4 ms·

Totally agree but not to be pedant, but state governments should have some sort of emergency provisions as well. Some people forget we're the United States for

Totally agree but not to be pedant, but state governments should have some sort of emergency provisions as well. Some people forget we're the United States for a reason. Each state is actually it's own "functional" government. Maybe we should start training state troopers as well for some of these possibilities.

untog 7y ago
I look at it the other way. Why does it all have to be done at a state level? Because that's how things have always been? Meh. There are very clear efficiencies to be gained by coordinating response to events like this at a national level, and it's not like individual states are about to declare independence. Over time the structure of the US could end up being more of a weakness than a strength. It's not as if the virus respects state borders.
- i_am_proteus 7y ago
  Because the nature of response varies so much in between different locations and local expertise is often best poised to deal with local problems. Federal resources are better for things like logistics (ship 500,000 masks to where they're needed), but New York probably knows how to get aid to New York best. Ignoring local expertise to blindly chase efficiency of large-scale enterprise is perilous.
  - untog 7y ago
    > Because the nature of response varies so much in between different locations and local expertise is often best poised to deal with local problems. Is that really true here? I can certainly see an urban vs rural divide, but beyond that I can’t see what makes individual states all that different.
    - ReptileMan 7y ago
      Population density. Climate - so far COVID 19 seems to thrive better in cold and dry conditions. Culture - not all measures will be easily sold to all. Medical fatalities - availability and capacity.
      - untog 7y ago
        Most of those are true within states as well, though. Most contain both cities and rural areas. So why is it better to separate one state’s rural areas from anothers?
    - dave5104 7y ago
      Don't want to get too political here, but if you consolidated the response to COVID-19 to the federal government and didn't allow states and county public health officials to act, we'd probably be in much worse shape. I don't like the idea of consolidating pandemic readiness to a single entity that may or may not be up to the challenge of addressing it.
    - i_am_proteus 7y ago
      It's really true everywhere. Think about: Setting up temporary hospitals; where is the available capacity, where is the existing capacity. Knowing where people live and how they move around. Who in the area is most at risk and how can their needs best be met? Knowing what logistics capabilities exist. Speaking the local dialect and being able to effectively communicate emergency plans such that they're followed. Who do you talk to to mobilize some local resource? These are all things that are best implemented locally.
- bhupy 7y ago
  Pretty much the entire root cause of the US’s weak response to the pandemic can be attributed to the poor coordination of the CDC and the FDA. That the state and local governments were able to step up and do their thing will probably be what ends up saving us.
- ReptileMan 7y ago
  Because a response would look different in the everglades in florida, densely populated NYC, LA, snow covered Wisconsin, sparse Wyoming and Alaska and the Rocky Mountains ... And federal solutions tend to gravitate to one size fits all. Or you must have 50 teams on federal payroll to tailor solution for each state - in which case they will probably duplicate already existing organizations. There is a role for the federal government - to make sure that scarce resources are procured and distributed, to fund R&D, to disseminate knowledge and know how.
- kube-system 7y ago
  There are both pros and cons to a federal system vs a unitary system, but this is not really the time to debate whether or not we chose the right system of government, nor do I think the logistics for responding to global pandemics is the most important criteria for selecting a form of government.
mark_l_watson 7y ago
By 'local' I meant local and state governments, i.e., non-federal. Sorry, I didn't phrase that well.

untog 7y ago

I look at it the other way. Why does it all have to be done at a state level? Because that's how things have always been? Meh. There are very clear efficiencies to be gained by coordinating response to events like this at a national level, and it's not like individual states are about to declare independence. Over time the structure of the US could end up being more of a weakness than a strength. It's not as if the virus respects state borders.

i_am_proteus 7y ago
Because the nature of response varies so much in between different locations and local expertise is often best poised to deal with local problems. Federal resources are better for things like logistics (ship 500,000 masks to where they're needed), but New York probably knows how to get aid to New York best. Ignoring local expertise to blindly chase efficiency of large-scale enterprise is perilous.
- untog 7y ago
  > Because the nature of response varies so much in between different locations and local expertise is often best poised to deal with local problems. Is that really true here? I can certainly see an urban vs rural divide, but beyond that I can’t see what makes individual states all that different.
  - ReptileMan 7y ago
    Population density. Climate - so far COVID 19 seems to thrive better in cold and dry conditions. Culture - not all measures will be easily sold to all. Medical fatalities - availability and capacity.
    - untog 7y ago
      Most of those are true within states as well, though. Most contain both cities and rural areas. So why is it better to separate one state’s rural areas from anothers?
  - dave5104 7y ago
    Don't want to get too political here, but if you consolidated the response to COVID-19 to the federal government and didn't allow states and county public health officials to act, we'd probably be in much worse shape. I don't like the idea of consolidating pandemic readiness to a single entity that may or may not be up to the challenge of addressing it.
  - i_am_proteus 7y ago
    It's really true everywhere. Think about: Setting up temporary hospitals; where is the available capacity, where is the existing capacity. Knowing where people live and how they move around. Who in the area is most at risk and how can their needs best be met? Knowing what logistics capabilities exist. Speaking the local dialect and being able to effectively communicate emergency plans such that they're followed. Who do you talk to to mobilize some local resource? These are all things that are best implemented locally.
bhupy 7y ago
Pretty much the entire root cause of the US’s weak response to the pandemic can be attributed to the poor coordination of the CDC and the FDA. That the state and local governments were able to step up and do their thing will probably be what ends up saving us.
ReptileMan 7y ago
Because a response would look different in the everglades in florida, densely populated NYC, LA, snow covered Wisconsin, sparse Wyoming and Alaska and the Rocky Mountains ... And federal solutions tend to gravitate to one size fits all. Or you must have 50 teams on federal payroll to tailor solution for each state - in which case they will probably duplicate already existing organizations. There is a role for the federal government - to make sure that scarce resources are procured and distributed, to fund R&D, to disseminate knowledge and know how.
kube-system 7y ago
There are both pros and cons to a federal system vs a unitary system, but this is not really the time to debate whether or not we chose the right system of government, nor do I think the logistics for responding to global pandemics is the most important criteria for selecting a form of government.

mark_l_watson 7y ago

By 'local' I meant local and state governments, i.e., non-federal. Sorry, I didn't phrase that well.