April 11: On This Day In 2020
While Trump was playing down the pandemic, other nations were doing the opposite. For example, OTDI 2020, the government of Canada approved a wage subsidy worth $52 billion to support their economy. PM Trudeau said “This situation may get worse before getting better…Let us make a commitment among ourselves, to do what needs to be done for as long as it takes.”
Trump fiddled while nearly 40 million Americans lost their jobs—a number not seen since the Great Depression—and the death count exploded. The Center for American Progress later detailed significant ways Trump’s inaction hurt the country. They noted:
His botched public health response cost countless lives and overstressed the health care system. Testing was needlessly delayed, as was production of Personal Protective Equipment. Result: By June, the U.S. suffered 25% of all deaths globally, despite our having only 4% of the world’s population.
His Administration failed to help workers retain their jobs, leading to an unemployment rate nearly four times higher than in some peer nations.
The Trump Administration and the GOP had spent the first 3 years of Trump’s term cutting for critical health safety nets; now it was apparent how those bite.
He failed to sufficiently help state and local governments, and indeed may have impeded their efforts. Thus their workers lost jobs and the states fought amongst themselves for supplies and aid.
Small businesses in particular were hammered, in part because the programs put in place to help were misconstructed and, in the end, didn’t fully have the desired impact.
Dive deeper
Reuters has the story on Canada’s efforts to bolster its workers during pandemic
@amprog enumerates the ways Trump’s inaction hurt the US economy and workers
Summary: Trump Fiddles while America Suffers; terrible response to Covid