Tag: social justice

Racism and Public Health

Early in July the city of Memphis unanimously passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis. In 1866 Memphis was the site of a massacre where dozens of black people were raped and killed by white terrorists and in 1968 it was where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, thus drawing a line from the past to the present at a time when coronavirus is disproportionately affecting Black residents. Over 50 cities have passed similar resolutions declaring racism a public health crisis, these cities are in urban centers, as well in in rural areas, with various sizes and demographics,  such as a cluster of small towns in Connecticut, and contain surprises such as the Douglas County Board of Health in Nebraska.

In June an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine addressed the health effects of being subjected to racism and discrimination and declared that they can lead to brain disease, “accelerate aging and impede vascular and renal function” thus drawing attention to the stresses and difficulties affecting African Americans and other minority populations. The resolutions are not binding, yet their impetus being inspired by the research of scientific journals nevertheless make them one step on our journey to redress the wrongs of racism.

Billionaires and Inequality

There are now 788 billionaires in the US, or at least there was in 2019 according to a study by Wealth-X which issues a comprehensive report yearly, that is 12% more than the year before. Collectively they control $ 3.4 trillion which is 14% more than they did in 2018. The US actually has more billionaires than any other country, more than the next 5 countries combined. China is second with less than half the US number. In 2016 the 620 billionaires in the US controlled $2.6 trillion. The growth among the mega rich which is partly due to the tech boom is now the subject of much discussion. It is becoming more and more inescapable that the US has economic policies which favor billionaires and end up placing workers at a disadvantage. Are the rich too rich, many are now beginning to ask?  Given it is an election year it is assumed the question will be a continued topic. When considering how difficult it is for many workers to be paid a living wage, how many jobs are being lost to automation, how many are unemployed with no assurance they will be able to get their job back due to Covid-19, when several studies show the US trending towards being a plutocracy, how rich is too rich is not only an important topic it is a must.

Billionaire’s Chain Reaction to Get PPEs

The chancellor of the University of California San Francisco was concerned about getting masks and supplies for the university’s hospital, all his sources had dried up. So he called Mark Benioff, the billionaire founder of Salesforce who had previously donated $100 million to the hospital. Marc Benioff, then called upon the people he knew, and the NYT story details how what he did created a chain reaction of other wealthy people willing to contribute. He called someone  at Alibaba in China, and as he continued in his search for masks, PPEs and the like he ended up enlisting the help of people at Fed-Ex, Walmart, Apple, other Silicon Valley  moguls like Jack Dorsey of  Twitter, who pledged $1 billion and even Bono. Along the way they met obstacles and solved them so that they ended up with all the masks and protective equipment needed for the hospital. In fact, they ended up with more than they needed and New York benefited and now other hospitals are benefiting too.

 It’s a great story in many ways and yet it does seem it is something federal agencies and/or members of the coronavirus taskforce could have done and done on an even larger scale. But more than that, Mr. Benioff for all his largesse did not take the initiative, he responded when called, which granted is commendable. Then there are the other billionaires, whose behavior in responding to Mr. Benioff is also commendable, but still who did not act on their own. And while the story makes us feel good, I am nevertheless left thinking of all the billionaires who not only did not personally initiate a response to this crisis, but who still have  to participate—despite the fact that many of them have increased their wealth as a result of the pandemic.

About Delivery Workers

I didn’t dare go to my very busy pharmacy and stand in line for a prescription, so I used Instacart and a youngish petite blond woman delivered it.  We are all using delivery services more these days. Their employees take the chances we are not willing to take, and fulfill a service without which our lives would substantially loose quality and comforts. In addition they are instrumental to our being able to stay safe.  We are grateful, yes, yet they are the lowest paid.  They have to use their own cars and are not reimbursed for the wear and tear. The husband of a house cleaner I know was a Uber driver and needed new tires which he could not afford, a scenario many of those workers surely face. Even more relevant in an era when health care is more crucial than usual, they have no health benefits. We like the cheap services. Would we use Instacart as much if the charges were higher? And if they were, for many they would no longer be affordable. It’s also the same conflict many of us have with using Amazon, a company who pays their warehouse and delivery workers so little. There are signs that after the pandemic eases the delivery businesses will have to change. There are pressures for them to do so, economic, social, legal. The result is likely to lead to higher prices for having things delivered. When that happens, for it is inevitable, how will our gratitude for all the delivery workers who cushion our lives extend to accept higher charges so that they can have better salaries and better benefits?