News March 28, 2020

News Stories

• The Coronavirus Is Demonstrating the Value of Globalization

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – We are experiencing a painful introduction to anti-globalism and its consequences.

• Paul Romer: Not Spending Billions on Virus Testing Would Be Foolish

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Bloomberg) – Nobel laureate Paul Romer, a professor of economics at New York University, says cash handouts aren’t an effective way of fighting the coronavirus outbreak and that the federal government should focus their stimulus on scaling up virus testing.

• Western mismanagement of coronavirus means the elderly are targets

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – Many will die, but most of the deaths could have been avoided with better preparation and earlier action.

• The extremely high bar set for NBA manchild Darryl Dawkins

  SPEAKER: David Wohl

  (Sports Illustrated) – Darryl Dawkins’ former coach, Dave Wohl, writes about the high expectations set for the NBA’s first manchild.

• How Long Will the Coronavirus Lockdowns Go On?

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Soon the U.S. will be able to do 75,000 tests a day. That will make changes in strategy possible.

• How to Prevent a Coronavirus Depression

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (The New York Times) – Covid-19, the most threatening pandemic of the past century, has precipitated both a health crisis and an economic crisis. The strategies that governments have adopted to deal with each crisis separately are contradictory and risk catastrophic, long-term failure.

• Scott Gottlieb expects “shocking” scenes in New York as coronavirus spreads

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Face the Nation) – The former FDA chief says hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed during the crisis.

• After coronavirus, how do we restore America to economic health?

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – It has become all too clear that the coronavirus pandemic is not just a matter of global health, but also an economic issue. Indeed, the virus is having a major impact on the American and global economies as it spreads rapidly in the United States and around the world.

• No Empathy, Only Anger

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Those seeking to support Trump’s party line need an excuse for their months of denial and deception—and they’ve found it.

• Trump’s Tariffs Leave the U.S. Short on Vital Medical Supplies

  SPEAKER: Robert Zoellick

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Why would the U.S. increase the cost and difficulty of supplying protective gear to doctors and nurses? Why would Washington obstruct the acquisition of lifesaving equipment? Because the sclerosis of trade protectionism, once it takes hold, constricts economic health and adaptation.

• Beyond the coronavirus crisis – here’s how to protect our physical and economic health

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Writing from Italy, where the coronavirus pandemic is at its strongest, I am fully committed to taking the most draconian steps necessary to keep people physically separated until the virus dies out for lack of new hosts.

• Coronavirus should not be an excuse to substantially loosen big bank rules

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Surely hell has a special place reserved for big bank advocates using a worldwide health crisis to pursue their deregulatory agenda.

• American Hospitals Can Avoid Italy’s Fate

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Deploy telemedicine to determine who needs emergency care, waive licensing rules and more.

• The shadow coronavirus czar

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Politico) – Scott Gottlieb left the Trump administration nearly a year ago — but from Twitter to TV, he’s become the face of truth-telling about the coronavirus pandemic.

• Witnessing Italy’s coronavirus crisis tells me US must rapidly ramp up response

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – I have watched first-hand as the Italian government has worked hard to contain the coronavirus by imposing strong public health measures to try to get the epidemic under control. These measures will lead to significant economic challenges.

• The first coronavirus error was keeping calm

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Times) – Early complacency exacerbated the crisis, but it’s not the only mistake.

• How the 2008 financial panic can help us face coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

  (The Washington Post) – Twelve years after the 2008 financial panic, the world faces the prospect of another panic, one I hope is still avoidable. The immediate cause is a novel virus, not financial markets or the economy, which remain strong. But fear is again the enemy. And lessons we learned in 2008 can be a useful guide to action.

• Quarantining cities isn’t needed. But a fast, coordinated response to covid-19 is essential.

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Washington Post) – Dramatic measures have been taken over the past week to fight the coronavirus epidemic in the United States. President Trump’s announcement of a ban on most flights from Europe, except for the United Kingdom, on Wednesday night came at about the same time the National Basketball Association suspended the rest of the basketball season.

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Panic Doesn’t Serve Any Purpose

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) – CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the “Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction” podcast, sits down with Stephen Colbert for a frank discussion about how Americans should cope in the face of this global pandemic.

• The Fed needs to bail out the real economy — not big banks

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Plunging stock markets, bond yields, and oil prices are creating a perfect storm of adverse conditions sure to impose severe damage on the real economy.

• ‘Network Effects’ Multiply a Viral Threat

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Wall Street Journal) – This isn’t merely a bad flu season. Covid-19 is spreading far faster than most Americans realize.

• Biden vs Sanders – here’s what to expect in the fight ahead

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Last month we all thought we knew what was going to happen in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Of course, things turned out very differently.

• Why CNN is calling the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Starting today, you will notice that CNN is using the term pandemic to describe the current coronavirus outbreak. It is not a decision we take lightly. While we know it sounds alarming, it should not cause panic.

• Take smart steps to slow spread of the coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (USA Today) – Small steps like hand-washing and covering coughs can not only reduce our risks of infection but also have a big impact on the scope of an epidemic.

• 50 hours that changed the 2020 Democratic presidential race

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – The 50 hours between the South Carolina primary and the end of the Super Tuesday primaries will be studied for a long time.

• Covid-19 May Have You Working At Home

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The numbers don’t tell the whole story. Nine Americans have died of Covid-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms more than 100 cases in 15 states. But there are probably already several thousand Americans who have been infected. For now, the average person’s risk is low in a nation of 330 million, but that may soon change.

• Trump may shrug off the coronavirus, but the US economy may not

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – A Covid-19 outbreak in one or more large US cities would inflict a September 11-level hit on the economy and a Hurricane Katrina-level hit on Trump’s popular approval.

• The Man Behind Trump’s Facebook Juggernaut

  SPEAKER: Brad Parscale

  (The New Yorker) – Brad Parscale used social media to sway the 2016 election. He’s poised to do it again.

• Mary Ball Washington — What to know about the mother who created the father of America

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – We should also be thankful for Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, who raised her eldest son to become one of the greatest leaders in history. Mary played an indispensable role in forming George’s character.

• Mike Bloomberg has done an about-face on Wall Street reform

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Can a leopard change its spots? That is the central question hanging over Michael Bloomberg’s candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

• The Price of a Sanders Nomination

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders insist that their guy can eject Donald Trump from the White House. The more insistent question, though, is whether Sanders will cost Democrats the House of Representatives.

• Bloomberg’s long shot

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – As Elizabeth Warren put it in last Wednesday’s debate, Bloomberg simply has too much in common with the 73-year-old former Democratic billionaire who now occupies the White House.

• Tuskegee Airmen fought racism at home while defending America abroad in World War II

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – At his State of the Union address Feb. 4, President Trump honored Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. McGee, who recently turned 100, flew more than 130 combat missions in World War II before serving his country in both Korea and Vietnam.

• Former Canadian PM talks USMCA, divided government

  SPEAKER: Stephen Harper

  (Fox Business) – Former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, sits down with Maria to discuss a wide range of topics including the new USMCA deal, Huawei, and the current political divide in Canada.

• Trump joins Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó to battle the anti-America coalition

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – President Trump earned a standing ovation during his State of the Union Address this year when he recognized Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó in the audience. For many, it was an electrifying moment – Guaidó is a symbol of courage and of freedom pitted against a bad and destructive anti-American dictatorship.

• Today’s strongmen are weaker than we think

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Times) – The lesson of history is that dictators tend not to die in their beds

• Why Does the U.S. Have So Few Confirmed Coronavirus Cases?

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – A mere 15 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been diagnosed in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that number hasn’t budged in a week. But the true number of cases is unknown, because the U.S. is testing only those who recently arrived from China or have been in close contact with confirmed patients.

• Nobelist Romer Wants to Target Tech Giants With Taxes (Podcast)

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Bloomberg Tax) – Google, Facebook, and other tech giants have too much market power and way too much information about all of us. That’s the opinion of lots of political figures, as well as of Nobel economist Paul Romer. What makes Romer different is his preferred way of dealing with this problem: taxes.

• Bloomberg’s billions vs. Sanders’ socialism – which Democrats are in and who is soon to be out of 2020 race

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Every presidential election is unique, but the 2020 Democratic race is quite extraordinary.

• With Liberty and Justice for Some

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Attorney General Bill Barr seems willing to deploy the law as a weapon, cracking down on crimes by the poor and the foreign-born while going easy on the crimes of the president’s associates.

• The China Challenge

  SPEAKER: Robert Zoellick

  (The National Interest) – The United States needs to compete with China within international institutions and country-by-country. It is hard to beat something with nothing. America should promote better ideas and practices and offer attractive partnerships, instead of retreating and bullying.

• Fresh Talents, Unprecedented Heights

  SPEAKER: John Edward Hasse

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Duke Ellington, I like to argue, ranks as America’s greatest all-around musician—composer, arranger, bandleader, accompanist, soloist and musical thinker. Who else did it all with such sit-up-and-notice style, originality and longevity?

• The Dismal Kingdom: Do Economists Have Too Much Power?

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Foreign Affairs) – Over the past 60 years, the United States has run what amounts to a natural experiment designed to answer a simple question: What happens when a government starts conducting its business in the foreign language of economists?

• Senators hail their emperor, but Trump’s no shoo-in for a second term

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – The eventual Democratic nominee will have at least some chance of beating Trump.

• Gottlieb says screening and fist bumps over handshakes will help protect against coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Coronavirus is spreading in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. Community spread is suspected in other nations. Models suggest that for every person who traveled into the U.S. infected with coronavirus, and who was successfully diagnosed and quarantined, maybe three more arrived undetected.

• Former FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb answers viewer questions on coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Pfizer board member and former FDA commissioner, answers viewers’ questions about the coronavirus outbreak.

• For Joe Girardi, every day is Take Your Parents to Work Day

  SPEAKER: Joe Girardi

  (NBC Sports Philadelphia) – When Joe Girardi addresses his new ballclub for the first time on Day 1 of spring training next week, he won’t be alone. Jerry and Angela Girardi will also be there because for Joe Girardi, the new Phillies manager, every day is Take Your Parents to Work Day.

• Coronavirus is a reminder to stay ahead of pandemics

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – We first heard about coronavirus only weeks ago. What started as a local outbreak in Wuhan, China, quickly spread across the entire country – and then around the world. Now there are at least 12 cases of the coronavirus in the United States. The death toll in China is well into the hundreds and continues to increase. Across the globe, people are asking whether we are facing the next global pandemic.

• Prof. Niall Ferguson: A Brief History of Tomorrow (Part one)

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (St. Galllen Symposium) – In this two-part interview, Niall Ferguson and Grégoire Roos exchange on how the Millenials are about to disrupt politics in the West, discuss the current crisis of the Atlantic community, and address the challenges of the rise of China.

• How the Coronavirus Epidemic Could Upend the Global Economy

  SPEAKER: Ian Bremmer

  (TIME) – There are many ways to measure the costs of coronavirus. There have now been more than 24,000 officially reported cases, and nearly 500 people have died, but we’d be wise not to have much faith in these figures.