Category: COVID-19

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UPDATE: How Many Lives Have We Saved?

  By COVID-19, Economic Development, PA Economy, PBPC Blog posts

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. While, for months, Republican legislators were insisting on a rapid reopening of businesses in Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf’s health and safety regulations created one of the most dramatic declines in both COVID-19 cases and deaths of any state in the country. After averaging 1,364 new cases per day in April and 864 in May, there was a drop to 757 in June, and after a rise in July, to 709 in August. The number of new cases has been rising again and in the beginning of October to an average of 1,206 per day. But while we should always be concerned about any increase in cases, especially as we head into potentially dangerous winter months, testing has increased by about the same degree. The state was conducting only an average of 5,963 tests per day in March and 7,558 in April. But in July, it averaged… Continue reading

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COVID-19: The False Choice Between Our Health and the Economy

  By COVID-19, Economic Development, PA Economy, Policy briefs

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. For six months now, Republican legislators in Harrisburg have been telling a false story about COVID-19 and the economy. They have been claiming that we must choose between a growing economy and efforts to protect us from the COVID-19 virus and avoid overwhelming hospitals and health care systems. And they have held that government business closures and stay-at-home orders are responsible for the deep economic crash that has occurred in countries all over the world. This is a false narrative that poses a false choice. An economic decline was inevitable once the COVID-19 virus started spreading out of control because most Americans are sensible enough to understand the risks—not just to our own health but to that of those we care about—of interacting with others in stores, restaurants, religious services, sports and entertainment venues, and other recreational settings. Government orders may have heightened our concerns… Continue reading

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Statement on PA Supreme Court Decision in Wolf v. Scarnati

  By Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, COVID-19, PA Constitutional Law, Pennsylvania

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. All Pennsylvanians should be gratified by PA Supreme Court’s ruling today that the General Assembly’s attempt to unilaterally end Governor Wolf’s emergency orders is unconstitutional. The Court made its decision, as it should have, on the basis of the plain words of the Constitution which states that a concurrent resolution by the two houses of the General Assembly must be presented to the Governor for his approval or veto. But, as we pointed out in our amicus curiae brief to the Court, and as recent evidence in many other states shows, the consequences of ending the governor’s orders prematurely would have been devastating to the health and economic well-being of us all. Continue reading

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The Republicans have been dead wrong about reopening

  By COVID-19, PA Budget and Policy Center, Public Policy, Published Op-Eds

Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on June 30, 2020. For months Republican leaders in Harrisburg have been demanding an early reopening of businesses in the state and have criticized the demand to wear face masks in public. And recently all Republicans and a few Democrats voted to overturn Governor Wolf’s emergency order.  Extremists like Representative Russ Diamond and Senator Doug Mastriano have been claiming, with no justification at all, that those orders conflict with our rights as Americans. The evidence is now in. The policies Republicans, along with a few Democrats, have supported were wrong. Governor Wolf’s actions have saved thousands of lives. It’s rare that we can do experiments in political and social science to test our ideas. And because we can’t do that—and because people rarely question policies that accord with their self-interest—we have debates that are more about ideology assertion than a rational discussion and weighing… Continue reading

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How Many Lives Have We Saved?

  By COVID-19, Pennsylvania

While Republican legislators have been insisting on an early reopening of businesses in Pennsylvania, we have seen one of the most dramatic declines in both COVID-19 cases and deaths of any state in the country. From a height of 1965 on April 19, the number of new cases dropped to 346 on June 21. And from a maximum of 554 deaths recorded on May 5, we had only three recorded on June 21. We have seen, and no doubt will continue to see, fluctuations in these numbers depending on vagaries in testing and reporting and how well Pennsylvanians adhere to guidelines meant to protect us as businesses reopen. But there is no doubt that the sacrifices we have made to limit the transmission of COVID-19 have had an impact. And the experience of states that have reopened businesses early and seen sharply rising numbers of people infected and deaths has… Continue reading

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Legal Brief by PA Budget and Policy Center and Keystone Research Center Supports Gov. Wolf in Stay-at-Home Order Court Case

  By Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, COVID-19, PA Budget and Policy Center, PA Constitutional Law, Pennsylvania

Originally published by KRC-PBPC The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and Keystone Research Center submitted an amicus curia brief in Wolf v. Scarnatti, the Supreme Court case deciding if the PA General Assembly can end Governor Wolf’s emergency orders by itself, without submitting it’s concurrent resolution doing so to the governor for his approval or veto. The PBPC-KRC brief presents important context regarding the benefits of the governor’s executive actions to date and the critical importance of maintaining them to battle the pandemic. Continue reading

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Statement on HB 2412: Is Real Estate Really Essential?

  By COVID-19

Originally published at KRC-PBPC here. We want to reiterate our opposition to HB 2412 even as amended, a bill to require the secretary of Community and Economic Development to issue waivers to allow real estate-related business activities to continue provided that they adhere to “applicable mitigation measures defined by the CDC…” As we have pointed out, with regard to broader legislation aimed to undermine the preventive health measures required by Governor Wolf there are few commercial activities that do not involve people traveling outside their homes, coming into relatively close contact with others, and passing physical objects, including papers, between them. This certainly includes many activities connected with the buying and selling of real estate. Thus, these activities pose a danger to public health—and whether they should continue or not should be regulated by medical and scientific analysis of how fast the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is spreading in particular… Continue reading

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COVID-19 exposed the cracks in our system. We have to fill them, not just paper them over

  By COVID-19, Public Policy, Published Op-Eds

Originally published in the PA Capitol-Star on April 28, 2020 We can learn a great deal from moments of crisis, not just about ourselves and other people but about our political community.  And that’s very much true of the COVID-19 crisis. The first critical lesson the pandemic teaches us is that in a modern political economy our own good depends on the good of all. While our way of life leaves room for us to advance and fail as individuals, whether we can do so often depends on forces beyond ourselves. Far more than we are often willing to admit, we rise and fall together.<u That is clearly true when it comes to becoming infected by the coronavirus, surviving it, and limiting its impact on our lives. Stay at home rules, business closures, and social distancing are necessary because our chance of becoming infected with the virus depends on how… Continue reading

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In PA, Worker Protections Ruled “Out of Order”

  By COVID-19

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. As the Pennsylvania House of Representatives moves toward consideration of legislation that would allow most businesses in the Commonwealth to reopen—legislation we believe is dangerous to the public’s lives and health—House Democrats have proposed amendments that would protect workers who would be forced back to work. They would require that:  the minimum wage for employees be $15 an hour;  employees at risk receive additional hazard pay;  businesses use social distancing and physical barriers to protect workers;  employees have breaks and places with adequate soap and water to wash their hands;  employees have access to hand sanitizer at all times;  employees be granted leave for sickness with compensation at the same rate;  employees be informed by their employer if a coworker has been tested for COVID-19. Yet, astonishingly, Speaker Turzai has ruled these amendments out of order! He is pushing bills to open businesses yet somehow… Continue reading

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Declaring Victory Too Soon Will Cost Too Many Lives

  By COVID-19

Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. All over the Commonwealth today, people are dying in terrible ways from COVID-19—struggling for breath without the comfort of their loved ones by their side. Yet, just as we are slowly reducing the impact of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, Republicans in the PA House of Representatives are seeking to overturn Governor Wolf’s order to close non-essential businesses. That order, as well as the governor’s order to Pennsylvanians to stay at home, is working. On March 23, when the governor closed non-essential businesses, there were 644 COVID-19 infections in the state and they were increasing at a rate of 34% a day. By April 1, when the stay-at-home order was issued, the rate of increase had come down to 20%. It has since dropped to about 7% a day. And so far in Pennsylvania, 22,833 people have tested positive for the disease, 2,097 are hospitalized, and 507… Continue reading