This Isn’t The Time To Prove Anything
One of the things that irritates me - be it from colleagues, friends, family, or strangers - is the need some people feel to be contrarian and say this isn’t so bad. That this is overblown. It’s a mind-numbing thing to deal with, because we have vulnerable American citizens dying of a disease that we didn’t have to deal with (thanks, China!) and too many of us are not doing the right thing and trying to contain the spread of COVID-19.
No, you shouldn’t be going to the beach. You shouldn’t be hitting up the bars. You shouldn’t be going to sit down at restaurants.
You should be responsible. Stock up on what you need and be prepared to stay at home for the long haul. Order what you can from online retailers (more on that in a minute). If you’re sick, stay at home. If a family member is sick, stay at home. Do not risk spreading something.
Where social distancing is concerned, there is a fantastic series of graphics at the Washington Post showing why self-containment, as opposed to government-mandated containment, is the way to go. That link is an absolute must-read on the subject.
Universal Basic Income? The White House Says…
“Okay”?
Look, this isn’t Andrew Yang’s proposal, and I do think that the White House is going in the right direction here by proposing to send a check to Americans that can then be infused back into the economy. It isn’t redistribution of wealth, which a lot of conservatives are griping about, largely because it is designed to be a temporary infusion of cash directly into the economy. It’s not a permanent solution, and we should be opposed to that as a permanent solution.
That money goes into the economy almost immediately. Many people are going to use that money to help prop up local businesses. Many more see it as a saving grace for tough times and will save some of it, but a lot of it will make its way back into the economy. That’s a very good thing, because there are some depressing economic estimates ahead. The GDP could shrink by as much as 12%, and the stock market… well, we have no idea what that will do in the span of an hour, much less in the days ahead.
I’m not saying this should be a permanent thing, but it is a good temporary proposal.
Suspend The Internet Sales Tax
I’ve written a couple pieces on this, but here is the relevant part from my column at RedState this morning.
Online retailers like Amazon and others do have some of the necessities – even food – that you can purchase and have sent to you, but most states (especially following last year’s Wayfair decision at the Supreme Court) have some sort of Internet sales tax in place that can make it more expensive to get those goods to your home. Because you have to pay those taxes as well as shipping, it can be more difficult to get certain necessities if your income is hurting because of the shutdowns or simply because of tougher economic times.
States do have the power to make this easier, however, should they decide that helping contain COVID-19 and making life more affordable for people in need is more important than taking a revenue hit. All they need to do is declare an emergency sales tax holiday for online purchases.
In doing so, these states (including my home state of Louisiana) can make sure people have the best chance to get what they need without going out and risking infection from the virus. Many online retailers can get items to customers in just a couple of days, and if you know you’re going to need some supplies, planning ahead and ordering means keeping your family in good shape through this tough time.
Suspend High Stakes Testing As Well
Louisiana has applied for a waiver to be exempted from having to issue state standardized testing at schools this year. It is undoubtedly a good thing, but it’s also very silly for states to have to apply for this when so many states have canceled school for anywhere from two weeks to two months. From another column I wrote this morning:
Some school districts are equipped (and, frankly, affluent enough) to convert to an online/distance learning system for their students. It’s less than ideal, but it is very doable. After all, most colleges and universities are set up with something similar. But, for districts with high rates of poverty, it’s impossible to ensure equal access to all students. Sure, students can check out a computer from their school, but there’s still the matter of getting Internet access when they don’t have it at home and public libraries and other public places are also shutting their doors.
Many of these districts are currently having to run food programs to feed students. In that kind of situation, you can’t possibly expect them to be able to complete coursework at home when they don’t have Internet or computers (and phones are unreliable as many educational resources online simply aren’t equipped to handle coursework on a phone’s screen). You have students who are out of school and largely on their own in some cases. They don’t have any way to keep up with the coursework they’d need to complete and master the skills they need to have to succeed on high stakes testing.
Further, any data on student performance and growth anyone could collect from these tests would be invalid because these students will not have been taught the skills they need to succeed on them. It is incredibly unfair for them to be expected to do so, and it is more unfair not to ease them of that psychological pressure now.
No data from this year could be considered valid, because the students affected by the Wuhan coronavirus are missing a lot of instructional time. You can’t expect teachers who are evaluated based on student test scores to be able to teach effectively what skills students need when they return to school looking down the barrel of these mandated tests.
What To Do When You’re Stuck At Home
This week’s episode of the Homestyle podcast was recorded last week, back when we suspected these shutdowns were coming. You’re at home now, don’t have much to do, so you should definitely subscribe, rate, and review this podcast, as well as get some ideas for how to handle the weeks at home with the kids.
Recipe Of The Week: Make It & Freeze It Casserole
If you’re stuck at home and need to plan meals ahead, making dishes you can freeze, thaw, and then cook on the fly is a really easy way to make sure you’re covered. This is a ground beef casserole that can make all the difference on those nights when you’ve been cleaning the house (because at some point during this time at home that’s all that’s left) and you’re too tired to cook.
1 lb. ground beef
1 can Rotel tomatoes
6 oz. tomato paste
3 cups uncooked egg noodles
5 green onions, chopped
8 oz. sour cream
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Do it in batches so you can get a crispier browning done (drain rendered fat as needed so it browns properly).
Once the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and tomato paste. If you wish, add garlic and Italian seasonings. Otherwise, just add salt and pepper to taste. Bring this to a boil and let it simmer over low heat.
If cooking that night, preheat your over to 350 degrees.
Prepare the noodles according to the package. Drain and mix the noodles with the sour cream and cream cheese until it’s all mixed together.
Spoon noodles into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Top with the meat and tomato mixture, then top with cheeses.
If you are cooking the dish now, put it in the oven, covered, for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
If you are not cooking the dish right now, let the noodle mixture cool and then freeze for up to one month. Let the dish thaw in the fridge overnight, then cook, covered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, uncover and bake for 5 more minutes.
Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.