Tag: PPE

Biden’s Infrastructure Plan is Worth the Money

By Stephen Macaulay

The situation in the U.S. has largely been one where putting things off seems like the most cost-effective course. The operative word there is seems.

Yes, it may not be economical to, say, have a stockpile of medical ventilators or a warehouse full of N-95 masks, but then a pandemic hits and suddenly there is a lot of finger pointing while people die. Clearly, medical equipment and supplies that are not being used represents inventory that isn’t making anyone any money, but what are the economic impacts of having to suddenly source these products, both from the standpoint of the effects on those who need it and don’t have it (people dying in hospitals because the ventilators weren’t there; doctors and nurses getting sick because they don’t have sufficient PPE) and that of paying a premium for the available product?

Then there is infrastructure. Go to Japan, go to Germany, spend some time in the airports, spend some time driving on the roadways, and you’ll know that while people may chant “We’re number one!” evidence in plain sight will tell you that when it comes to infrastructure, we are anything but.

According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) in the U.S. there are 46,100 “structurally deficient” bridges. The ARTBA — which, obviously, has a vested interest in getting bridges built or fixed, so take a grain of salt and reduce that number by 10% and you’re still at 41,490 — estimates that this represents about one in three bridges and that it would take 50 years to fix all of those that require work. As for the states that require the most repair, the top five are Rhode Island at number one, followed by West Virginia (if Sen. Joe Manchin isn’t all over this, then there’s something wrong), Iowa, South Dakota and Pennsylvania. 

One would imagine that the politicians in those states would be more agitated by the crumbling state of their bridges — and let’s not forget that when bridges collapse, people can die — than they are the results of the last presidential election. But look at the list and consider what the concerns apparently are.

Of course, there is a concern for paying the infrastructure bill. But here’s the thing: everyone knows (or ought to know, were it that many of them would prefer to think that things are just fine until they aren’t) that there is a whole lot that needs to be fixed or added to the U.S. infrastructure, whether it is rebar in roads or fiber optic cables to provide high-speed Internet to rural communities. Water supplies. Utilities. Medical facilities. Roads.

While there is a reasonable concern that there will be monies wasted — in fact, it should be a foregone conclusion that there will be — at the end of the day there will be something tangible as a result. When the bridge collapses and people die, there is a rush to rebuild. The people are still dead. And the monies still get wasted.

Seems like a very false economy.

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The School Opening Conundrum

By Charles Dervarics

A few years back, I visited a high-poverty middle school during a lockdown, with students confined to classrooms and the doors closed. It also was a 90-degree day in an old building without air conditioning. Observing a math class, I couldn’t help but notice how the teacher had strategically placed 19 small and medium-size fans around the room, generating air flow to take advantage of the one open window. Clearly, she had faced similar challenges before, probably using her geometry skills for the best fan placement.

While this visit took place before COVID, I sometimes think about that school – still open during any normal academic year – when considering how fast schools should reopen in 2021. 

With medical facilities and some colleges open for months now, conventional wisdom says it shouldn’t take that long for most K-12 schools to offer more than remote learning. With PPE, partitions, masks, and a goal to vaccinate teachers, it makes sense to offer in-person learning especially for low-income youngsters with the least technology access and the most chance of falling behind. But just as achievement among schools can vary greatly, so do the facilities and crowding that teachers and students have to deal with on a daily basis.

National debate on this issue has erupted anew now that President Biden has pledged to reopen the majority of schools during his first 100 days in office. But that plan is putting the president in crosshairs with some teacher unions, who warn of the risks posed by overcrowding, substandard ventilation systems and lagging vaccination rates. 

Similar debates are playing out across the country, as typified by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s long battle with the Chicago Teachers Union on school reopening. And in San Francisco, the city just sued its own school district, citing a lack of planning and vision to get back to in-person instruction.

Meanwhile, Republicans have remained largely unified in calling for schools to re-open. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, recently called remote learning a “pale shadow of proper schooling” and said the science shows that schools can offer in-person instruction. Earlier this month, the House GOP tried to require schools to provide a reopening plan before getting funds from last December’s COVID relief bill. Democrats rebuffed that idea.

This GOP message plays well with its base. In some communities, it’s not uncommon to see residents who have replaced their Trump 2020 signs with signs pushing for school re-openings. A Republican push on this issue also may help recapture the attention of suburban parents weary of the school-at-home trend.

According to Burbio, a research and data company, about 39% of schools are currently open for traditional, in-person learning. That leaves the administration until late April – the end of Biden’s first 100 days – to reach the 50% mark.

On Feb. 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also offered a possible way forward. The agency outlined a series of steps to promote safe school openings, including use of masks by students, teachers and staff, social distancing, handwashing, strong cleaning and maintenance practices and speedy contact tracing in response to COVID cases. With the school year more than half over, those guidelines may arrive just in time.

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