We face an international emergency. Here in the U.S., as in the rest of the world, we need leadership to match.

Both the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it is causing demand more than half-measures. Our survival and our recovery depend on a comprehensive plan of action.

At a minimum, such action should include a universal guarantee of free testing, treatment, and vaccination as soon as it becomes available; paid family, sick, and medical leave; ample unemployment insurance; an immediate freeze on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shutoffs; the suspension of farm and student loan payments; an expansion of food and housing assistance; and sufficient financial support to keep families and small businesses afloat. Less ambitious efforts will not avert collapse.

When this pandemic ends—and it will—we should not retreat to the status quo. A system that leaves one-quarter of the population uninsured or underinsured puts our nation at risk.

We should instead seize the opportunity to ensure health care for all and build an economy that works for everyone. With any luck, even those who now oppose the Green New Deal will recognize the value of putting millions of Americans back to work.

At a moment of catastrophic peril, history will not reward timidity. Neither should we.

Andrew Romanoff