New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in one of the states hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, laid out a vision over the weekend to begin reopening the economy in Upstate New York by May 15. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, in another hard-hit state, followed on Monday, saying the state could begin reopening within weeks.
Alaska, Georgia, Montana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, and South Carolina have already begun reopening. Shelter-in-place orders in several states expired April 30. And despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering some beaches closed again, his state has joined with Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Colorado to form a pact to reopen.
Blue states and red states across the country know something that the pandemic “experts” on social media and political talking heads seemingly do not — there is no debate when it comes to jump-starting American society.
The economy needs to reopen as soon as possible, and Republican and Democratic governors know why. Ohio, New York, and California’s unemployment funds are close to running out of cash, and they may have to borrow from the federal government. The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the U.S. budget deficit could reach levels not seen since the 1940s. Kevin Hassett, President Trump’s economic adviser, told George Stephanopoulos last weekend that unemployment rates could approach Great Depression levels.
It has never been about putting the economy over lives — it is all about lives. “If I don’t cut, I don’t eat,” a barber in Georgia told CNN as the state started to reopen. The question has always been how. A responsible and measured reopening is obvious — what that means in each state is vastly different, though.
“Fifty-one percent (51%) favor a proposal that would allow all who are not sick or vulnerable in their area to return to work,” said pollster Scott Rasmussen of a recent survey. “These numbers are not a call for a national rule, but a recognition that different dynamics exist in different communities.”
New York City has a population density of 27,751 people per square mile. All of New York State has 416 people per square mile. In South Dakota, the population density is 11 per square mile. To boil it down even further, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has 2,325 people per square mile. In neighboring Turner County, it is nine people per square mile. What we city folk call social distancing is just another day for many people out in the middle of the country. That is why what is best for New York state may not be what is best for South Dakota, and neither of those might be what is best for New York City or Sioux Falls.
And states are responding and planning their back to business strategies differently. In Iowa, for instance, the governor has separated the state into six zones and is tracking 12 different metrics to better understand when a region can open. Federalism has empowered state leaders to take different approaches. In many cases, they are hyperlocal approaches.
The Trump administration has been right to follow a “federally supported, state managed, and locally executed” recovery strategy. States have different demographics, infection rates, and curves. There is not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution when no two states or localities are the same.
I want the economy to reopen. Our nation, our people, are depending on it. But if we let federalism be our guide and allow the governments closest and most responsive to the people to make these decisions, we will have better outcomes. Let the greatness of America’s federal system work.
A return to normalcy is coming — the pace will just be different. Everyday people want to do their part, and we can do this right if we work together.
Lisa B. Nelson is the chief executive officer of the American Legislative Exchange Council. Follow her on Twitter: @LisabNelson.
