professional, personal, and relationship satisfaction — a vast array of factors that escape quantification still influence the quality of one’s life but are not accounted for in current equations.
These are incredibly challenging and controversial decisions to make. In particular, people with disabilities have spoken up about their concerns that they will be left behind whenever triage decisions are made. “People with disabilities deserve to have equal access to scarce medical resources,” wrote the American Association of People With Disabilities in a letter to Congress, “and should not be subject to resource allocation discrimination when needs exceed supply...we believe that during this difficult period it is especially important to protect patients with disabilities from discrimination.”
The Office for Civil Rights at the US Department of Health and Human Services has also announced that it is investigating states rationing plans to ensure that they are compliant with civil rights law. As Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project told the New York Times, “I deserve the same treatments as any patient. As a disabled person, I’ve been clawing my way into existence ever since I was born. I will not apologize for my needs.”
“The only way to solve this is through massive social collaboration”
For a utilitarian, prioritizing those who can benefit others is a defensible choice. “The classic case might be the Army doctor whose treatment is prioritized because he will be able to treat others,” Singer said. “I suppose in the current situation maybe it’s possible to make a case that certain doctors would be in a similar position, but of course you would want to be careful that you were not just prioritizing the health of your colleagues.” In fact, prioritizing medical workers is one of the suggestions made by Emanuel in an article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine making recommendations for triage in the Covid-19 pandemic.
But defining what constitutes a benefit to others is also difficult and controversial. Elizabeth Anderson, a MacArthur “genius” grant winner and philosophy professor at the University of Michigan, cautioned against thinking in too “ruthlessly consequentialist” a manner. “In strictly consequentialist terms, you might ask who are the most valuable workers, but actually, that’s not the right way to think about it,” she told Vox. “In reality, if the CEO of a major corporation had a heart attack, they are actually more replaceable than the parent of young children, who need specific individuals to be there for them and have a very personal relationship with their parents. It’s an argument for prioritizing caretakers,” she said.
One factor that doctors and philosophers agree should not be relevant is the wealth of patients. But it’s also an undeniable reality of American health care that wealth improves quality of care. “It’s a huge flaw in the American system compared to any other affluent society,” Singer said. Emanuel imagined a scenario in which a scarce supply of coronavirus vaccines became available on the open market. “You don’t want a vaccine that only the rich can buy,” he said, adding that some form of random selection like a lottery would be preferable. “There is no moral framework in which wealth plays a role.”
As the number of cases continues to spike, American health care workers will likely face agonizing decisions on how to ration care — and soon. That’s why for now, self-quarantining and social distancing are themselves moral decisions we can all make that can have significant impacts. “How bad the triage will be depends enormously on the behavior of ordinary people now,” Anderson said. “The only way to solve this is through massive social collaboration.”
Taking collective action to decrease the scale of infections will ultimately reduce the suffering not only of patients but of nurses and doctors. “Triage is awful — it’s traumatizing,” said Anderson. “Doctors who have dedicated their careers to helping people now have to turn people away. It’s dreadful. It’s really on all of us to pull together so that we don’t force these horrible triage choices.”
Nick Romeo is an author and journalist whose work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, National Geographic, and more.


vox--2020-03-31--What are TSA agents doing now that hardly anyone is flying?

Jasmine , a 21-year old Transportation Security Administration agent at Los Angeles International Airport , says that for the first time ever , her job is easy .
The coronavirus has laid siege to the nation ’ s airports , Southwest ’ s planes are only 20 percent full , and the security lines that used to snake through Jasmine ’ s terminal are a thing of the past .
Today , she says , any traveler willing to brave the pandemic can receive express service at the metal detector , simply because there isn ’ t anyone else competing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym to protect her privacy , tells me that even though her work responsibilities have dwindled , her hours haven ’ t been cut .
TSA is a function of Homeland Security and therefore an arm of the federal government — the airport ’ s restaurants , bars , newsstands , and massage parlors have all shuttered in the face of the coronavirus , but nobody working security has been laid off .
That ’ s created a unique environment .
Herding thousands of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ airport is a profoundly stressful experience , but now Jasmine spends more time hanging out with her fellow TSA agents than she does reminding people to take off their shoes .
LAX is at the front line of international travel , and there are moments where Jasmine is worried about her exposure to the pandemic .
Lately , though , she says that going to work has been kinda fun .
We talked about that , as well as the new cleaning regimens TSA has adopted to keep the checkpoints sanitized , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in and out at a ghost town .
When did things start to get weird at the airport for you ?
Things have been really slow for about two weeks now .
Our numbers have just been slowly decreasing .
It ’ s super weird because we ’ re so used to constant rush .
Now it ’ s literally , like , 10 people an hour , it ’ s crazy .
What impact does that have on the airport environment ?
I imagine it feels so different .
It is different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people every day , and now it ’ s nobody .
Our procedures that we have to do every day haven ’ t changed .
Everybody that comes through says the same thing , how weird it feels .
We don ’ t really get thanks for our job .
But now a lot of people that come through have been like , “ Thank you , thank you.
” That to me is the weirdest part .
Why do you think customers are more appreciative now ?
It was when the shutdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad reputation .
It ’ s nice to be [ appreciated ] because a lot of people think our jobs are not important .
But now everyone is trying to get back to their family , and I think that ’ s why they ’ re more appreciative .
Because if it wasn ’ t for us , nobody would be going anywhere .
People don ’ t understand that the things that we do aren ’ t to bother anyone .
It ’ s to keep people safe .
Are you all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had their hours cut ?
We ’ re all still working full-time .
We were just given a third day off , but that day is paid .
So they ’ re still paying you , while they ’ re realizing that when there are 50 people flying every day , they don ’ t necessarily need the full TSA staff there .
Is your job less stressful now that nobody is at the airport ?
Absolutely ; I feel like I ’ ve been getting to know my coworkers a lot more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re just messing around .
There really isn ’ t a whole lot for us to do .
Since it ’ s still a full amount of staff , there ’ s so many of us , and we don ’ t have anything going on .
Lately I ’ ve been waking up super energized to go to work .
I ’ m just hanging out with my friends at this point .
So your job has gotten easier ?
I think it has .
There ’ s nobody here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people make it hard for us , but now it ’ s just freedom .
How has that affected the restaurants and bars at LAX ?
I was told a lot of those people have had their hours cut .
The duty-free stores are closed .
I work in Terminal 6 , which has Alaska [ Airlines ] and [ Air ] Canada , and there are only two restaurants open .
Everything else is closed .
The people who work with passengers in wheelchairs have had their hours cut .
Just recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two people at a time , because so many people are home .
It ’ s really unfortunate .
Are you worried about domestic flights going on lockdown ?
They already have suspended a ton of flights .
Just yesterday , I had a friend post a picture of the board , and there ’ s a ton of canceled flights .
I have a buddy who works in Atlanta and he said that all the JFK flights are suspended .
I don ’ t worry about my job because I know the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t just lay off people like that .
But for a lot of other people , it ’ s kinda trickling down .
Have you been worried about catching coronavirus at work ?
It is a worry .
There are a lot of people who have it but don ’ t know that they have it .
That is a little scary .
From my understanding , the customs at LAX aren ’ t screening people for it .
So a lot of people come right from customs , right to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process .
It ’ s crazy to know they ’ re not getting screened .
I ’ m not too crazy worried , but there ’ s that “ what if ?
” What are you doing to keep the TSA area clean and sterile ?
Our management gave us a sheet , and every two hours they have a few of us step off the floor , and the entire checkpoint is sterilized .
All the tables , the machines that we use .
We ’ re always wearing gloves .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ touch , everything we use , we wipe it down .
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Jasmine, a 21-year old Transportation Security Administration agent at Los Angeles International Airport, says that for the first time ever, her job is easy. The coronavirus has laid siege to the nation’s airports, Southwest’s planes are only 20 percent full, and the security lines that used to snake through Jasmine’s terminal are a thing of the past. Today, she says, any traveler willing to brave the pandemic can receive express service at the metal detector, simply because there isn’t anyone else competing for the same spot.
Jasmine, who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym to protect her privacy, tells me that even though her work responsibilities have dwindled, her hours haven’t been cut. TSA is a function of Homeland Security and therefore an arm of the federal government — the airport’s restaurants, bars, newsstands, and massage parlors have all shuttered in the face of the coronavirus, but nobody working security has been laid off. That’s created a unique environment. Herding thousands of people through a choke point at a major airport is a profoundly stressful experience, but now Jasmine spends more time hanging out with her fellow TSA agents than she does reminding people to take off their shoes.
LAX is at the front line of international travel, and there are moments where Jasmine is worried about her exposure to the pandemic. Lately, though, she says that going to work has been kinda fun. We talked about that, as well as the new cleaning regimens TSA has adopted to keep the checkpoints sanitized, and what it’s like to clock in and out at a ghost town.
When did things start to get weird at the airport for you?
Things have been really slow for about two weeks now. Our numbers have just been slowly decreasing. It’s super weird because we’re so used to constant rush. Now it’s literally, like, 10 people an hour, it’s crazy.
What impact does that have on the airport environment? I imagine it feels so different.
It is different. LAX used to see millions of people every day, and now it’s nobody. Our procedures that we have to do every day haven’t changed. Everybody that comes through says the same thing, how weird it feels. We don’t really get thanks for our job. But now a lot of people that come through have been like, “Thank you, thank you.” That to me is the weirdest part.
Why do you think customers are more appreciative now?
It was when the shutdown happened. TSA agents have such a bad reputation. It’s nice to be [appreciated] because a lot of people think our jobs are not important. But now everyone is trying to get back to their family, and I think that’s why they’re more appreciative. Because if it wasn’t for us, nobody would be going anywhere. People don’t understand that the things that we do aren’t to bother anyone. It’s to keep people safe.
Are you all still working full-time? Or has anyone had their hours cut?
We’re all still working full-time. We were just given a third day off, but that day is paid.
So they’re still paying you, while they’re realizing that when there are 50 people flying every day, they don’t necessarily need the full TSA staff there.
Correct, yes.
Is your job less stressful now that nobody is at the airport?
Absolutely; I feel like I’ve been getting to know my coworkers a lot more. At this point, I think we’re just messing around. There really isn’t a whole lot for us to do. Since it’s still a full amount of staff, there’s so many of us, and we don’t have anything going on. Lately I’ve been waking up super energized to go to work. I’m just hanging out with my friends at this point.
So your job has gotten easier?
I think it has. There’s nobody here. We complain about our job because people make it hard for us, but now it’s just freedom.
How has that affected the restaurants and bars at LAX?
I was told a lot of those people have had their hours cut. The duty-free stores are closed. I work in Terminal 6, which has Alaska [Airlines] and [Air] Canada, and there are only two restaurants open. Everything else is closed. The people who work with passengers in wheelchairs have had their hours cut. Just recently, I saw one of them pushing two people at a time, because so many people are home. It’s really unfortunate.
Are you worried about domestic flights going on lockdown?
They already have suspended a ton of flights. Just yesterday, I had a friend post a picture of the board, and there’s a ton of canceled flights. I have a buddy who works in Atlanta and he said that all the JFK flights are suspended. I don’t worry about my job because I know the airport would never close. They can’t just lay off people like that. But for a lot of other people, it’s kinda trickling down.
Have you been worried about catching coronavirus at work?
It is a worry. There are a lot of people who have it but don’t know that they have it. That is a little scary. From my understanding, the customs at LAX aren’t screening people for it. So a lot of people come right from customs, right to me, and they get screened through our process. It’s crazy to know they’re not getting screened. I’m not too crazy worried, but there’s that “what if?”
What are you doing to keep the TSA area clean and sterile?
Our management gave us a sheet, and every two hours they have a few of us step off the floor, and the entire checkpoint is sterilized. All the tables, the machines that we use. We’re always wearing gloves. It’s a checklist. Everything we touch, everything we use, we wipe it down.
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vox--2020-03-30--The Instacart strike, explained

The Instacart strike, explained

Some workers for Instacart , one of the most popular US grocery delivery apps , went on strike Monday , demanding better pay and health protections as they risk exposing themselves to the coronavirus to deliver essentials to people on lockdown .
Instacart and other grocery delivery workers are facing soaring demand — as much as 65 percent more compared to the same time last year across the top three services in the first week of March alone .
But many of them say they feel increasingly unsafe doing their jobs because the companies they work for are not providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time and supplies to wash their hands between shifts .
Instacart shoppers ’ complaints echo those of other workers : Around 50 Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island , New York , reportedly walked off the job on Monday in protest of the company ’ s decision to keep the facility open despite one of their colleagues being diagnosed with Covid-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
And Whole Foods workers are planning a national “ sickout ” on Tuesday to call for better protections , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leave for staffers under quarantine .
“ We are lacking things that are essential for our safety and the safety of our customers .
We are potentially going to be vectors of this disease , ” said Vanessa Bain , an Instacart shopper and leader of the group organizing the strike , Gig Workers Collective .
Though we don ’ t have an exact number of strikers , and Instacart says the protest hasn ’ t reduced customer orders , these actions are effective in a different way : They ’ re drawing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politicians , to the health risks that workers are taking to keep US supply chains running during a public health crisis .
These workers had been pushing for better pay and basic benefits like health care long before the coronavirus pandemic , but now there ’ s a renewed sense of urgency around workers ’ demands when their lives , and the lives of their customers , could depend on it .
“ I believe this is really a time for these companies to show leadership and show that they get it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , who represents a wide swath of Silicon Valley .
“ I think doing something dramatic like doubling wages for folks , for a few months , I think would be a great gesture.
” Instacart has changed some of its policies in response to workers ’ demands in the several weeks leading up to the strike .
It began offering new worker benefits , such as providing 14 days of paid time off for shoppers who can prove they have been diagnosed with the coronavirus or placed under mandatory quarantine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on shoppers ’ performance .
The company also announced plans on Friday to acquire and distribute hand sanitizer .
Instacart told Recode that overall , its workforce has seen earnings increase by 40 percent in the past month compared to the month prior .
When asked about the strike and workers ’ concerns , a spokesperson for Instacart told Recode in a statement : The company also said that it respects the rights of shoppers to provide feedback and voice concerns .
Why exactly are workers striking ?
Instacart strikers want the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk of coronavirus exposure .
Shoppers — whose work requires them to interact with grocery store clerks , customers , and other shoppers — are concerned about catching and spreading Covid-19 .
Workers are also concerned about touching surfaces such as plastic bags and food items that could be contaminated with the virus and then passing it on to customers .
( Though it may be possible to contract the disease via contaminated surfaces , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the primary mode of spread is through person-to-person contact .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ access to better hand-washing facilities between deliveries , gloves , and other preventive sanitation measures , that could help mitigate the risk .
In order to mitigate these risks , they ’ re asking four things of Instacart : First , they want personal protective supplies at no cost to workers , such as hand sanitizer ( which the company has started to distribute ) , disinfectant solutions and wipes , and soap .
Second , they want hazard pay of an extra $ 5 per order ; third , they want the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set to at least 10 percent of customers ’ total orders .
And fourth , they ’ re pressing the company to grant 14 days of sick time to anyone who has been impacted by Covid-19 and provides a doctor ’ s note saying as much , or if they have a preexisting condition or are at high risk for facing complications from Covid-19 .
“ I guarantee you , if you tell a customer , there ’ s a chance there ’ s a shopper who is handling your product and packaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , ‘ no thank you.
’ ” said Bain .
What impact is the strike having ?
Since organizers aren ’ t counting how many people are participating in the strike , all we have are numbers from Instacart itself .
And in a reflection of how many Americans are turning to the service during the pandemic , the company says business is doing just fine — even better than before — during this strike .
“ As it relates to today ’ s actions , we ’ ve seen absolutely no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” a spokesperson for Instacart wrote in a statement .
The company said that on Monday , it saw 40 percent more shoppers on the platform compared to the same day and time last week , and that over the past 72 hours , it sold more groceries than ever before .
It also said that in the past week alone , 250,000 new people signed up to become Instacart full-service shoppers , and 50,000 of them have already started shopping on the platform .
Regardless , the strike is raising awareness about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And Instacart ’ s new leave policy , which it enacted on March 10 , is at least a start in addressing some of workers ’ concerns .
“ We have to recognize the courage of these workers at Instacart and Amazon , who risk their own safety doing essential work that ’ s allowing us to have food for our family and our kids , and to have basic supplies , ” Khanna told Recode .
“ While many of us are sheltering in place and working remotely , these workers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society functioning .
So the least we can do is make sure they have safe conditions.
” Khanna said he supports the strikers at Instacart in demanding more from their employers , and that he also sees a role for the government to help essential workers in the grocery and shipping industries .
He said he is in discussions about proposing what he ’ s calling a “ GI Bill ” for essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic , such as emergency and health care workers , as well as people like Instacart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bill would have the government distribute special bonuses to these workers , among other benefits .
Labor activists and other labor-friendly politicians such as Khanna have also called on gig economy companies such as Instacart , Uber , and Lyft to follow new legislation in California , AB 5 , that was intended to compel companies to convert their contracted workforce to employees , entitling them to benefits such as health care and paid time off .
Most companies have been largely ignoring the legislation , arguing that the new rules don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will happen next Organizers of the Instacart strike have said that they will continue to strike until their demands are met in full .
In the meantime , their action , especially in light of concurrent protests from workers at Amazon and other companies , is emphasizing more starkly than ever how the gig economy puts its workers in a precarious place , even as more people rely on their services .
“ I think that consumers are seeing how reliant they are on these particular workers and how essential in this pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a particularly powerful moment , ” said Veena Dubal , a law professor at UC Hastings , who researches the gig economy .
Instacart has positioned its workers as a community of “ household heroes ” — providing a critical service to Americans during a global crisis .
It remains to be seen , though , if these workers can successfully negotiate for the better working conditions they ’ ve long been asking for — and not just during these unprecedentedly difficult times .

Some workers for Instacart, one of the most popular US grocery delivery apps, went on strike Monday, demanding better pay and health protections as they risk exposing themselves to the coronavirus to deliver essentials to people on lockdown.
Instacart and other grocery delivery workers are facing soaring demand — as much as 65 percent more compared to the same time last year across the top three services in the first week of March alone. But many of them say they feel increasingly unsafe doing their jobs because the companies they work for are not providing basic support, like giving them the time and supplies to wash their hands between shifts.
Instacart shoppers’ complaints echo those of other workers: Around 50 Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, reportedly walked off the job on Monday in protest of the company’s decision to keep the facility open despite one of their colleagues being diagnosed with Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. And Whole Foods workers are planning a national “sickout” on Tuesday to call for better protections, such as free coronavirus testing for employees and paid leave for staffers under quarantine.
“We are lacking things that are essential for our safety and the safety of our customers. We are potentially going to be vectors of this disease,” said Vanessa Bain, an Instacart shopper and leader of the group organizing the strike, Gig Workers Collective.
Though we don’t have an exact number of strikers, and Instacart says the protest hasn’t reduced customer orders, these actions are effective in a different way: They’re drawing the attention of the public, and politicians, to the health risks that workers are taking to keep US supply chains running during a public health crisis. These workers had been pushing for better pay and basic benefits like health care long before the coronavirus pandemic, but now there’s a renewed sense of urgency around workers’ demands when their lives, and the lives of their customers, could depend on it.
“I believe this is really a time for these companies to show leadership and show that they get it,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who represents a wide swath of Silicon Valley. “I think doing something dramatic like doubling wages for folks, for a few months, I think would be a great gesture.”
Instacart has changed some of its policies in response to workers’ demands in the several weeks leading up to the strike. It began offering new worker benefits, such as providing 14 days of paid time off for shoppers who can prove they have been diagnosed with the coronavirus or placed under mandatory quarantine, as well as a new bonus based on shoppers’ performance. The company also announced plans the Friday before the strike to acquire and distribute hand sanitizer to workers, and on the Thursday following the strike it expanded those plans to also include a cloth mask and digital thermometer for each of its delivery shoppers.
Instacart told Recode that overall, its workforce has seen earnings increase by 40 percent in the past month compared to the month prior. When asked about the strike and workers’ concerns, a spokesperson for Instacart told Recode in a statement:
In the last four weeks, Instacart has introduced more than 15 new product features, new health guidelines, new shopper bonuses, new sick leave policies, and new safety supplies, as well as pay for those affected by COVID-19. Our team has an unwavering commitment to safely serve our shoppers in the wake of COVID-19, and we’ll continue to share additional updates over the coming days, weeks and months ahead as we further support this important community.
The company also said that it respects the rights of shoppers to provide feedback and voice concerns.
Why exactly are workers striking?
Instacart strikers want the company to take immediate action to reduce their risk of coronavirus exposure.
Shoppers — whose work requires them to interact with grocery store clerks, customers, and other shoppers — are concerned about catching and spreading Covid-19. Workers are also concerned about touching surfaces such as plastic bags and food items that could be contaminated with the virus and then passing it on to customers. (Though it may be possible to contract the disease via contaminated surfaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the primary mode of spread is through person-to-person contact.) Workers say that if Instacart provided access to better hand-washing facilities between deliveries, gloves, and other preventive sanitation measures, that could help mitigate the risk.
In order to mitigate these risks, they’re asking four things of Instacart: First, they want personal protective supplies at no cost to workers, such as hand sanitizer (which the company has started to distribute), disinfectant solutions and wipes, and soap. Second, they want hazard pay of an extra $5 per order; third, they want the default tip in the app to be set to at least 10 percent of customers’ total orders. And fourth, they’re pressing the company to grant 14 days of sick time to anyone who has been impacted by Covid-19 and provides a doctor’s note saying as much, or if they have a preexisting condition or are at high risk for facing complications from Covid-19.
“I guarantee you, if you tell a customer there’s a chance there’s a shopper who is handling your product and packaging your groceries has coronavirus, they would say, ‘no thank you.’” said Bain.
On the Thursday following the strike, Instacart addressed workers’ demands in part by announcing that it will provide health and safety kits to its delivery shoppers. The kits will contain a cloth face mask, hand sanitizer, and a reusable thermometer and workers will be available to order them for free on an internal website. Organizers of the strike called the move a “step in the right direction, but still a far fry from adequate.” Workers say they’re concerned that the company reportedly already ran out of the hand sanitizer it promised. They’re continuing to strike until their additional demands are met for broader paid sick time off and increased hazard pay.
Instacart told Recode on Thursday that its shoppers will be able to start ordering the kits next week and says it will be adding thousands of the health and safety kit items every day to its distribution website to meet the demand.
What impact is the strike having?
Since organizers aren’t counting how many people are participating in the strike, all we have are numbers from Instacart itself. And in a reflection of how many Americans are turning to the service during the pandemic, the company says business is doing just fine — even better than before — during this strike.
“As it relates to today’s actions, we’ve seen absolutely no impact to Instacart’s operations,” a spokesperson for Instacart wrote in a statement.
The company said that on Monday, it saw 40 percent more shoppers on the platform compared to the same day and time last week, and that over the past 72 hours, it sold more groceries than ever before.
It also said that in the past week alone, 250,000 new people signed up to become Instacart full-service shoppers, and 50,000 of them have already started shopping on the platform.
Regardless, the strike is raising awareness about worker issues in the gig economy. And Instacart’s new leave policy, which it enacted on March 10, is at least a start in addressing some of workers’ concerns.
“We have to recognize the courage of these workers at Instacart and Amazon, who risk their own safety doing essential work that’s allowing us to have food for our family and our kids, and to have basic supplies,” Khanna told Recode. “While many of us are sheltering in place and working remotely, these workers are doing the essential services to keep our society functioning. So the least we can do is make sure they have safe conditions.”
Khanna said he supports the strikers at Instacart in demanding more from their employers, and that he also sees a role for the government to help essential workers in the grocery and shipping industries.
He said he is in discussions about proposing what he’s calling a “GI Bill” for essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic, such as emergency and health care workers, as well as people like Instacart shoppers and Amazon warehouse workers. The bill would have the government distribute special bonuses to these workers, among other benefits.
Labor activists and other labor-friendly politicians such as Khanna have also called on gig economy companies such as Instacart, Uber, and Lyft to follow new legislation in California, AB 5, that was intended to compel companies to convert their contracted workforce to employees, entitling them to benefits such as health care and paid time off. Most companies have been largely ignoring the legislation, arguing that the new rules don’t apply to their workers.
What will happen next
Organizers of the Instacart strike have said that they will continue to strike until their demands are met in full.
In the meantime, their action, especially in light of concurrent protests from workers at Amazon and other companies, is emphasizing more starkly than ever how the gig economy puts its workers in a precarious place, even as more people rely on their services.
“I think that consumers are seeing how reliant they are on these particular workers and how essential in this pandemic their work is, so it’s a particularly powerful moment,” said Veena Dubal, a law professor at UC Hastings, who researches the gig economy.
Instacart has positioned its workers as a community of “household heroes” — providing a critical service to Americans during a global crisis. It remains to be seen, though, if these workers can successfully negotiate for the better working conditions they’ve long been asking for — and not just during these unprecedentedly difficult times.
Update, April 2, 2020, 3:25 pm PT: Information about Instacart’s actions after the strike has been added to this story.