US Indifference to Public Health: The Shame of the Nation

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Both right wings of the US one-party state serve privileged interests exclusively at the expense of public health and welfare.

It's been this way throughout the nation's history, notably since the neoliberal 90s, especially post-9/11 when Republicans and undemocratic Dems declared war on humanity at home and abroad.

At a time of public angst over spreading COVID-19 infections, the Trump regime and Congress are largely indifferent to public health. It shows by their tepid actions — lots of belated lofty rhetoric, little done for ordinary Americans.

Washington failed to provide widespread testing, cost-free treatment for affected individuals, paid sick pay for all workers as needed, and financial help for the unemployed — government going all-out regardless of cost, prioritizing human health and welfare above all other considerations.

As president and commander-in-chief, the buck stops with Trump — especially when leadership is most needed at a time of economic weakness, the nation heading for recession or already in one, unemployment likely to increase sharply, and the potential for escalating COVID-19 infections exists.

Instead of responsible leadership, Trump tweetstorms daily while Rome burns, blasting disinformation and Big Lies, including in other public comments — showing indifference to public health and welfare.

Time and again, fact-checking exposes his Big Lies on domestic and geopolitical issues.

For weeks, he pretended that the US is "very, very ready" to deal with COVID-19 despite doing little or nothing to address it, pretending it's a nonissue.

He put science denier Pence in charge of a coronavirus task force instead of independent experts tasked with addressing public health removed from political and profit-making considerations.

He nonsensically claimed that "Americans staying home instead of going and spending the money in other countries" will benefit the US economy.

He maintains the fiction of a strong US economy when evidence shows growing weakness and decline — the nation likely in recession, at risk of possible protracted depression.

He falsely claimed that Americans infected by COVID-19 have "mild" symptoms, adding:"

"They don't even see a doctor. So, if we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work. Some of them go to work, but they get better."

He later claimed he never said the above, calling a verbatim quote of his remark "fake news."

Anyone infected by COVID-19 or other contagious diseases must be isolated and treated to restore them to health and prevent the spread of disease to others until test results are no longer positive.

In tweets and public comments, Trump expressed no concern about COVID-19 becoming a public health issue, saying everything "is under control…just fine…It will all work out well."

Minimal testing was done, henceforth only federally authorized for individuals with coronavirus symptoms — instead of all-out US efforts to get ahead of the curve the way China and South Korea notably acted and continue to act.

For weeks, Trump maintained the myth of a minor problem under control as global infections kept rising, including in the US.

He falsely blamed open borders for letting the virus enter the country. Time and again, he blames others for his own malfeasance.

While US COVID-19 infections rise, he claimed they'll "disappear," at the same time saying actions by his regime are "the most aggressive taken by any country" — a bald-faced Big Lie by a serial liar perhaps unable to distinguish between truth and fiction for failing to set the record straight repeatedly.

Even after declaring a national emergency on Friday over the spread of COVID-19 outbreaks, he and Congress have done pathetically little to address the issue — instead of going all-out to help all Americans regardless of cost.

It's what responsible governance is all about, what's absent in the US no matter which right wing of the one-party state is in charge.

Trump symbolizes what's wrong with the system — governance serving the nation's privileged class exclusively, and to hell with everyone else, even in times of duress like now.

When all-out federal efforts are needed to aid ordinary Americans and the economy through vigorous fiscal measures, regardless of cost or for how long, Trump's COVID-19 guidelines failed to call for putting money in the pockets of ordinary Americans whose spending will stimulate economic growth.

Note: While numbers of infections in the US and globally haven't remotely reached epidemic or pandemic levels, despite falsified WHO claims otherwise, contagious diseases like COVID-19 demand public attention to contain their spread.

Otherwise, a containable disease could become widespread.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html