Pandemic reveals profound truths about Texas' public policies that place profits over people

Ann Beeson
Guest columnist
Kevin Canales walks past a newly created chalk mural after picking up his lunch Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at Wiggs Middle School. "Apart we stand together" has become a trending hashtag on social media.

Sheltering in place and working from home in Austin for over six weeks now, my life has been filtered through what I can witness and share through a Zoom camera.

That is revealing the universality of human experience as well as stark differences based on our circumstances. I watched my son adjust to college online and played the ukulele for my mom’s virtual birthday party. I felt sad when I couldn’t hug a friend who is grieving the loss of her mother and scared by the high rate of infection in cities where my loved ones live.

These virtual windows have also brought my privilege into sharper focus, as I’ve watched friends lose their jobs and co-workers struggle with faulty internet access, cramped living spaces and family financial insecurity.

Like a scary camera we’ve turned on ourselves, the pandemic is exposing hard truths about our society that we have overlooked for too long. Families are waiting for hours at their local food bank. Students are locked out of learning because they still have no internet access at home. People are dying from the virus because they have no insurance or live miles from a hospital. Race and class disparities are made stark by witnessing workers on the front lines without paid sick leave or savings. Extended families are holed up in cramped apartments unable to pay rent, while the 1% relax in vacation homes as they wait for the stock market to recover.

The coronavirus has exposed a profound truth: Public policies affect whether people live or die. Now the question is whether we will finally see what’s been right in front us all along, or stick our heads in the proverbial sand, again.

I worry that Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to start reopening parts of the economy puts politics above people’s health and threatens our communities and future prosperity.

Here in Texas, even before the pandemic, millions of Texans lacked access to affordable health care, paid sick leave and good jobs. In fact, Texas is at or near the bottom of the list of nearly every quality of life category. And it isn’t because we lack the resources — we’re a wealthy state. It’s because of public policies that favor profits over people.

Now Texas policies have worsened the impact of coronavirus and put us all at risk. Our state has the highest rate of uninsured in the country. We have no state law requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, and state leaders continue to block cities from enacting their own paid sick leave ordinances. Texas has one of the highest percentages of low-wage workers in the country. And the state’s love affair with tax cuts has left communities without adequate money to support hospitals and first responders.

Texans don’t experience these challenges equally. The current crisis is exposing deep inequities that have always been here. Because of a long history of discrimination and disenfranchisement against Latinos, people of color, and immigrants, communities like El Paso are more likely to be uninsured, lack access to paid sick leave, and be stuck in low wage jobs that fail to support basic needs.

That history has made certain communities even more vulnerable to the pandemic and its devastating impact on the economy. People of color and Latinos have higher rates of chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes that put them at greater risk of the virus, and less access to health care centers. They are more likely to experience food insecurity and to live in food deserts. They are most at risk of losing their jobs. And because they don’t make enough even working full-time to meet basic needs, they lack savings that could tide them over if they lose their job or get sick and can’t work.

The racial and ethnic breakdown data on the impact of the virus is still limited, but what we know is devastating. Alarmingly, Tornillo has an infection rate of 18 per 10,000 residents, 2.5 times the total county rate of 7.5 infections for every 10,000 residents, according to an El Paso Matters analysis of Department of Public Health data. The virus is also ravaging African-Americans, who are dying at much higher rates than Whites. In Milwaukee County, 26% of residents are black, but early data shows that African Americans account for 81% of COVID-19 related deaths. Native American communities are also being devastated by the virus because of health and housing disparities, yet tribes are encountering hurdles to accessing federal funds for the help they need. Many Latino workers in the construction and food service industries are facing additional health risks without proper protection. Immigrants have lost their jobs at an even higher rate than other workers, and families living in cramped immigration detention centers have a high risk of infection.

As one of four so-called “majority minority” states, Texas faces an even greater risk from the pandemic and economic recession because of these disparities. Abbott’s laissez-faire crisis management has made things worse. By acting too late to issue a stay-at-home order and too early to push broad categories of workers back to work without adequate protective gear and workplace safety, the governor has put profits over public health. That should be no surprise – this is the same governor that filed lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act and fought paid sick leave. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is playing an even stronger yes-man to Trump, calling for Texans to sacrifice their health in order to “get back to work.” Thank goodness for county and city leaders who done everything they can to save lives and support families in need and have called for a science-based approach to reopen the economy

Texans have risen to the crisis with care and fortitude – sewing masks, delivering food to elderly neighbors, planting gardens, postponing rent collections. What if we harnessed our cooped-up collective energy and collective power to build a better future for our state?

We need a two-pronged response — short-term policy solutions to save lives and livelihoods during the pandemic, and a long-term plan that rewrites the rules so Texans of all backgrounds can thrive.

We are all eager to get back to work and rebuild a strong economy for Texas, but need people-centered principles to guide the reopening and protect public health. To address basic needs, Texas should request federal approval to enact the Pandemic EBT program authorized by Congress to help children who depend on free or reduced-price school meals avoid hunger. To stabilize family budgets for people laid off during the crisis, the state should also issue the minimum amount of unemployment benefits to all approved applicants immediately. Economic relief funds should target front line workers. To save lives and alleviate the disproportionate impact on communities of color, reopening plans must be conditioned on public health safety standards to protect workers and consumers. Finally, public health and economic recovery policies should be broadly inclusive to ensure that Texans of all backgrounds are able to contribute to and share in the state’s prosperity.

Before rushing back into business as usual, let’s learn from the crisis and advance a bold policy roadmap for Texas. What if we invested in the future of Texas so every Texan could prosper? Every Texan would have access to affordable, quality health care and healthy food. Every Texan would have a good job that pays a living wage. Every Texan would attend an excellent public school and have the chance to pursue higher education and a career path without debt. A just and equitable tax system would provide community resources to support every Texan.

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the human toll of bad policies, in good times and bad. Now is the time for a bold agenda that puts people first and helps every Texan survive and thrive.

Ann Beeson is the CEO of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin.