We had better prepare for the next emergency
We are at the very beginning of opening our economy even while we have no medication or vaccine for COVID-19. What social and economic changes are we willing to accept or not accept as we move forward? Will we demand that those “essential” workers be rewarded with improved pay and benefits, or will we let corporations keep them at minimum wages with no benefits? Will we discuss how well we responded as a nation, state, county, city and local community? Or will this just pass into history without us discussing the good, bad and indeed the ugly?
Who should be responsible to stockpile needed supplies for the next emergency, be it a flood, tornado, fire, hurricane or pandemic? In this pandemic it was made explicitly clear by this administration that the federal government was not responsible, it was up to the states to fight for supplies. If that is the model, should Colorado shift funds to build stockpiles of materials to ride out the next emergency? Should counties or cities build their own stockpiles? How should we pay for these supplies?
Another aspect of this pandemic was the desire of the federal administration to shift the responsibility to the private specter to fill the gap in supplies. Should private industry be required to build and maintain stockpiles of supplies?
As a community, we had better start talking about the good, bad and ugly of this response. As the saying goes, those that don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it. Is that what we want? I hope not.
Bob Massaro
Loveland
Let’s protect meat plant workers, and benefit ourselves
If bombs were falling on our heads, it would be clear to us that we were at war, and most of us would take it seriously. But a virus, a thing so tiny that we can’t even see it, doesn’t get our attention in quite the same way.
Yes, people are frightened, but too many are resistant to the behaviors necessary for survival. After all, the sun still comes up every morning. Birds still sing and trees leaf out. Our buildings
and infrastructure remain intact.
During World War II our nation was united. Our national government martialed our industrial forces to produce the ships, planes, and other materiel necessary to fight back. We sent our young men off to war, and gave priority to supplying them with whatever they needed to stay alive, including food. At home we endured shortages and rationing. We seldom saw real meat; our protein came from eggs, milk, cheese, beans and Spam.
Today we eat too much meat, contributing to our obesity, clogged arteries, hypertension, and more. We easily could cut our consumption in half and be healthier for it. Meat packing plants could slow their lines, spread out their workers, and do what is necessary to keep those workers safe and healthy. The companies would make a bit less profit, and prices might rise. Some of us might have to get our protein from eggs, milk, cheese, beans, and the ubiquitous Spam. We
survived then, and we can again.
Let’s clean up those plants, protect the workers, and perhaps save ourselves.
Ann Harroun
Lakewood
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Letters: Emergency preparedness; meat plants; coronovirus - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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