Two years ago, the Trump administration fired its pandemic response team. Trump’s 2020 budget would cut funding for the Department of Health and Human Services and CDC by 12% and 10%, a move his administration still defends.
The CDC estimates there could be 160 million infections and 200,000 deaths in the U.S. and, although the administration doesn’t get all the blame, it’s hard not to wonder how things could have been different if we were better prepared.
The budget also calls for reducing funding for the EPA and National Parks Service by 26% and 17%, eliminating other important programs, and spending over $200 million on oil, gas, and coal activities for the BLM.
It’s clear that this administration does not value the future as much as it values the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but a lesson to learn from this pandemic is the importance of rigorous preparedness and preemptive action. Environmental degradation will cause catastrophic outcomes, severe economic damage, and loss of human life.
If we wait until the stock market starts plummeting, like with COVID-19, it will be too late.
Anna Cvetko, Salt Lake City
