The COVID-19 outbreak is the worst crisis the United States has faced in many years. In past crises, US citizens have typically come together, worked together to solve the problem, and celebrated together when the crisis passed. This time seems different. Political discord seems to continue through the crisis, with a level of malice not seen before the last few years.
Surveys indicate that much of the current discourse is coming from the most extreme individuals at both ends of the spectrum, with the middle 60% to 80% just unhappy with the tone of the discussion. (It is that large middle group which is expected to find the ComingTogether Plan appealing and most welcome.) That Plan is intended to be a reasonable compromise that allows both compassion and liberty to flourish.
The COVID-19 crisis provides five lessons which point out the value of the ComingTogether Plan:
Financial Aid: Shortly after the lockdown started, the CARES Act authorized a one-time payment to many people in the country, but the government was not really prepared to do this. They were slowed down by the need to determine income to establish eligibility. If this is going to be a response to a crisis, the government should be prepared. If the ComingTogether Plan had been in place, this would have been unnecessary. The plan would have a system up and running to meet the basic needs of all citizens, and the financing plan would also be there (although when the economy declines, revenue goes down also).
Unemployment: The CARES act also included a supplement to unemployment insurance. Again, this would be unnecessary if the ComingTogether Plan had been in place. This experience, though, reinforces the Plan’s argument against means testing. Why would people try to go back to work when ‘not working’ pays more?
Grassroots Decisions: The pandemic is an excellent example of the benefit of a federal (multi-level) system where decisions are made at the level of government closest to the people where possible. Different places experienced different types of pandemic activity, and local government officials could set their own response. This is one of the major tenets of the ComingTogether Plan. In fact, the Plan puts many decisions all the way down to the family level.
Healthcare: We have got to get health coverage separated from employment. When 40 something million people lose their jobs in a short period of time, we find that there is quite a bottleneck in replacing all that coverage. If people could choose their own coverage, as in the ComingTogether Plan, the loss of a job, while still traumatic, does not also mean needing to find health care coverage at the same time as they are looking to replace the paycheck.
Education: COVID-19 has shaken no institution more than education. This may be a good thing. Suddenly, many parents and children find themselves at home. Parents are finding out how little the children are learning; or, on a positive note, parents are finding out what their children are good at, and love to do. This information shows parents the shortcomings of a one-size-fits-all school. Giving parents a voice in their child’s education would be helpful. Schools are also facing budget breaking adjustments to try to operate in the new environment. Here is where the ComingTogether Plan‘s Education Benefit really shines. It gives parents more control of the education their children receive. The Education Benefit is something that could be passed and implemented quickly to help parents, children, and state and local governments.
The United States is divided now, but it has been worse, including the time when there was actually war between the states. As the Civil War was winding down, Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Can we follow Lincoln’s call to peace within the country? I hope the ComingTogether Plan can be part of the solution to ending the current discord in our country.