Coronavirus crisis exposes years of failure

The coronavirus spreading across the United States has exposed a deep and pervasive failure to plan for what experts and former government officials have warned of for years, the prospect of a global pandemic that threatens to overwhelm health systems and kill millions.

Instead, two months after the first American tested positive and as the number of confirmed cases inside the country soars past 10,000, a decentralized governmental response has been scattered and uneven, a mix of action and inaction, urgency and passivity.

The federalist nature of American democracy means the response to any disaster will vary based on the competency of state and local officials. It will not look like China, for better and for worse. Continue reading.