The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has been sounding the alarm about the World Health Organization (WHO) for many years. We launched IGO Watch to educate taxpayers and elected (and unelected) officials in the United States and around the world about how the WHO is wasting money, conducting phony science, and generally not looking out for global public health. Their lackluster response and kowtowing to the Chinese government during the COVID-19 pandemic has brought their mismanagement clearly into focus. We were thrilled when President Trump announced on April 14 that he will be halting funding until a full investigation has been completed. We also reached out to Congress in a coalition letter asking them to investigate the WHO’s malfeasance (see letter here). The response from Congress has been overwhelming and we expect to see major movement in the coming weeks and months. The clock is ticking for the WHO, and if I were Dr. Tedros (head of the WHO), I wouldn’t be booking any more first-class travel and luxury accommodations on the taxpayer’s dime. The WHO’s reign of error is finally coming under serious scrutiny.
Profiles in Courage…Taiwan
This week’s Profile in Courage goes to a country, Taiwan. Quite odd, isn’t it? Not really, considering that Taiwan has been a beacon of free markets for decades despite being under the oppressive shadow of China. This Profile in Courage is awarded to them because they tried to warn the world about the Coronavirus but were silenced by the WHO and China. Taiwan identified an emerging public health crisis as its belligerent neighbor was busy covering up Coronavirus cases and threatening doctors such as Dr. Li Wenliang who sounded the alarm. Around December 31, Dr. Li (who the Taxpayers Protection Alliance already identified as a Profile in Courage two weeks ago) was busy telling anybody who would listen that Wuhan-area patients were experiencing strange, SARS-like symptoms. As “People’s Republic” police detained the whistleblower and forced a retraction, Taiwanese officials caught wind of the potential pandemic and quickly wrote a letter to the WHO to request more information. The global bureaucracy confirmed that it had received Taiwan’s e-mail, but failed to respond.
Despite being a beacon of free markets (and hopefully soon a trading partner with the United States), Taiwan has repeatedly been refused membership in the ranks of the WHO. New York University scholars Yu-Jie Chen and Jerome Cohen note that, “due to the PRC’s great-power status, including its seat as a permanent UN Security Council member, Beijing has been able to impose its ‘One China’ policy upon the world” at the expense of Taiwanese inclusion. Despite the WHO’s refusal to acknowledge the island-nation, Taiwan didn’t let a spurred email get in the way of a rapid, comprehensive response to COVID-19. In mid-January, the country dispatched two Taiwanese health experts to examine the situation in Wuhan firsthand and assess the level of danger posed by the novel Coronavirus. By January 16, they found that human-to-human transmission was likely quickly occurring despite the WHO’s tweet just two days prior that, “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China.” The PRC eventually acknowledged on January 20 that human-to-human transmission was indeed occurring, but the admission that Taiwan was right still wasn’t enough to get the country a seat at the WHO’s January 22 emergency meeting. As the organization decided on January 22 to delay calling the pandemic-to-be a “public health emergency,” Taiwan was busy formulating its own response. On the same day as the inconclusive emergency meeting, the Taiwanese government announced that its Central Epidemic Command Center was planning and conducting hospital infection control drills and ramping up the availability of surgical masks.
At the time, Taiwan authorities were already inspecting planes flying onto the island and subjecting passengers to health inspections. Taiwan’s early, decisive actions led to incredibly low COVID-19 infection and death rates even after accounting for the country’s population size. Romania and Chile, for example, have each seen over 20 times more Coronavirus cases than Taiwan despite having smaller populations. The WHO should be praising Taiwan, but still insists on shunning the Asian democracy. One of the more shameful acts was when WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward hung up a video call with a journalist when asked repeatedly about why Taiwan continues to be excluded from the public health body. Aylward first attempted to say that he hadn’t heard the question, but eventually just ended the interview.
It is time for the world to recognize Taiwan’s contributions to public health. Taiwan deserves to be applauded right now and stands as an exemplary Profile in Courage.
USPS’ Bloated Bailout Request: Return to Sender
By now, the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) financial problems are old news. Last year, the agency reported an astounding $8.8 billion net loss, and the USPS has more than $140 billion in unfunded liabilities. Now of course, times are tough, and it is understandable for the agency to get some temporary assistance to cover their estimated $13 billion shortfall caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. But instead of making this reasonable request, USPS leadership is asking for a $75 billion blank check from taxpayers. Understandably, President Trump isn’t too eager to fulfill that astounding request.
At an April 7 news conference, President Trump highlighted the agency’s longstanding problems and dismissed allegations by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) that Trump has kneecapped the USPS by refusing to support increased agency funding. The President responded, “This is the new one. I’m the demise of the Postal Service. I’ll tell you who’s the demise of the Postal Service, are these internet companies that give their stuff to the Postal Service.” President Trump certainly has a point, and it’s more important than ever for the USPS to kibosh its opaque pricing policies.
“Competitive products” from Amazon and Walmart are contributing on average $15 billion per year more in revenue to the USPS than they did a decade ago. This is a far cry from the $19 billion decline in annual revenue from “market dominant products” (i.e. birthday cards). While it’s hard to say for sure exactly how much Amazon is paying USPS to ship its packages to consumers’ doorsteps, educated guesses suggest that the e-commerce giant receives approximately a 60 percent discount off normal postage prices.
The USPS offering discounts for buying postage in bulk isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as prices cover delivery costs. But the agency has a track-record in systematically underestimating its package delivery costs. In the USPS FY 2019 Annual Compliance Report, costs attributed to “Competitive Products Property and Equipment Assets” were under $5 million. This miniscule figure amounts to just .03 percent of total net equipment and property assets reported by the agency in their FY 2019 10-K report, making package delivery costs little more than a rounding error in total stated USPS costs.
This is obviously ridiculous, because new USPS investments such as roomy delivery trucks and package-centric scanners are specifically geared toward the agency’s “competitive products” line rather than traditional mail delivery. But until these costs are accounted for in the USPS’ pricing methodologies, the agency will continue to bleed cash and there will be ludicrous bailout requests. In exchange for any limited increase in borrowing authority, Congress and the Trump administration must demand accountability and a sounder pricing structure from the USPS.
Blogs:
Monday: The EPA Is Literally Making People Sick
Tuesday: TPA Thanks President Trump For Strong Leadership In Halting Funds To The World Health Organization
Wednesday: Coalition Supports Immediate Investigation Into The World Health Organization
Thursday: Growing National Healthcare Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Bureaucratic Price Controls in Next Relief Bill
Friday: Profiles in Courage: Taiwan
Media:
April 13, 2020: The National Interest mentioned TPA in their article, “Conservative leaders Sign Open Letter Urging Trump to Accept Free Trade with Taiwan.”
April 13, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the Kirwan Commission’s future.
April 13, 2020: Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, “The EPA Is Literally Making People Sick.”
April 13, 2020: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on the The Paul Pacelli radio show (WICC 600 AM, Hartford, CT) to talk about the World Health Organization.
April 14, 2020: FEE ran TPA’s op-ed, “Trump to Halt US Funding for WHO, Following a Precedent Set by President Carter.”
April 14, 2020: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their story, “Battle Shaping Up in Congress Over Including Non-CCP Virus Spending Projects in Next Relief Package.”
April 15, 2020: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on the The Vernuccio and Novak Report radio show (American News & Media, National) to talk about the COVID-19 Stimulus.
April 15, 2020: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on the The Vernuccio and Novak Report radio show (KZIM 960 AM and KSIM 1400 AM St. Louis, MO) to talk about the World Health Organization.
April 15, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “To Reopen America, FDA Must Allow At-Home Testing.”
April 15, 2020: Maryland Matters ran TPA’s op-ed, “Gov. Hogan Must Help Maryland Social Work Students Out of Limbo.”
April 15, 2020: I appeared on “The David Webb Show” (nationally syndicated) to discuss the World Health Organization.
April 15, 2020: I appeared on “The Lars Larson Show” (nationally syndicated) to discuss the World Health Organization.
April 15, 2020: The Orange County Register (Orange County, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The San Bernardino Sun (San Bernardino, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Daily Bulletin (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The San Gabriel Valley Tribune (San Gabriel, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Los Angeles Daily News (Woodland Hills, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Whittier Daily News (Whittier, CA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “One benefit of tort reform? Less pollution.”
April 15, 2020: The Nevada Independent ran TPA’s op-ed, “Officials say no short-term problems with Las Vegas stadium funding, but long-term pressure could mount.”
April 15, 2020: I appeared on NTD Television to talk about the World Health Organization.
April 16, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the recent unemployment numbers.
April 16, 2020: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “The President Delivers the Truth About the Post Office.”
April 16, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Drivers: The Unsung Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
April 16, 2020: The PanAm Post ran TPA’s op-ed, “Trump retira fondos a la OMS siguiendo el ejemplo de Jimmy Carter.”
April 16, 2020: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on Fox 5 (Washington, D.C.) to discuss the proposed bailout of the USPS.
April 17, 2020: The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Postal Service needs new pricing policies, not a bailout.”
April 17, 2020: The Consumer Postal Council ran TPA’s blog, “The President Delivers The Truth About The Post Office.”
April 17, 2020: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “FCC Boosts Telehealth Funding in Effort to Aid Coronavirus Response.”
April 17, 2020: Ross appeared on “Nights with John Stanley” (2GB; Sydney, Australia) to talk about the World Health Organization.
April 17, 2020: TPA was mentioned in RealClearHealth's story, "A Proposal to Cut Doctors’ Pay in the Midst of a Pandemic."
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
