> Health outcomes and science – not politics – will guide these decisions.
And I definitely promise you that my news organization will have no bias or slant, and will only report facts.
California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
41–50 of 319 posts
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#42I love the United States' flexible decentralized model. Different states have sufficient autonomy to tinker and try different approaches, allowing the best ideas to emerge from the collective. It's one reason why the US is such a dynamic place, similar to Europe but with the additional benefit of unified language, culture (broadly), economy, and high level regulations. It's truly a great system.
It's not necessarily as flexible as to encompass such sub-federal cooperation: "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_Stat...
I'm curious if these recently announced state pacts will be challenged in court. But legal or illegal, it doesn't excuse the poor job of federal management.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#43Possibly relevant: > President Trump tweeted Monday that the "decision to open up the states" following shutdown measures taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus lies with him, not governors. https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-reopening-governors-...
Is this me or does this someone who wants control but not responsibility?
Ah, and the flipside that many of us are familiar with - all the responsibility, none of the authority to fix it. Great recipe for burning down entire companies and driving away talent.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#44As someone who lives in one of these states, I'm nonplussed at the announcement. It doesn't really seem to say anything concrete that I can tell. "We've agreed that we will use metrics...we are still deciding what these metrics will be." I thought the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order (in Washington state) wasn't unreasonable and wasn't just political babble, but I don't really know what to make of this piece. Anyone wan…
I think you're correct, but the announcement is still welcome. People are gonna be waiting forever for any semblance of federal guidance, so at least these 3 states has decided they'll make calls together.
In this case, I would be vastly more comfortable if the answer were "No, Doreen, you really are as dumb as you think. Their plan is 1... 2.... 3...."
The US governmental system has a long history of injecting bureaucratic nonsense that takes on a life of its own and ends up with outcomes like "teaching to the test" instead of being a net benefit.
I would feel differently if this were an announcement of a joint task force for sharing data to help each state make the best decisions possible. But this sounds to me like it will just make it harder for each state to make a decision on their own and that it probably doesn't really add any value. And that concerns me.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#45If wonder if Barr will sue, arguing that the pact violates the Interstate Compact Clause, especially considering that Trump has recently tweeted that only he gets to decide when to lift restrictions.
I hope he does, and in the process both increases his ownership of this fiasco and dispels any notions that his party still has any real support for "States' rights".
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#46As someone who lives in one of these states, I'm nonplussed at the announcement. It doesn't really seem to say anything concrete that I can tell. "We've agreed that we will use metrics...we are still deciding what these metrics will be." I thought the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order (in Washington state) wasn't unreasonable and wasn't just political babble, but I don't really know what to make of this piece. Anyone wan…
The context here is that Trump said earlier today that he was in charge of when to "open up the states." This (along with the NE pact) is probably a big "no, you're not" to Trump.
Ah, thank you. That actually makes some sense and is heartening.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#47This is great, and it's a big chunk of population, but I keep feeling like we could do better. For example, these three States could do a great job, but there's nothing stopping a bunch of the other States from bungling it (like, say, ignoring health experts and exempting certain groups from mass gathering restrictions). Then those States end up exporting infectious individuals into the States which are doing things…
> If only we had some sort of united group of all the States, where the response could be coordinated and centralized for maximum effectiveness.
We do, however by design that body does not have authoritarian control over things like 'shelter at home' regulations.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, he wanted to dodge responsibility for the unpleasant job of shutting things down. Now he wants to enjoy positive publicity for opening things back up.
He wanted to shut down travel from China in January, something he got reamed for politically by the media and the left. Damned if you do and all that.
I'm not able to find examples of that. Can you point to any mainstream media outlets "reaming" him over that decision?
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#49Possibly relevant: > President Trump tweeted Monday that the "decision to open up the states" following shutdown measures taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus lies with him, not governors. https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-reopening-governors-...
I think what's probably more relevant is the chaos of trying to get aid from the federal government, combined with Trump and Kushner's declaration that any national stockpile is for the federal government, not the states, even though nobody lives in the federal government, we all live in states or similar entities.
I think they flipped the fuckit bit.
Re: California, Oregon and Washington announce western states pact
#50Well, that was quick. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22828354 Today it is pandemic resolution. I fear that tomorrow, it might be economic ties, lockstep voting at the federal level, and National Guard drills, deployments, and contingency planning, where the West Coast slowly splits away from the rest of the country, with other states teaming up and following suit. This isn't the end, and it's the only appropria…
If the Fed had done the right thing by raising interest rates, and the government didn't interfere in the market with massive spending, USD could have remained the reserve currency for the foreseeable future. But nobody in Washington has the guts to do the right thing. Especially the Fed.
Also, if this "pact" leaves the United States, that is when I'll be leaving the shithole called CA. I'm not paying for the free riders anymore.