Grading US Federal management of Virus
 

Given that some countries are under reporting their COVID 19 statistics either by design or by inability to report.

Given that the USA represents approximately 4% of the world’s population (source: US Census) yet has reported 1/3 of the worldwide COVID 19 cases to date. (source: WHO)

Question: What school grade (A-F) would you give our federal government management of this virus and why?

Simply curious

Federal Gov't A


New York F

Federal Government F; they haven't managed anything about it but have punted it to the individual states to manage.

Federal Government an F

Federal Gov't B+ because they drove the decisions to those closest to the issues, the Governors, and according to some of the Democrat Governors cutting red tape and taking the Feds out as a middle man gave them more flexibility. Notwithstanding the inept Governors and their staffs, most Governors are using common sense. Citizens, not so much.

Everyone should get an F. No one knows what they are doing. We have people out of work but cannot collect unemployment; we have large companies getting Small Business Loans.; we have supply chains breaking (still no paper goods) meat will be next; we have no emergency supplies of critical equipment; we have a national hospital system that is inadequate; lastly we are incapable of performing adequate testing.

We have had pandemics in the past. Haven't we learned anything?

The politicians are still fighting with each other instead of solving the problems. They really have no clue how everything works.

Its like we are all pawns in a chess game. But this is our lives.

How can anyone think that this pandemic situation has been handled correctly?

I think this is a two part question. I would give the Federal Government an "A" on their management related of the health issues. They seem to be well informed, working hard, and doing everything possible to manage the disease. Better than any other country.

But, I would them a "D" on the financial issues. I think they are wasting a lot of taxpayer money by, giving money to people who don't need it, paying people to not work, and spending way too much money overall. They are spending trillions of dollars, and many companies will still go out of business because the money has not been properly directed to the people and companies who need it to survive. FYI, $3 trillion dollars is more than $9,000 for every person in the country, and they still plan to spend more.

some hard markers out there

and you really can't assign one grade....as there are multiple factors

the Feds ramped up after being in 'catch up mode' I'd give them a B+ on ramping up
the folks that should have been watching this and should have had our backs on this...I give them D- for not giving us enough early warning (The WHO I'd give an F- to)
neither the Feds or any of the State governments had a real plan to react to a pandemic....I'd give them all an F on that
The various countries ability to actually count and accurately report the number of deaths due to covid-19....China gets an F-, India can't count so they get a D.....

I could go on...but there's no reason to....no one has the answers and everyone was caught unprepared

I doubt you will find anybody on this forum with the knowledge to offer anything other than an uninformed opinion. The subject is very complicated and has been politicized.

.... and, therefore, it would be most interesting to hear from all the Independents

What, within the US Constitution, could the Federal Government not punted (as you say) to the states???

Defense Production Act could have been utilized earlier to begin the process of ventilator production. But it didn't take long to get an Executive Order requiring meat companies (hamburger!!" to remain open.

I cannot imagine what would happen to this country of ours if we had to go to war, a real, say nuclear war. We are so polarized we would be doomed.

This has shown us to be fighting amongst ourselves more than we could fight against an outsider. We are nothing but red States and blue States and never the twain shall meet.

Personally, I am disgusted with humanity right now. Up until the last few years no one, never, ever, asked what you were ... meaning which political party you belonged to. When did this nonsense take over and become the norm.

Did any patient go without a ventilator???

I think the Federal Government is doing a great job. A+

We're 10th
 

US testing, on a per capita basis, is 10th.
• COVID-19 testing rate by country | Statista

"Ventilator shortage during coronavirus crisis forcing doctors to decide who lives or dies"
Ventilator shortage during coronavirus crisis forcing doctors to decide who lives or dies | Fox News

I love this country and feel the response to this pandemic was excellent given the information provided to them since no one knew exactly what this was with the exception of China. We are a very lucky population given the scope of what this could had been if the American response hadn’t been so quick as this illness evolved.

This is not a valid question. How are they doing compared to what? There has not been anything like this in recent history to compare against. If was a hurricane, one could compare against responses to other hurricanes.

As others have said, it is largely a political question. How you feel about the current administrations, federal, state and local, will guide your answer.

Let’s just hope we do not have another pandemic where COVID-19 can be used as a baseline.

Not only what you say is true, but how do we know when we are told the truth, or when someone is using sarcasm. Really miss the days that politics stopped at the door of crisis, and honest statesmen took over.

Several posts have been removed because they were off topic, tilting the thread more toward political, or political themselves. The OP asked for members to give a grade for the US performance during the pandemic. Please do that and keep explanations for your answer generic to avoid causing the thread to disappear.

Moderator

I can personally vouch for that.

I'll give the response a C-, basically because we implemented nothing learned from the drill just held in October 2019, sponsored by Johns Hopkins, the World Economic Forum and the Gates Foundation. And because the White House AND Fauci were downplaying the severity as the crisis was unfolding before our eyes in China, Iran and Italy. Granted, they rose to the occasion but a bit too late. And to this day, it's still not easy to get tested.

It’s difficult to “rise to the occasion” when the occasion is evolving and mo one knows until details evolve from the event. People tend to forget the reactions when travel to and from China was shut down. What do you think the reaction would have benn to shutting the country down without the knowledge they have now about the virus? Monday morning quarterbacking makes everything easier.

D-
Shows how ineffective our system of big government is...too many people stepping on each other...too many agencies overlapping....no clear or cogent source...everyone differing on message

Fact: people losing their jobs and not being able to receive unemployment.

Fact: various supply chains not being able to supply the necessary goods (Testing, paper goods, meats etc.

Fact: hospitals not able to handle a pandemic.

Fact: No emergency supply stockpile

Fact: not enough testing kits.

What is so political about these true statements?

In order to handle these problems, planning needs to happen. I guess if you assume that the politicians are responsible for this planning then you are not only dreaming that they can handle this situation but you are wrong.

Bill Gates had alerted everyone to this type of situation many years ago. Nothing happened. It fell onto deaf ears.

I would give a grade of incomplete. No one anticipated this nightmare, and everyone is in a "learn as we go" situation. It is simply wrong to start playing the blame game while things are still working out and we are learning on the fly. Let's see how this whole thing eventually plays out, and then we can start to give out grads, if that is even really necessary?

F-, it's a pity!

I agree!
 

I fully agree with this quote. It is totally unfair to grade officials in a complex, evolving crisis. There are still numerous unknowns and 328 million people with whom to deal. The government responses have had to ramp up over an unbelievably short time.
Come on, people. Honestly ask yourselves if YOU could have done better!!

What surprised me the most was the speed with which the state governors disregarded the U.S. Constitution. The first amendment, the “…right of the people peaceably to assembly, and to petition the Government…” While these are restrictions on the Federal Government, some state governors ignored this and their own state constitutions in order to adsorb more power.

Notwithstanding the title, that article is much more of a "what if" scenario doctors would have to follow with limited supplies.

Everyone involved with health care, first responders, essential transportation personnel, and others risking their lives because they are required to (including meat packers): A+ and a standing ovation. Summa Cum Laude!

Congress: B. They argued too much and inserted pork that slowed things down, but they understood that helping employers who would keep paying employees who are staying home is MUCH better than one time $1,200 checks. Democrats and Republicans worked it out together. Terrific! That’s what they should be doing all the time, right? My sons are sitting at home receiving paychecks, and when things reopen, they will return to jobs they have held for years instead of having to start over. Great move Congress! Great move, businesses. (And if you think it is wrong to support businesses, wait three or four months and watch what happens when the next quarter’s earnings come in.)

CDC, FDA, and scientists working on this around the world: A. Thank you! Some missteps, but that is to be expected under pressure.

State and city governments: A to D. It varies. Open or closed, early or later, many state governments have done the right thing for their states when the federal government couldn’t be expected to understand their local circumstances.

White House: D. Dismantling and under-supporting pandemic preparedness offices and failure to push for scientific preparedness and supply preparedness was a horrible mistake, even though it would have been difficult to foresee the gigantic need for ICUs, masks, gloves, etc. Hiding the seriousness of the situation from the public was a mistake that cost thousands of lives, probably. Putting a hopeful face on things was helpful: FDR did the same thing during the Depression and WWII. Not trusting the scientists and the doctors and casting doubt on them and offering treatments that didn’t work was a horrible mistake. Using press conferences for endless self-congratulation or name-calling was embarrassing to the entire country, or should have been. However, it is not too late to raise this grade. Let’s give the White House an Incomplete, maybe.

Headline grabber. There was & is no shortage in the USA.

Each state is suppose to govern itself. It is how the system works. This is why we elect Governors. Thank God for Desantis!

Gov A+++

New York...What else would have you expected

Better than any other country? That is so funny.

Wrong question
 

You should be asking how will everyone, every politician, every citizen be handling this situation going forward! Will we stop buying Chinese junk, will we stop buying junk in general, will we bring essential manufacturing home, will we restore citizens rights, will we finally realize what is really important in our Ives, will we address the debt we have created for our children. There are a lot of questions going forward, let’s look back only to help us how to better go forward.

I had a friend who lay dying of coronavirus in a nursing home while around the same time the public was told that coronavirus was a political hoax or nothing more than a few cases of common flu that would self-resolve in a few weeks.

My friend’s death was one of the earliest nursing home coronavirus deaths, well before such deaths were even included in the daily counts. Could she—and without doubt others—still be alive had the warnings been taken more seriously?

No one will ever know. And I feel too involved to give an impartial response to rhe OP’s questions. I’m not in total agreement, but the three posts above come the closest to how I would evaluate—if I could be objective....

Exactly the opposite. New York managed by the data and science the Federal Gov by hunches and feelings from the top.

I only believe what the doctors say and turn off the politicians they are only interested in getting re-elected and manage by the polls. They are playing to both sides saying I think it is too early to open up the economy on tv and then tweeting liberate.

Federal government: "D"

No further explanation needed (or allowed here)... :lipsrsealed:

Ignoring your "given" comments which have no backup data ... suppositions .... this country failed to protect the citizenry and is attempting to deflect accountability from the leadership. They were told what was coming and ignored it saying “We have it totally under control,” Jan. 22.

Grade = D