Mar 09, 2020

Good morning from Washington, D.C.! With the coronavirus scare reaching a fever pitch, it’s important for both public health officials and the general public alike to understand the facts. Heritage’s James Carafano and Peter Brookes separate fact from fiction. Last week, Heritage’s newest visiting fellow, Princeton University professor Allen Guelzo, countered a misinformed attack against Abraham Lincoln by the New York Times’ 1619 Project. Be sure to read his full article. Lastly, with Super Tuesday behind us, at least one of the presidential candidates still in the running has plans to make America’s health care system exactly like Canada’s socialized system. Read why that would be a catastrophic mistake.

What Does the Spread of Coronavirus Mean for the Future?
The global panic over coronavirus continues. Last week, the stock market dropped, and Congress passed an $8.3 billion coronavirus funding package to aid prevention and response efforts (which was far from perfect). With cases in the U.S. on the rise, the need for preventative measures and a healthy understanding of this outbreak have never been clearer. Thankfully, such measures and understanding are possible, according to James Carafano, vice president of Heritage's Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy and the E.W. Richardson fellow. “The money lost in the stock market can be made back when the markets bounce back. But the lives lost to the disease will never be restored,” Carafano writes. “For now, every country needs to prepare—to be ready to respond if the coronavirus rears its head on its turf.” Read more about what the next few weeks are likely to bring concerning the coronavirus and listen to our Heritage Explains interview with expert Peter Brookes, who discusses how other countries have handled the outbreak.

The 1619 Project Spreads Lies About America’s Historical Heroes
The New York Times’ 1619 Project is a revisionist version of history set on smearing the reputations of our Founders—and even Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, the 1619 Project is gaining ground in our nation’s schools. But does this curriculum have any merit, or is it just another partisan tool to push leftist ideology on our children and exacerbate cultural divides? Princeton University professor Allen Guelzo, Ph.D., a new visiting scholar in Heritage’s Feulner Institute, skewers the 1619 Project in his new op-ed featured in the New York Post. “History—and journalism—are supposed to ask as many questions as the subject demands. But questions are ­exactly what the 1619 Project fails to ask about Abraham Lincoln—and about our history,” Guelzo writes. Read more of Guelzo’s full commentary here.

Canadian Health Care Isn’t the Utopia Leftists Say It Is
Sen. Bernie Sanders recently lauded Canada’s socialist health care system as an affordable example of what America could be with Medicare for All. That claim buckles pretty quickly under the weight of the facts, according to Peter St. Onge, Ph.D., a senior economist at the Montreal Economic Institute. “No more out-of-pocket expenses? In reality, Canadians' out-of-pocket health costs are nearly identical to what Americans pay—a difference of roughly $15 per month. In return, Canadians pay up to 50% more in taxes than Americans, with government health costs alone accounting for $9,000 in additional taxes per year,” St. Onge writes. Read the facts about Canada’s expensive health care system and how much more expensive Medicare for All would be.

The Heritage Foundation’s presence was widely felt at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference that took place near Washington, D.C. last week. In total, Heritage had more than 23 speakers, including four who spoke on CPAC’s main stage. Read more about Heritage at CPAC.

Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James and Distinguished Visiting Fellow Rick Dearborn spoke to conservatives in Naples, Florida.

Our American Stories, an alternative to NPR, featured “the back story” of Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James. The interview covers her years growing up in poverty during segregation and how those moments shaped the rest of her life. Listen here.

Luke Coffey, director of Heritage’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, will testify before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on how to move forward with the peace plan in Afghanistan. Learn more.

Kevin Dayaratna, a senior statistician and research programmer in Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis will testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on climate change. Learn more. 

Jesse Merriam, a visiting fellow in Heritage’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics, was appointed to become a member of the National Council on Humanities. Learn more.

A candidate from China was defeated in a bid to take control of a U.N. agency last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization, a move that Heritage’s Brett Schaefer advocated. “China is the world’s pre-eminent intellectual property thief,” wrote Schaefer, the Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs, in a report last month, “The Director General of WIPO has extraordinary discretion and authority, and a Chinese national in charge of WIPO could facilitate Chinese access to proprietary information. The U.S. should raise this serious concern with businesses and other governments and seek election of an alternative Director General who will respect WIPO’s mission and responsibilities.” Read more about the defeat and Heritage's influence.

Tuesday at noon, Heritage will host Manisha Singh, assistant secretary of state for the Economics and Business Affairs Bureau, who will discuss how to advance women’s economic empowerment. Watch the event live.

Wednesday at 10 a.m., Robert O’Brien, assistant to the president for National Security Affairs, will discuss his current work to streamline the National Security Council and making information coming to the president more focused and relevant. The event is part of the Annual Col. James D. McGinley Lecture Series. Watch the event live.

Thursday at 2 p.m., Heritage and the Global Peace Foundation will co-host a discussion on human rights in North Korea. Featured guest speakers include Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of Committee for Human Rights in North Korea; Kang Cheol-Hwan, former prisoner of a North Korean prison camp and published author; and Eiko Kawasaki, chairwoman of Action for Korea United. Watch the event live.

Here are highlights from Fox Business, Fox News, and CNN featuring Heritage experts. This week, they touched on hot topics like coronavirus, the Green New Deal, FISA, and more. Watch the video.