View source for COVID-19 Crisis Memory Bank

So much went wrong with the COVID-19 crisis response. So many decisions were made years and decades earlier that made it far worse than it should have been. This page to keep track of what went wrong so we can be sure to remember and learn from the decisions that killed so many and left so many unemployed and destitute.

= How we got here =

== Decades of bad decisions ==

* [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/oliviawebb/coronavirus-why-cant-america-make-its-own-medicine Moving Our Pharmaceutical Factories Overseas Was A Huge Mistake]
* [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/hospital-closing-shortage-coronavirus Decades of Hospital Closures Led to This Disaster]
* [https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1246445485860118528?s=20 Doctorow on scams, CDOs and PE firms] & [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/04/a-mind-forever-voyaging/#prop-bets Private equity looting public health in a pandemic]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/03/socially-useless-parasite/#you-were-warned The Tea Party killed pandemic preparedness]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/31/reality-endorses-sanders/#voter-suppression Trump admits voter suppression]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/31/reality-endorses-sanders/#covidien Monopolists stole your respirator]

=== IP for the fail ===

* [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wxekgx/hospitals-need-to-repair-ventilators-manufacturers-are-making-that-impossible Hospitals Need to Repair Ventilators. Manufacturers Are Making That Impossible]
* [https://sirota.substack.com/p/will-big-pharma-fleece-us-on-a-covid Will Big Pharma Fleece Us On A COVID Treatment That We Helped Fund?]

== The Failed Response ==

* [https://khn.org/news/trump-administration-uses-wartime-powers-to-be-first-in-line-on-medical-supplies-ppe/ Trump Administration Uses Wartime Powers To Be First In Line On Medical Supplies]
* [https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1245841458323771393 Using the private market to distribute pandemic supplies]
* [https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2020/04/03/826006362/food-shortages-nope-too-much-food-in-the-wrong-places Food Shortages? Nope, Too Much Food In The Wrong Places]
* [https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/why-private-equity-is-cutting-doctor?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyMDEwNDcsInBvc3RfaWQiOjM0NTg3MiwiXyI6IjJNYlZtIiwiaWF0IjoxNTg2MTA1MzUyLCJleHAiOjE1ODYxMDg5NTIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xMTUyNCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.EFgR6mfGxg9OMa_VvJSPIulwe09vJXNSq9T57f2Dot0 Why Private Equity Is Cutting Doctor Pay and Organizing Our Pandemic Response]
* [https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/03/this-is-a-massive-scandal-trump-fda-grants-drug-company-exclusive-claim-on-promising-coronavirus-drug.html Trump FDA Grants Drug Company Exclusive Claim on Promising Coronavirus Drug]
* [https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-07/hospitals-washington-seize-coronavirus-supplies Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word]
* [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/ppe-and-ventilators-becomes-patronage-in-trumps-hands PPE and Ventilators Becomes Patronage in Trump’s Hands]
* [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-on-the-ppe-seizures More on the PPE Seizures]
* [https://eand.co/why-britains-coronavirus-strategy-is-literally-one-of-the-most-insane-things-in-modern-history-45c755f1db2d Why Britain’s Coronavirus Strategy is Literally One of the Most Insane Things in Modern History]

=== The Corporate Bailout ===

* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/31/reality-endorses-sanders/#kafka-capitalism Corporate welfare vs food stamps]
* [https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/stop-the-6-trillion-coronavirus-corporate Stop the $6 Trillion Coronavirus Corporate Coup!]
* [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-18/denmark-extends-business-aid-to-increase-spending-by-15-billion Denmark said that companies which pay out dividends, buy back own shares or are registered in tax havens won’t be eligible for any of the aid programs]

== Profit Uber Alles ==

* [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dm8bx/leaked-amazon-memo-details-plan-to-smear-fired-warehouse-organizer-hes-not-smart-or-articulate Leaked Amazon Memo Details Plan to Smear Fired Warehouse Organizer: ‘He’s Not Smart or Articulate’]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/02/eff-livestream-today/#joel-kills Private equity titan squats on empty hospital]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/01/pluralistic:-01-apr-2020/#private-equity Alteon cuts covid-fighters' pay]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/01/pluralistic:-01-apr-2020/#usausausa American employment exceptionalism]
* [https://www.propublica.org/article/in-desperation-new-york-state-pays-up-to-15-times-the-normal-price-for-medical-equipment In Desperation, New York State Pays Up to 15 Times the Normal Prices for Medical Equipment]
* [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-corporatelayoffs-a/u-s-companies-criticized-for-cutting-jobs-rather-than-investor-payouts-idUSKBN21Q24Z U.S. companies criticized for cutting jobs rather than investor payouts]

== Surveillance ==

* [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/doj-coronavirus-emergency-powers-140023 DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic]
* [https://reclaimthenet.org/naborly-rent-coronavirus-april/ Naborly asks landlords to report if tenants are “delinquent” on April rent, to build a profile on them]
* [https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/10/tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-room/#serge-vaudenay Problems with Pepp-Pt Contract Tracing App Concept]
* [https://www.apple.com/covid19/contacttracing/ Apple/Google Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing]

== Death Cult ==

* [https://www.salon.com/2020/04/16/conservative-grouplinked-to-devos-familyorganizes-protest-of-coronavirus-restrictions-in-michigan/ Conservative group linked to DeVos family organizes protest of coronavirus restrictions in Michigan]
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/i_simply_cannot_believe_that_people_are/fnstpyl/ Reopen] [https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/04/whos-behind-the-reopen-domain-surge/ domain] [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/reopen-liberate-urls/ research]

= The Effects =

== On People ==

* [https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases Stats]
* [https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-coronavirus-index-rich-sheltered-poor-shafted-9e592100-b8e6-4dcd-aee0-a6516892874b.html Rich sheltered, poor shafted amid virus]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/03/us/coronavirus-stay-home-rich-poor.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur Location Data Says It All: Staying at Home During Coronavirus Is a Luxury]
* [https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/in-chicago-70-of-covid19-deaths-are-black/dd3f295f-445e-4e38-b37f-a1503782b507/ In Chicago, 70% of COVID-19 Deaths Are Black]
* [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3568255 Social Distancing, Internet Access and Inequality]

== On the US empire ==

* [https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/23/death-american-competence-reputation-coronavirus/ Washington’s reputation for expertise has been one of the greatest sources of its power. The coronavirus pandemic may end it for good.]

= What worked =

* [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html A German Exception? Why the Country’s Coronavirus Death Rate Is Low]

= What to fix =

* [https://t.co/hqGZ8yrrpI Unavailable (677-1424-2-PB.pdf)]
* [https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/how-to-structure-the-coronavirus How To Structure the Coronavirus Bailout]