OPINION:
In New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, the infection, hospitalization and death rates have leveled off, as they seem to be doing around the world. Five-minute tests and hydroxychloroquine, used safely against malaria for years, now proven effective against COVID 19, are at the heart of our success.
President Trump has set April 30 as the date when the shutdown can begin to shut down, and businesses can start to reopen. He is now appointing another task force focused on reopening the economy.
But first the task force must begin by revisiting the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, an Economic Security Act’s preposterous increase of $600 a week in unemployment insurance benefits, which is a monumental disincentive for employees returning to work. Sen. Lindsey Graham sought to prevent this in the CARES bill, but could only get 50 votes. Paying workers more for not working is not a good way to get them back to work, even though Americans want to get back to work.
When the employment disincentive problem is effectively addressed, the president should focus on reopening the economy state by state, from West to East, from rural areas to cities, working with all governors and mayors. The White House would work with the governor of each state, designating county by county, how the reopening would proceed.
It is time to restore more authority to the governors of our states and mayors of our cities who know better than Washington the particular needs and potentials of their unique jurisdictions. State governments hold the public health power in each state, not the federal government.
But first we must remind all workers and employees that the magnificent restoration of our economy through the Tax Reform and Jobs Act of 2017 is at risk now that Joe Biden seems to be the Democratic presidential candidate of last resort. He made it clear months ago that, if elected president, his first act would be to seek repeal of the Tax Reform Act, a huge tax increase. It is our challenge to make sure that voters — actual and prospective — are aware of this, confirming that Mr. Biden is the enemy of average working Americans and a healthy economy.
A key provision of the Tax Reform Act — immediate expensing of investments in new manufacturing plants and equipment — has been and will continue to be a driving force in the economic recovery we have experienced and will restart. The president’s Energy Independence Program, producing low-cost reliable energy will further boost blue-collar manufacturing. We must studiously avoid more trillion-dollar spending programs like CARES that are debilitating our economy. The reopening of the economy can start on the West Coast, where California, Oregon and Washington state are doing surprisingly well, and President Trump is on surprisingly good terms with the Democratic governors. Voters in the next states over would then wonder why they are not going to work. The casinos in Las Vegas will be anxious to reopen. In Arizona, spring training could restart.
That can roll eastward all the way to Texas, where the Republican governor is already ready to go. Then northward through the Plains states, all the way to the Canadian border.
The reopening can continue to roll eastward from there, all the way to Pennsylvania, where workers seem anxious to go back to work, and through the South, all the way to the Atlantic. The Republican convention is scheduled for August in Charlotte, North Carolina. Democrats are in such disarray, they may never hold their convention this year.
In each state, the economy can reopen county by county. Rural agricultural counties naturally have low infection rates. That would include the Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley in California. Restaurants, churches, farms, schools, stores and bars can reopen there first. Each state would begin reopening under an agreed, negotiated plan with the governor of the state.
Upstate New York is very different from the counties in and around the New York City metro area. Those more rural upstate New York counties could reopen first, with restaurants, churches, farms, schools, stores and bars going first.
Reopening can also start by age. Those under 40 can restart work at their own choice without further qualification. Those over 40 can restart after getting a test showing they are infection free.
President Trump can then be well on his way to his V-shaped recovery. And restoring his blue-collar boom, with record low unemployment and record wages and incomes.
• Lewis K. Uhler is founder and chairman of the National Tax Limitation Committee and Foundation. Peter J. Ferrara is a senior policy adviser for the foundation and teaches economics at Kings College in New York.
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