22Neoliberalism Is the Disease

into a depression.” He guessed one-third of the people he knew were unable to pay for groceries or rent because of the economic shutdown.

Obviously, we must shut down public life to slow the spread of the virus. But the choice cannot be between economic devastation and widespread death. Other countries have found ways to help their citizens while containing the outbreak. According to The New York Times, Denmark will cover 75–90% of employers’ payroll if they do not lay off their employees; the Netherlands will also pay up to 90% of wages, with extra for restaurants. The U.K. will subsidize 80% of the wages of anyone seeking unemployment benefits, according to CNN. Canada will pay each of its citizens $2,000 a month, for four months. What do American workers get? A one-time check for $1,200, which is phased gradually out for incomes rising above $75,000. Keep in mind Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is about two-thirds that of the United States. This is insulting.

The disparity between the U.S. and nearly every other developed nation seems ridiculous. It makes more sense, however, when you look at it through the lens of neoliberalism. Every worker (or rather, consumer) is an individual responsible for their own wellbeing. After all, “there’s no such thing as society.” The government has no place interfering in the workings of the market.

Why else would U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham say unemployment checks were “incentivizing workers to leave the workforce,” even when the government was actively encouraging people to stay home? Why would the president be so adamant about getting people “back to work?” Why would the Democratic Party, supposedly the party of “regular people,” means24 OPINION

test a lifesaving stimulus check?

The answer is simple: if you can’t work, you are worthless. That’s the message neoliberalism sends. It’s why healthcare in the U.S. is tied to employment, whereas in every other developed country it is a guaranteed right. It’s why the government is so hesitant to “reward” people for not working. It’s why rent and mortgage payments are not frozen. It’s why basic necessities like food, housing, and healthcare are considered commodities, not fundamental rights. It’s why Bill Clinton signed the famous “Welfare to Work” reform bill in 1996, worried that being “soft on unemployment” would sink his reelection. It’s why the Affordable Care Act created “healthcare exchanges”—proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation—rather than guarantee healthcare as a basic right. If you can’t work, you’re worthless.

Never forget: the federal government could solve these problems by paying every American a universal basic income that would cover every necessity. The government could guarantee every American healthcare, and ensure no one would go bankrupt due to the coronavirus or any other disease. The government could ensure that every person could afford to stay home during a global pandemic. Every day they don’t is a policy decision.

Neoliberalism is a death cult. There’s simply no other way to put it. People are dying because the government has framed the issue as a choice between economic depression and mass death. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick recently argued to reopen his state’s economy, saying on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that there are “more important things than living.” Conservatives have begun to literally discuss sacrificing older people’s lives for the sake of the stock market.

Don’t forget that this way of thinking has been hurting people long before the pandemic. Farmers are throwing out mass amounts of food while food banks are forced to ration and grocery stores struggle to keep up supply. Before the pandemic, an estimated 30–40% of the U.S. food supply went to waste every year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, yet we cannot even adequately provide for our citizens. According to the Census Bureau, 11.8% of Americans—38.1 million people— fell below the poverty line in 2018, including 16.2% of children under 18. According to the Pew Research Center, the highest-earning 20% of American families made over 52% of all new income in 2018. Comparing the U.S. with other countries is even more depressing. The United Kingdom has had a national health service since 1948. In 2017, their healthcare spending per capita was $4,246. The U.S. spent $10,224.

Neoliberalism is not working for the vast majority of people. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is quickly disappearing. Millennials have now lived through two once-in-a-lifetime financial crises, and they’re drowning in 1.5 trillion dollars of student debt.

The two mainstream politicians who have recognized the problems with neoliberalism are Bernie Sanders and, funnily enough, Donald Trump. Obviously the President’s campaign was motivated in large part by bigotry and racial prejudice. But as his success in the Rust Belt reveals, his campaign leaned into issues of trade and outsourced jobs, recognizing that the post-World War II free-trade world has decimated the once-great manufacturing capitals of the United States. He pledged to “bring manufacturing back,” impose tariffs on foreign goods, and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).