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Unsanitized: The COVID-19 Report for Nov. 25, 2020

Being Thankful in a Pandemic

Out of the tragedy comes a few distinct advances

 

Corn, the turkey pardoned at the White House on Tuesday, is very
thankful. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

First Response

Tomorrow is one of America's stranger Thanksgivings. A holiday that is
entirely predicated on getting together with family and sharing a meal
indoors is happening at a time when that's literally the worst thing
you can do. The pull of American tradition is so strong that I'm
surprised at the fact that air traffic is down
even as
much as 50 percent this year. Thanksgiving seems perfectly designed to
spread the virus far and wide.

And yet, I'm tempted, in spite of myself, to think about what the
pandemic has revealed to Americans, and how it might change them. We
have a dysfunctional political system, an economy ruled by a few at the
top, and a cultural schism designed to keep the working class atomized
and at each other's throats. Yet for several months, we've had a
common experience, a rarity in this day and age. And I do think that's
going to leave a few lasting lessons among the public. Whether that
filters up into our politics is another matter, but over time that's a
typical trajectory. So here's a short list of a few meager measures of
hope we can take out of this tragedy.

The pandemic has made us a more social people.

That sounds paradoxical, given the fact that so many of us have locked
away in our homes for the past eight months. Of course, the fact that so
many have found this difficult is a nod to our deep-seeded social
structures. Nevertheless, our fragmented society has resisted a common
story and even common interaction not channeled through the intensifying
filter of social media. That is ending.

If nothing else, the endless parade of Zoom calls has brought us in
closer contact with people that might have dropped off our radar
screens. I know I personally have heard from more long-lost or forgotten
acquaintances during the pandemic than the previous several years.
We're remembering that staring at a screen can distract us from what
matters, and I think after the pandemic relents there's going to be a
burst of social activity, of neighborhood congregation, a reversal of
the "Bowling Alone" dynamic that had been prying us apart. That
bodes somewhat better for politics, too: with social congregation comes
the discovery of common interests.

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The pandemic has helped us better understand the dignity of work.

"Essential workers" has now become a punch line, mainly because
businesses have determined that expressing gratitude is all they have to
do rather than paying people what they're worth. This rundown
from Judd Legum and Tensim
Zekeria shows the disconnect between the businesses that have prospered
in the crisis and the meager increases in pay they've given their
workers.

Still, at the level of ordinary Americans, I think there's a growing
recognition of the value of many invisible or unremarkable jobs, which
eventually will put pressure on successful firms like this. You hear it
spill out of Joe Biden every so often when he talks about people
"busting their neck" (he is the only human to use this expression)
for not enough pay. Minimum wage increases are incredibly successful
because people know that work is devalued and neglected. The pandemic
shined a bright light on that, and can help spur worker-led movements.

We Can't Do This Without You

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of investment in science.

The incredible advance toward a vaccine was only made possible by
government spending. Operation Warp Speed is just geek-friendly branding
on the delivery of billions of dollars in R&D funding and purchasing
guarantees to spur companies to direct their focus. There's no reason
that cannot be replicated for Alzheimer's or cancer research or to
fill any number of other scientific gaps.

Furthermore, while all we hear about is the tearing down of science
because it's more outrageous and moves clicks, I think science has
been elevated in the crisis. Quack cures have a rich history and
tradition in America; what's new is that everyone knows the name of
the nation's top infectious disease expert. Scientific inquiry has
lessened in its presence in American life the past 20 years; I think
that's on a new trajectory now.

Tumultuous life events like this always have a disruptive quality,
changing the nature of our relationships, our social structures, and
eventually our politics. Take an erratic president and the sinking
tribalism out of the equation; the virus has caused some shocks that are
valuable, amid the tragedy.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Odds and Sods

There's been a development in the ongoing spat between Steve Mnuchin
and the Federal Reserve. Mnuchin has now "taken" $455 billion in
funds that was appropriated for Fed credit facilities and direct lending
to companies and segregated them
,
somehow, in the Treasury General Fund. According to Bloomberg, this
means that the money would require a congressional authorization to be
unlocked and put to use, by the Fed or anyone else.

This doesn't appear to be required, despite what Mnuchin and the
Republicans claim. A careful analysis by Peter Conti-Brown

indicates that the Fed has authority well beyond the CARES Act to make
loans, and Treasury is making a choice withdrawing any funds.
Furthermore, it's completely unclear that the Fed needs to use a
deposit base from Treasury to make the aforementioned loans (the New
York Fed's John Williams appears to agree
).
Even more furthermore, this is all an accounting gimmick, as Nathan
Tankus explains
.
Janet Yellen can rescind Mnuchin's action, but it's not really
necessary for her to do so; the Fed might want political cover, but they
have plenty of authority on their own. I don't presume that the Fed
will do much that's useful with the money even if Yellen gave it back,
so I see this as mostly a sideshow
.

**NOTE: Unsanitized will be off Thursday and Friday. Come back Monday to
see how many days it's been without a bailout oversight chair!**

Days Without a Bailout Oversight Chair

243
.

Today I Learned

* The government is claiming it can get 6.4 million doses of Pfizer's
vaccine out

within 24 hours of an emergency use authorization. (Washington Post)

* Meanwhile, we're in a triage phase

for intensive care wards around the country. (Talking Points Memo)

* Case growth is actually kind of hitting a plateau
,
but enough get-togethers on Thanksgiving will sustain this surge.
(Calculated Risk)

* An incredible fraud scheme at California's unemployment system led
to benefits being granted to, among others, Scott Peterson
,
who's on death row for killing his wife. (Los Angeles Times)

* Comcast implementing data caps

in the middle of a time of forced Zoom calls and remote learning?
(Gizmodo)

* OANN promotes a fake COVID cure, gets a YouTube suspension
.
(CNBC)

* The Room Rater/Jeb Bush fight

we didn't know we needed. (Miami New Times)

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