Weekly Reader: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

     I know that the Weekly Reader usually goes quiet once a weekly (or less frequent) edition is completed, but this is a very busy week on issues that have been discussed in the past few weeks.

    So here is a thumbnail update on some of the issues we have been covering:

    First, when the media is quiet about an issues like the bipartisan infrastructure bill, it usually means one of two things—the parties are seriously negotiating rather than releasing nasty comments to the media (media involvement usually means that the parties are jockeying for attention and negotiating in public) or the talks are breaking down because there are still so many unresolved issues. Going quiet may also mean that the parties want President Biden and The White House to become more involved, since the Biden White House has been quite effective in limiting leaks about issues they may be working on. Yesterday, President Biden met with Senator Sinema, one of the Democratic lead negotiators. Senators Sinema and Manchin have not yet signed onto the larger Democratic legislative package that is expected to follow the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

     So the limited coverage of the bipartisan talks may be a sign that the parties are finally reaching a conclusion, since this is a crucial week to move legislation forward in the Senate and the bipartisans have been slogging along for more than a month of negotiations. I think the White House wants a bipartisan agreement for the first phase, before the Democrats go it alone to tackle broader priorities in the bigger $3.5 trillion over ten year budget plan that is on deck. A recent Associated Press poll found 8 in 10 Americans favor increased infrastructure spending and the bipartisan package could be a political win for the moderate centrists of both parties (however large that group is). I still think that Senate and House Democratic leadership want progress on both packages before the August recess and if there is agreement, you could see a Saturday or Sunday session. I don’t think Donald Trump’s statement on Monday attacking Senate Republicans for dealing with the Democrats on infrastructure will have any effect on the process. The unresolved issues appear to be a prevailing-wage requirement for new infrastructure programs as well as funding for public transit, public water works and broadband. Also unresolved is how to pay for the bipartisan package, but Congress has always been creative when it comes to “pay-fors” and the options are narrowing. It is possible that the final deal could lose support if the Congressional Budget Office declares it is not fully paid for. Let me assure you that I know that it won’t be completely paid for regardless of what is said or analyzed.

     The major reason for my focus on the bipartisan package is that it is the first step toward consideration of the broader $3.5 trillion package. The Democratic package is likely to contain significant priorities including extension of the enhanced child tax credit, child care, health care, housing and other issues of paramount importance to the people and communities that we serve.

     No link to a particular story today—my musings come from a variety of sources.

      Second, some follow-up from Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on how to spend $77 million, the first half of new federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Mayor said  that his administration is planning to prioritize using the money to offset the pandemic’s impact on the economy, and to boost compensation for essential workers and spending on public infrastructure. He asked for public input on which priorities should come first. A public survey launched by the city on Tuesday will remain open until August 9. The Mayor will develop a special budget which must be approved by the City Council. He expects the entire process to last a few months, possibly through the end of 2021.

     Third, the always remarkable Michael Paul Williams, columnist for the Richmond Times Dispatch, with a powerful column today “There’s a war on public health. Losing is not an option”. His opening line says it all, “Racism remains alive and well in America, as stubborn as any virus, defying attempts to eradicate it.” He acknowledges that Richmond became the first city in Virginia to declare racism a public health crisis but the national prognosis on public health is grim. Williams sees a war on public health from gun violence in the Richmond region to elected officials and right-wing pundits spreading misinformation about the virus and vaccines. He observes that the response of some Republican lawmakers is to wrest control of public health matters from public health officials. Some state legislatures would allow lawmakers to rescind mask mandates or limit the authority of health officials by passing laws to prevent the closure of businesses. During the teeth of the pandemic—from March 2020 to January 2021, nearly 200 public health officials left the profession.

     The director of health equity for Richmond and Henrico county described as “staggering” some of the disparities in health outcomes as she spoke about the Richmond City Council resolution.

     Mayor Stoney declared gun violence a public health crisis following a particularly deadly April 2021 when 13 people were killed. Williams concludes that “the stress and isolation of the pandemic, coupled with the puerile and corrosive quality of our politics, is hazardous to anyone’s mental or physical health. Our decay did not begin with the pandemic in a nation whose structural inequality—race-based, gender-based and economic—has left our temple of democracy in a precarious state.”

     Williams concludes that our response lacks urgency, or we do the opposite of what’s prescribed—all in the name of “individual freedom”, which we used to call “selfishness.” Public health is having its “critical race theory” moment, with remedies rebranded as maladies, because some folks don’t like the taste of the medicine. Meanwhile, American life expectancy is dropping, with Black and Hispanic people disproportionately affected. The greatest threat to our health is denial of science, racism and history itself. Until we embrace truth over falsehood, this nation’s condition will remain critical.

     Bravo and amen to Michael Paul Williams, winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary “for penetrating and historically insightful columns that guided Richmond, a former capital of the Confederacy, through the painful and complicated process of dismantling the city’s monuments to white supremacy.”

     Now let’s listen to and act on his wise and urgent words.

 
     Finally, I know you don’t want to read another “Dear me, the sky is falling” story but I think if you have read this far you do believe in “repairing the world”. I won’t summarize this story  (too much) in The Washington Post today, Beyond human endurance: how climate change is making parts of the world too hot and humid to survive. So, if you read this story (and I urge you to), please take your Melatonin so that you can get a good night’s sleep tonight. As Michael Paul Williams said, the greatest threat to our health is the denial of science, racism and history itself. To better understand why these places are becoming too hot and humid for humans to endure, you have to first understand how the body cools itself. As this story by Ruby Mellen and William Neff observes, “Merely surviving in those conditions depends on your place in society and what that affords: access to air conditioning, insulated homes, jobs that don’t require extreme physical exertion under the sun and policies in place to protect you from dangerous conditions. As humans, we have learned to adapt. The problem is the cost. Some will not survive.”

  I hope you found this “Extra” edition worthwhile. And, of course, “Extra, extra, read all about it” is shouted by the newsboys in the Disney musical “Newsies” which was inspired by the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. Hurrah for the brilliant Jeremy Jordan, whose breakout Broadway role was the lead in Newsies on Broadway.

     Have a great rest of the week! Be sure that there will be no further edition of the Reader this week unless the sky is really falling.

Jim Schuyler VACAP