New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has earned mostly high marks for his leadership amid the coronavirus pandemic. But not today.
The governor was asked at a press conference Wednesday to respond to the out-of-work quarantine protesters who say the state’s economic lockdown cannot continue as-is because their cash savings are running out. After a lengthy back-and-forth with a reporter, Cuomo eventually said that if the demonstrators are so desperate for work, they should “take a job as an essential worker.”
That is some great advice. Why worry about the status of your full-time employment or whether your business will be bankrupted by the lockdown when you can always take a gig as an Amazon deliveryman?
“There are protesters outside right now, honking their horns and raising signs,” the reporter said, “These are regular people who are not getting a paycheck. Some of them are not getting their unemployment paycheck. And they’re saying that they don’t have time to wait for all of this [coronavirus] testing and they need to get back to work in order to feed their families.”
She added, “Their savings [are] running out; they don’t have another week. They’re not getting answers. So, their point is: the cure can’t be worse than the illness itself.”
“The illness is death,” said the governor. “What is worse than death?”
But, of course, you can at least see the demonstrators’ point. Most people do not die from the virus, and so some reason that they would rather chance the disease than go broke, especially now that it appears we have “flattened the curve” as we had hoped. Also, matters have not been helped by the fact that a surge in unemployment claims “collapsed” the state’s unemployment website. Many New Yorkers say they still have not seen a cent in unemployment benefits, despite applying several weeks ago. Cuomo says more than 1,000 state employees are working online and over the phone to process the backlog of applications.
“What if someone commits suicide because they can’t pay their bills?” the reporter asked the governor Wednesday.
“The illness is maybe my death as opposed to your death,” Cuomo responded. “You said they said, ‘the cure is worse than the illness.’ The illness is death. How can the cure be worse than the illness, if the illness is potential death?”
“What if the economy failing equals death?” the reporter persisted. “Because mental illness that the people stuck at home – ”
“No, it doesn’t,” Cuomo interrupted. “It doesn’t equal death. Economic hardship. Yes. Very bad. Not death. Emotional stress from being locked in a house. Very bad. Not death. Domestic violence on the increase. Very bad. Not death.”
Well, at least he conceded that domestic violence is “very bad.”
“It’s your life,” Cuomo said, addressing the protesters’ grievances. “Do whatever you want. But you’re now responsible for my life. You have a responsibility to me. It’s not just about you. You have a responsibility to me, right?”
“They’re saying that – ‘is there a fundamental right to work if the government can’t get me the money when I need it?’” the reporter queried once more.
“You want to go to work?” Cuomo snapped. “Go take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow.”
Those are the words of a man who has never in his entire life had to worry about money.
Imagine what it must be like being broke, out-of-work, and totally beholden to the judgment of this privileged son of a governor. If Cuomo thinks the quarantine protesters are loud and annoying now, he has not seen anything yet.
