Sunday School Extra Credit 5/17/20

After yesterday's Sunday School classroom adventures with Peter "they sent hundreds of thousands of Chinese on aircraft around the world to seed the virus" Navarro and Alex "I'm Still Here" Azar, I thought we'd take a different turn for your extra credit assignment.

Jake Tapper chatted with California's Governor Gavin Newsom on CNN's State of the Union sat down with California Governor Gavin Newsom. Let's take a look.

Tapper mentioned California's $54B deficit, and shared Kevin Hassett's comments that it's premature to talk about pushing aid to states (as the House did in their bill).  Hassett also said that the president is "willing to help cover" some of the unexpected costs of the pandemic, but not in bailing out states; Tapper wondered what Newsom thought about that.

The gov talked about the $25B surplus they had a year ago, and that they've been "managing our budget effectively, efficiently, paying down our long-term obligations and other good news, and then the virus hit.

It's social responsibility, at a time when states - not just California - large and small, across this country, cities and counties, large and small, all across the country are facing unprecedented budgetary stress. It is incumbent upon the federal government to help these states through this difficult time.

Tapper asked how much of the crisis the state's in now is "due to preexisting financial obligations." In a word? None. Newsom had projected another surplus in his budget earlier this year; they had paid off old debt, and they were paying down the long-term pension debt. He even agreed that the state's unfunded liabilities were too high, but said this is about operating accounts, not debt. The deficit is a "direct result of the global pandemic..."

On whether Newsom anticipates we'll have a vaccine by the end of the year, and if he's confident we have the infrastructure to both manufacture and administer one? He expressed concern about the manufacturing capacity, about "global manufacturing capacity at scale" and also about the logistics around administering a vaccine.

And so I am -- I'm hopeful. And I think it's good to be optimistic, but we have to also be sobered by the reality of the application. Even if you have a vaccine, its ability to be distributed is challenging. And always we must be considerate of an infrastructure that protects the most vulnerable, not just the well-heeled and connected.

Next, they talked about people who complain about states that took aggressive action in shutting things down, and Newsom expressed empathy and understanding of people's anxiety and anger, but that all of the information that was available - and it was "universal" not red or blue - was that social distancing was the one thing that could be done. Everyone, from the president on down, he said, thought that was the right thing to do.

The question is, how do you toggle back and make meaningful modifications to the stay-at-home order? And that's where we're now in this point of friction and a lot of frustration in cities, counties, not just states, all across the country.

Some California schools may not open this fall, but many will, he said. It depends on whether they can keep the kids, the staff and faculty, and the communities safe. And given that each community, each region, they're all different, they won't all move forward at the same time.

 So, I think it's a question that is a difficult one to answer in absolute terms. There's nuance. But we are moving forward, in hope and expectation that we can start that school year very strategically and methodically, again, based upon the health as a prime frame of reference in terms of those decisions.

Newsom said they're monitoring children for the inflammatory issues that are associated with the virus, and that they've not seen the kind of outbreaks that others are seeing. But, as a dad of four, he's "deeply anxious" about keeping them healthy and safe. And, he said

Those that claim we know what we know about this pandemic, it was 90 days ago no one even knew the word COVID, let alone what corona actually meant... we have to be humbled by what we don't know, and we have to be open to argument, interested in evidence. You cannot be ideological about this disease, and nor -- forgive me for belaboring -- can we be naive.

Newsom also said that "the reality is, about 75% of our economy is already open," with some modifications (physical distancing and face coverings, he mentioned). Lots of counties are in phase two, meaning restaurants, offices, manufacturing, and warehouses are open. But huge gatherings, stadiums filled with people and whatnot?  "We are moving into that very cautiously...to make sure we are not promoting things or promising things we can't deliver."

Finally, on Tesla and Elon Musk opening his plant in defiance of the stay-at-home order, and the county letting him do it, Tapper asked if the company got special treatment. Again, in a word? No. 

They challenged the stay-at-home order that Alameda County had in place. And I will remind you, the state had lifted the manufacturing requirements, so other manufacturers around the state were able to operate. Alameda County had not. They intended to on Monday, on the 18th of May. 

(Tesla) tested that. They came together. And they were able to work out a framework of modifications to keep their workers safe that they believe will have this issue resolved by as early as Monday.

Newsom said that cooperation is the point, really. People are being challenged across the country, "every single day, governors are being challenged, local health officials are being challenged" but

...it's a spirit of collaboration. Those that continue to pursue things that put people in harm's risk, you have to have stepped-up efforts of enforcement and sanction. But that was not the case in respect to Tesla.

Empathy. Humility. Anxiety. Cooperation. Understanding. Community.  And not a hint of conspiracy theory anywhere to be seen.  Imagine that. 

Stay safe, stay healthy.