Science and the Economy

Antony van Leeuwenhoeck was an amateur scientist in The Netherlands in 1676.  He was interested in magnification and had built one of the earliest microscopes.  With this microscope he discovered miniature organisms moving around in water; these later became known as bacteria. At the time, many did not believe his reports, but when other scientists were able to get the same results in 1680, he was awarded membership in the Royal Society of London – the prestigious scientific group of that age as well as ours. Scientists deal in facts. Discoveries that they make are validated by their peers. Published reports are reviewed by members of the same scientific field to be certain that conclusions seem to meet standards. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci has earned his reputation over many years as an immunologist who has worked on HIV/AIDS, Ebola and Zika along with many other conditions, as he served as Director of the Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease at the NIH. He has been advising the COVID-19 task force since it started.  Right away he disagreed with the pronouncement that a vaccine was on the way, trying to point out that vaccines take years to develop, not months. However lately, members of the Administration have been distancing themselves from his statements and have basically tried to hush him up because he is not speaking the happy talk of the proscribed talking points voiced by the president and vice president. Recently he was quoted as saying that he expected the daily incidence totals to exceed 100,000 soon; this was when they were below 50,000. It is quite important that decisions about the virus be made based on scientific fact.  The president said the heat of summer would make the virus go away, it didn’t.  He said to take Hydroxychloroquine as a preventive that worked; it didn’t – in fact it may have been responsible for many deaths from heart irregularities. He said masks were not helpful; that has been disproven.  Wishful thinking cannot make this virus stop spreading.  Viewers of conservative media have disregarded warnings and believed, more than most, that the virus was like a flu. Only drastic actions such as those taken by New York City and many world capitols as they shut down commerce and transportation and mandated quarantines, masks and staying at home has seemed successful in preventing person to person spread. As a nation, we must regard settled science as true and follow the guidelines set out by Dr. Fauci and others.

Many on the right spoke out against the trampling of their “rights” as businesses were closed and commerce slowed.  People yelled at clerks about mask wearing.  Yet, as we have seen in recent weeks, across the South and Southwest in states that did not have gradual re-openings based on case reports, a resurgence far greater than the first wave in those areas.  Yesterday Florida reported more than 15,000 new cases in 24 hours. ICU beds are filling up as mayors and some governors try to get ahead of the curve with urgent mask orders and closing of bars and beaches. The states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California are among the hardest hit right now even as parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast are gradually re-opening. (Texas and Florida each are reporting over 250,000 total cases according to the CDC.) Disney World re-opened in Florida yesterday.

New COVID-19 totals this week: United States:   Cases - 3,236,130 – totals deaths: 134,572

New cases last 24 hours: 62, 918

Totals for the state of Maryland: cases - 73,109 -  total deaths 3,188 New cases: 557 Starting to rise again somewhat.

Deaths do appear to be slowing down, but that is noted to be a lagging indicator; the larger number of affected younger patients may also alter those tallies.

But, if some would have their way – all businesses and schools would open right now.  As the Lt. Governor of Texas noted way back in March, elderly folks would not mind dying if it meant they were saving the economy.  As I remember, many elder folks, myself included, strongly disagreed.  Now this week, the president and education secretary are demanding that schools open on schedule in the fall regardless of the status of viral illness in their states.  They know that the economy will not get back on track if schools are not fully open and working parents have those and day care centers to depend upon.  Oddly enough, Sweden found that by never really shutting down, that it did not gain a higher economic advantage and, in fact, they have had a higher death toll due to that practice.

Now to look at schools; yes, the distance learning was not a perfect solution, but many school systems had almost no notice before they were closed down.  There is talk of starting back up with social distancing and masks in the fall, with no lunch rooms and school bus seat separation, but these are not perfect solutions either. Some schools are discussing hybrid solutions, with students in classrooms a few days a week and distance learning other days. Teachers that I know have voiced mixed feelings about going back to face to face teaching, even as they say they miss their students. While we would not wish to sacrifice our seniors on the altar of commerce, neither should we allow our children and grandchildren to be brought into classrooms with an uncertain status about the virus, just so the president can be touting a better economy when he stands for re-election.  (All his bluster and threats of financial ruins for school districts are just that; schools are primarily funded by local and state control.)

Perhaps states where the virus is quiescent, can open schools as long as they can be deep cleaned and air freshened frequently.  But what about aging school buildings with inadequate heating and cooling systems, how well is their air exchange working; perhaps those closed spaces are viral incubators, how will we know? It seems to me there are lots of unanswered questions still to be explored.

Higher education was also threatened by this administration when the status of their international students’ visas was jeopardized by an immigration department decree that noted that foreign students who did not take on campus classes would have their visas terminated and they would have to return to their home countries.  This happened as many colleges and universities were planning to continue distance learning for the Fall semester.  Harvard and MIT have both sued the government about this decision, hoping to get it overturned. International students usually pay full tuition fees, with no in state discounts, so losing that income would stress many schools.

So much news this week, Timely Tidbits are brief:

•        The president commuted the sentence of his long-term fix-it man, Roger Stone, as he was set to report to prison for a four- year term; most observers view this as a payback for Stone’s silence. Some think Michael Flynn is next.
•        Special prosecutor Robert Mueller, in a Washington Post op-ed, said Stone was guilty and should have gone to jail. In an unusual public pronouncement, he defended his probe of the Russian campaign interference in 2016.
•        The Supreme Court denied the presidents’ claim of immunity from investigations and declared that his documents can be reviewed under certain circumstances, indicating that no man is above the law.  About time someone said that!

So, with that, I will close for now – there never seems time enough to say all that I want to each week. I will leave you with a quote from Chief Justice John Roberts as he referred to another Chief Justice, John Marshall, who said: “A king is born to power and can do no wrong. The President, by contrast is ‘of the people’ and subject to the law”. A small victory for the Rule of Law as was discussed here recently.

Stay safe out there. Peace.