Everybody’s anxious to reopen. I get it, I’m anxious to reopen. People need to get back to work. The state needs an economy. We cannot sustain this for a prolonged period of time. Everybody agrees. Everybody will also say how you reopen is everything because of the first point which is we are now keeping down that rate of infection. If you start acting differently you will see a corresponding increase in that rate of infection. The worst scenario would be if we did all of this, we got that number down, everybody went to extraordinary means and then we go to reopen and we reopen too fast or we reopen and there’s unanticipated consequences and we see that number go up again.
Well, you’re being hyper cautious. Oh really? Go look at other countries that went through exactly this, started to reopen and then they saw the infection rate go back up again. So let’s at least learn from past mistakes. We’ve laid out a way to reopen, coming up with a comprehensive plan first that is regional in nature. We have seven states that we’re working with. The virus doesn’t understand state boundaries. Doesn’t understand that it needs a passport, you know, it defies all of our norms. So how do you put the best minds together in a seven-state area, come up with a regional strategy? Because the virus can get on Amtrak, the virus can get on a plane, the virus can get in a car and drive up 95. We’re all connected. And in truth, since nobody knows where they’re going, and nobody’s done this before, let’s think together, and let’s plan together.
If we can’t come up with a common plan, let’s see if we can come up with a plan that’s not contradictory, let’s see if we can get to a place where what Connecticut does, New Jersey does is not counter to what we’re doing here in New York. And that’s the point of the seven states working together. Also the point is it also doesn’t work unless you coordinate the reactivation of all the systems. I did this graphic because no one got when I went like this yesterday, and I said the gears have to mesh, this is what I was saying. I could see, Nick, you did not get what this meant, so that’s a clarifier for you personally, from yesterday.
We also have to be clear on who is responsible for each element of the opening. The president said last night that he has total authority for determining how and way states reopen. That is not an accurate statement, in my opinion. Now that we know that government actually matters, and government is relevant, and that government has to be smart, because what government does is determining how this goes. It’s literally determining in many ways life and death. We have to be smart about it.
The federal-state relationship is central to our democracy. This has been a topic discussed since our founding fathers first decided to embark on this entire venture, right. This is basic federalism, the role of the states and the role of the federal government. And it is important that we get this right. Our founding fathers understood, and we have to remember today that the balance between the state and the federal, that magnificent balance that is articulated in the constitution is the essence of our democracy. We don’t have a king in this country. We didn’t want a king. So we have a constitution and we elect a president. The states, the colonies, formed the federal government. The federal government did not form the states. It’s the colonies that ceded certain responsibility to a federal government. All other power remains with the states, it’s basic to our constitution and that federal-state relationship.
