The Wall Street Journal - 14.03.2020 - 15.03.2020

A16| Saturday/Sunday, March 14 - 15, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Covid-19 Infects the American Consciousness

Because we have no vaccine for

Covid-19, the information in “What We

Can Learn From the 20th Century’s

Deadliest Pandemic” (Review, March

7) about localized quarantines some-

times being as effective as vaccines

should be heeded by our public offi-

cials. National quarantine guidance

applied to metropolitan areas when

outbreaks are first detected would go

a long way toward quelling public un-

certainty. And consistent policies such

as tax breaks for service industries,

unemployment benefits for affected

employees, along with employing the

digital communication tools now at

our disposal for standardized public

information and education about quar-

antines would certainly mitigate some

of the effects of this pandemic.

DANIELHOUCK

Pittsburgh

Regarding Holman Jenkins’s “A Chi-

nese Mystery and Covid-19’s Economic

Puzzle” (Business World, March 7):

Closing schools and canceling large

events to mitigate the spread of

Covid-19 is sound public policy. How-

ever, just where are the kids going?

When schools closed in Texas because

of the H1N1 virus in 2009, they went

to the mall. They didn’t stay home.

This defeated the purpose of the ini-

tial measures.

Employers and schools often re-

quire a doctor’s note to return to

work or school. This encourages trips

to crowded emergency departments

and will overwhelm the system, just

as it did with H1N1 in 2009. People

should not go to the hospital for test-

ing or a doctor’s note, but only for

severe symptoms that cannot be

managed at home.

Furthermore, how often are we

planning on testing people? One could

be negative this morning, go to the

store and come home an asymptom-

atic positive carrier tonight. Medical

care for viral illnesses is supportive,

so the test isn’t helpful to the individ-

ual patient with mild to moderate

symptoms who doesn’t require hospi-

talization.

The best we can do is avoid panic,

wash hands, stay home if you have

symptoms, avoid large gatherings and

stop requiring a doctor’s note for work

or school for those who call in sick.

DAVEBRYANT

Fort Worth, Texas

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters intended for publication should

be addressed to: The Editor, 1211 Avenue

of the Americas, New York, NY 10036,

or emailed to [email protected]. Please

include your city and state. All letters

are subject to editing, and unpublished

letters can be neither acknowledged nor

returned.

“This is Max—he’s helping me

with some new tricks.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Pepper ...

And Salt

Illinois Continues to Steer Toward the Iceberg

Regarding Orphe Divounguy’s

“Spendthrift Illinois Races Toward

Default” (Cross Country, March 7): Il-

linois Gov. J.B. Pritzker spins a fan-

tasy that a progressive income tax

will “really solve” the latest state fi-

nancial crisis. Voters should consider

the cautionary tale in similarly chal-

lenged New Jersey. The same claim

was made in 1976 by then-Gov. Bren-

dan Byrne when the political class

imposed a state income tax with two

rates—2% and 2.5%. Since then rates

have been increased ranging from

1.75% to 8.95% and, despite prevailing

economic prosperity, current New

Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is proposing

a further increase in the top rate to

10.75%. The result of the torrent of

revenue flowing to Trenton during al-

most 45 years from its demonstrably

progressive income tax is the highest

property tax in the nation, the second

worst credit rating (Illinois is worse),

the worst business tax climate (Tax

Foundation), massively unfunded

pension and health-benefit liabilities,

crumbling infrastructure, a dysfunc-

tional public transportation system

and the continuing exodus of high

earners to lower-tax states. The only

remedy is to end the prolific spend-

ing that characterizes the political

mismanagement of both.

PAULLERMAN,PH.D.

Harrington Park, N.J.

Illinois has a long way to go just to

be average in a peer group of poorly

funded public plans. Worse, the Illi-

nois Teachers’ Retirement System’s

annual return assumption is 7%, and

the state’s actuary noted that in

mid-2019 the “risk-free” return on a

10-year U.S. Treasury bond was just

2.1%. The coronavirus risk has driven

the 10-year yield below 1% and each

1% drop in the assumed return of a

pension plan can increase the present

value of future liabilities by more than

10%. Falling bond yields and returns,

not to mention falling stock prices,

can wipe out the benefit of cost-of-liv-

ing-adjustment reform. Illinois politi-

cians and state-employee union lead-

ers dug a deep pension hole together.

The state (and others with grossly un-

derfunded plans) most likely will need

and press for a federal backstop at

some point—as did Puerto Rico—and

that may well be doable if Democrats

retake control of Washington.

ALANJONES

Atlanta

Gov. Pritzker isn’t following the

playbook of private organizations that

find themselves in a financial jam. A

corporate CEO would freeze all but es-

sential spending, wages and hiring

and look for whatever could be cut

without killing the company. Illinois’s

governor has done none of these. He

has, however, significantly raised

taxes and fees and proposed even

higher taxes that are likely to drive

more people from the state.

CHARLESF.FALK

Schaumburg, Ill.

Illinois wouldn’t be the first state

to default on its debt. Illinois would

be the first state to default since Ar-

kansas in 1933.

STEPHENWEEKS

Houston

Real Deterrent Needed for FISA Law Reform

Regarding your editorial “Clean-

ing Up the FISA Mess” (March 11):

Conspicuously absent from your edi-

torial advocating for reform of the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

(FISA) court is the stunning and

publicly available report by FISA

Judge Rosemary Collyer.

Judge Collyer’s heavily redacted

opinion takes the FBI to task for us-

ing unnamed private contractors to

mine NSA data in 2015-16, with a full

85% of those queries being “noncom-

pliant” with true court privacy pro-

cedures. This coincided—during the

exact same period—with a dramatic

spike in the “unmasking” of citizens

caught up in so-called “foreign” sur-

veillance. Worse, these data queries

targeted the same unnamed U.S. citi-

zens over the period.

This is spying. Who were the tar-

gets? Then-candidate Donald

Trump? Other Republican candi-

dates? It’s anyone’s guess, since the

report remains redacted.

At what point does this cease be-

ing foreign surveillance and start be-

ing surveillance of our citizens? This

is a debate we need to have publicly.

We’re all adults here. It’s past

time for the government to stop hid-

ing behind its tired, paranoid

“sources and methods” defense.

TANNAHILLGLENKEYMER

Jacksonville, Fla.

Your editorial misses a major

point: No one involved in the abuse

of the current FISA laws faced any

consequences whatsoever. Not one

of the participants faced trial, con-

viction, jail time or any other pen-

alty. Why would any revision of the

law change anything if participants

know that there are no conse-

quences from not complying with

the law?

RICHARDA.LEWIS

Kenosha, Wis.

Please, Can We Approach

The Pandemic Apolitically?

Regarding Jason L. Riley’s “Why a

Pandemic is Always Political” (Up-

ward Mobility, March 11): I have trou-

ble feeling anything but sadness

when something that affects folks at

such a personal level is conspicuously

used by both parties to make “politi-

cal hay.”

As a pilot for American Airlines on

Sept. 11, 2001, I was front and center

to witness what appeared, to me at

least, to be a whole nation coming to-

gether in response to a threat to our

way of life. Maybe it didn’t last long

but, for a while at least, it seemed as

though politics took a back seat while

we came together and energized to

meet that threat. I realize it’s an elec-

tion year, but can we take a month to

focus on solutions without partisan-

ship and personalities? Please!

LARRYSPITSER

Anacortes, Wash.

Trump’s Virus Emergency

W

hatever happened between Wednes-
day night and Friday afternoon at the
White House, let’s please have more
of it. President Trump finally
deployed before the weekend
the full force of the federal
government and private busi-
ness against the coronavirus
pandemic in a way that mil-
lions of Americans have been
waiting to see.
Mr. Trump spent some 90 minutes laying out
far more aggressive steps against the virus than
he has before. That includes declaring a national
emergency that will give the Administration ac-
cess to $50 billion or so in additional funding as
well as authority to deliver help to states and lo-
calities. The President had resisted this step,
perhaps because he didn’t want to alarm the
public or admit bad news.
The emergency designation will be useful,
and you have to appreciate the irony of Demo-
crats who call Mr. Trump a would-be dictator
suddenly urging him to employ extraordinary
powers. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority
Leader, couldn’t resist taking a shot at Mr.
Trump in a statement even as he applauded the
emergency declaration on Friday: “As other
steps are considered, the president must not
overstep his authority or indulge his autocratic
tendencies for purposes not truly related to this
public health crisis.”
Mr. Schumer is like the basketball center who
always gives his opponent an elbow as he runs
back down the court.
Even more important was the roll out of what
the Administration called a new virus testing re-
gime that combines expertise from the govern-
ment and private business. Testing has been the
Achilles’ heel so far in the coronavirus fight, in
part because the government kept a tight rein
on regulatory approvals. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention made faulty kits and the
Food and Drug Administration approval process
limited private innovation.
Deborah Birx, an infectious disease expert on
the White House coronavirus task force, ex-
plained what she called a new “high-through-

put” system for far more widespread and rapid

virus testing across the U.S.

Roche, the drug company, has developed a

test that received rapid FDA

approval. Google is developing

a website that Americans will

be able to consult to see if

their symptoms seem to re-

quire testing. If they do, then

they will be able to drive to re-

tailers like Walmart and Walgreens that are

making their parking lots available for drive-

through tests that involve a nasal swab. The

samples will then be shipped to Quest and Lab-

Corp, private labs that will assay the results and

deliver them back to patients in 24 hours if all

goes as planned.

This new system will have to prove itself, but

if it works it will be an impressive feat of private-

public cooperation to address an urgent health

problem. Meanwhile, the White House also an-

nounced it will let state governments allow labs

in their states develop and perform tests to de-

tect the coronavirus.

All of this is good news, and investors must

have liked it because the equity markets rose

while the rollout was taking place. Stocks rose

by more than 9% on the day, much of it during

the White House event, reversing most of Thurs-

day’s 10% plunge. This shows how much near-

term U.S. economic prospects are tied to prog-

ress against the spread of the virus.

This marks a welcome White House shift from

travel bans against foreign countries to the

greater threat of rising infections among Ameri-

cans. On that note Mr. Trump also waived rules

that will let the Department of Health and Hu-

man Services limit visits to nursing homes to

protect the elderly most vulnerable to the virus.

Anxiety over aging parents is acute across the

U.S. after the deaths in Washington state.

The pandemic is still in its early stages in the

U.S., and the fight will be a long haul. Social dis-

tancing by individuals and businesses may have

to persist for weeks or even months. The good

news on Friday is that the federal government

and private economy seem at last to be manning

the health barricades.

The White House rolls

out a new private-

public testing regime.

Justice vs. Conformity at Scalia Law

T

he campaign for intellectual conformity
in higher education could win a major
and destructive victory as George Mason
University moves to violate the
agreement that established
Antonin Scalia Law School.
After Scalia died in 2016, a
donor, described as a friend of
the Justice, offered $20 mil-
lion to rename GMU’s law
school in his honor. GMU, a Virginia-based pub-
lic university, agreed to condition the gift on
the donor’s anonymity. The name officially
changed that year.
Yet this month GMU threatened to renege on
its contract by identifying the donor, according
to a motion filed in Arlington County Court. The
motion asked for a temporary restraining order,
which was granted Thursday, but the case isn’t
over. GMU could win the lawsuit, while the donor
says the agreement has already been breached
and may demand the return of $16 million.
The background is that since the law-school
renaming was proposed, liberal faculty and stu-
dents have been up in arms. GMU, like most uni-
versities, leans left, but its law school is a rare
bastion of classical liberal thinking in higher ed-
ucation. That’s made it a target of activist
groups and Freedom of Information Act re-
quests from progressives who argue conserva-
tives have too much influence.
Virginia’s FOIA law provides for disclosure
of information about public-university dona-
tions. But it contains an exception for cases in
which “the donor has requested anonymity in
connection with or as a condition of making a
pledge or donation.” FOIA therefore does not
override the donor’s contract with GMU, ac-
cording to the complaint.
The Virginia code also says universities
should take steps to “reduce the hesitation of
prospective donors to make contributions and
unrestricted gifts.” Yet GMU has allegedly said

it will break its promise to the donor and volun-

tarily disclose his agent in response to a FOIA

request. A spokesman for the school declined

comment.

GMU also violated its con-

tract in 2017 and 2019 when it

released hundreds of pages

about the donation agree-

ment, according to the com-

plaint. The contract requires

the donor be given “prompt written notice” of

information requests, but GMU did not provide

it. This shows the university “does not feel con-

strained from releasing information despite the

unambiguous Agreement it entered into for mil-

lions of dollars to benefit and support the Law

School,” the complaint says.

GMU’s apparent willingness to flout its com-

mitment comes at a time of elevated liberal ha-

rassment of non-progressive professors and

ideas in the legal academy. Stephen Bainbridge,

a conservative on the UCLA law faculty, last

month reported that his emails were subject to

a public records request—an unusual imposi-

tion on academic freedom.

There are also political questions. Since 2019

the interim president of GMU has been Anne

Holton, who is married to Virginia Democratic

Senator Tim Kaine. And in 2019 Democrats

swept the Virginia state Legislature which over-

sees its public universities.

Anonymous involvement in American poli-

tics goes back to the writings of the Federalists

and Anti-Federalists, of whom George Mason

himself was a leader. Yet liberals want to use

charges of “dark money” to target anonymous

donors and purge invaluable resources at

George Mason like its Center for the Study of

the Administrative State.

Contracts are enforceable even if made with

conservatives, and we hope a court enforces

this one if GMU bends to the left’s political pres-

sure and breaks its word.

GMU may disclose an

anonymous donor under

political pressure.

Tehran’s Proxies Strike Again

T

he world doesn’t end because there’s
a viral pandemic. In what would have
been far bigger news without the virus
spread, an Iran-backed militia
group on Wednesday
launched an attack on a Iraqi
training base that left two
American troops and one
British soldier dead and some
14 wounded.
“You don’t get to shoot at our bases and kill
and wound Americans and get away with it,”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday
morning, adding that he had spoken to Presi-
dent Trump about a response.
Later that day the U.S. carried out precision
airstrikes against five weapons-storage facili-
ties across Iraq linked to Kata’ib Hizbollah. The
Pentagon said the counterattack will “signifi-
cantly degrade” the Iran-backed Shiite militia’s
ability to carry out future attacks against coali-
tion forces.
The timing is important. Prime Minister
Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned in November amid
protests, and designated successor Mohammed
Tawfiq Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the
position earlier this month. The threat of terror

persists, and two additional American soldiers

died this week in northern Iraq during a mis-

sion against remnants of the Islamic State. Iran

wants to exploit the instabil-

ity in Iraq and expand its re-

gional influence.

Iran may also have been

testing the United States’

commitment to respond amid

a coronavirus outbreak and a

regional drawdown. President Trump dis-

patched thousands of troops to the region after

it killed Iran’s top terror commander, Qasem

Soleimani, in early January. But the military

has withdrawn some 1,000 American soldiers

from Kuwait in the past two weeks, and another

2,000 are set to leave soon.

Tehran is dealing with its own coronavirus

outbreak, and perhaps its terror masters fig-

ured they could get some propaganda gains

from the deaths of Americans in Iraq. The U.S.

response this week was important and neces-

sary to send a message of deterrence against

more such attacks. But if the regime continues

to kill Americans using proxy fighters, Mr.

Trump will have to consider a more serious mil-

itary response.

The U.S. responds to a

rocket attack that killed

two American soldiers.

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