We are in the age of the coronavirus, the perfect storm that will reign terror on our fragile economy. Quarantines prevent people from going to work, disrupting supply chains and shocking productivity. Fear of catching the virus alongside the push for social distancing slashes aggregate demand as money circulated through restaurants, shopping centers, and the entire travel industry is curtailed. This comes alongside upward inflationary pressures from a limited supply of labor and production. A frightening word comes to mind: stagflation.

There is no law requiring that politicians, especially those aspiring to or holding the office of U.S. president, be required to submit their tax records or their medical information. Nor should there be.

If writers like David Holahan want to blame President Donald Trump for the coronavirus death toll, it would only be fair to blame other politicians like Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut as well. The death toll per capita in both these states is well above the national average. Rather than placing blame on politicians, it would be much more productive to look at the facts that show that the U.S. health care system has done a very good job.

Public figures from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Madonna have declared that the coronavirus epidemic is the great equalizer. The phrase is echoed by those who want to believe this catastrophe can unite us as a country. But COVID-19 does not put us all in the same boat, rich and poor, black and white. Quality healthcare and protection from disease has always depended on income and race. This has been true at least since the beginning of the 20th century. 

One day last week, on my daily walk to visit the great blue heron rookery less than a mile from my house, a man drove past me – an older white man. He rolled down his window and warned me – an older white woman – to watch out for a man up ahead around the corner, who, he said, looked pretty sketchy. As I rounded the bend, I saw a very nice-looking, normal-looking young African-American man standing with his bicycle – I’m a cyclist, too! – looking quietly toward the row of heron nests in the tops of the pine trees.