My grandfather used to say “if you always live like you’re in a recession, you’ll never experience one.” This is sage advice and is exactly what your Tennessee General Assembly and State Leadership believe.
First, I want to address the novel Coronavirus which began in China and has now made its way across Europe and the Americas. It is not appropriate to panic, but it is appropriate to take this seriously.
What we know is that as testing kits come online, we will see a sharp rise in the infection rate in Tennessee. Right now, we can test about 100 people per day, but as new testing kits make their way into the market, we hope to ramp that number up to more than 20,000 per day by the end of next week.
When that happens, the number of confirmed cases will spike immediately. Remember, those are cases that already exist, but have not been confirmed through a test. This sharp spike should be no cause for alarm, but again, we need to take this seriously.
What we have seen in other countries that were hit first, is that many people show no symptoms at all. In fact, in South Korea and Singapore, where testing has been widespread, they found that the average age of infection was in the 20-40-year-old population, but many of those showed mild to no symptoms.
The danger here is that many of us could unwittingly spread the virus to our older friends and neighbors, or those who are immunocompromised because of diabetes, heart disease, or some other underlying condition, and for them, the respiratory reaction to the disease could well be deadly.
The most important thing you can do is stay a safe distance from those who could be most vulnerable. Even if you feel well, you could be endangering a loved one.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call for limiting groups to no more than 10 and to keep six feet away from others. If at all possible, they are asking anyone who can to work from home. This “social distancing” will keep everyone from getting sick at once, and therefore not overrun our health care system as happened in Italy.
Now to the state:
Tennessee is known across the country for its conservative fiscal management. Regardless of who has been in charge, we have always been a “pay as you go” state known for paying cash for our roads and having the lowest taxes and lowest debt of any state in the nation. Until last week, we were at record highs for growth and expansion in Tennessee. With our national reputation for being pro-business and pro-opportunity, we have attracted some of the youngest and brightest minds from across the country to choose Tennessee as their new home.
Businesses have flocked here like never before, and as a result, state coffers are filled. With more than $1 billion in our state savings account, we were ready for a storm. The storm is here, and we are prepared.
Your state government has been hard at work and taking immediate action. In three days, we have cut more than $1 billion from the state budget and have prioritized what will be essential to running our state should this pandemic last longer than anticipated.
With an already generously funded rainy day fund, this proposed provisional budget will also invest an additional $300 million in that fund to make sure we are well capitalized. Tennessee is prepared and government will continue to provide the necessary resources that our citizens will need as we weather this storm.
Upon passing a conservative provisional budget, the Tennessee General Assembly will adjourn for at least eight weeks so that we do not endanger the staff and so many state employees who will need to be home with their families during the peak of the infection rate. This will allow our health care system the time it needs to make sure we can treat as many of the elderly and immunocompromised of our citizens over a manageable period of time. The name of the game is not to flood the system.
At the end of this period, your state government will get immediately back to work on the legislative session that began in January. There is much work to be done. Gov. Bill Lee’s priorities of criminal justice reform, new literacy standards for Tennessee school children, and an increase and emphasis on our mental health and substance abuse problem will all be back on the table when we reconvene.
On March 16, the General Assembly was briefed by medical experts about the virus. During this briefing, one of the experts shared a quote by Michael O. Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush that I think is important for us all to consider. He said: “Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after a pandemic will seem inadequate. This is the dilemma we face, but it should not stop us from doing what we can to prepare. We need to reach out to everyone with words that inform, but not inflame. We need to encourage everyone to prepare, but not panic.”
Tennessee is prepared with solid fiscal policy and conservative management, and we need our citizens to be prepared with adherence to CDC guidelines on social distancing and personal health and well care.
On the other side of this, we will emerge stronger and more prepared for what lies ahead.
Michael Curcio represents the 69th House District which includes Hickman and part of Maury and Dickson counties. He serves as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He is also a member of the Joint Fiscal Review Committee, Calendar and Rules Committee, Naming Designating and Private Acts Committee, the Civil Justice Subcommittee, Criminal Justice Subcommittee, Children and Families Subcommittee, and the Constitutional Protections and Sentencing Subcommittee.