Studies in Public Administration, Covid-19 Edition

Sunday's Washington Post had a couple of articles about the governmental response to the coronavirus pandemic that illustrate strengths and weaknesses of American government.  As a government major in college and public administration in graduate school, I was exposed to the basic canon of separate but interrelated roles of the various levels of government in the US.  At least one of my texts discussed "layer cake" and "marble cake" models of federalism with the latter offered as the more realistic model in the America of the late 60s and early 70s.  My four decades working in the public sector pretty much confirmed that interrelationship; many programs typically involved some mixture of federal and state law and/or policy.

Despite the interrelationships some distinct activities define federal and state roles.  Maybe the most distinct is the scope of activity.  The feds operate on a national and international level.  That's why the story of the Trump administration bungling the coronavirus crisis is a classic case of bureaucratic failure.  Not only is the pandemic a crisis of national proportions but it also requires a level of expertise that can only be effectively marshalled in a national effort.  No state government or private organization can match the federal government in meeting the demand for accurate information, research and equipment needed to effectively manage such a major threat.  Read the story and it quickly becomes evident that after three months and over 20,000 deaths the Trump administration has no clear plan for ending the caronavirus crisis.  

On the other hand, states are rising to the occasion to the extent they can given their limited geographic scope.  Here in Washington Governor Inslee has been very aggressive in ordering shutdowns and self-isolation.  Ohio Governor Mike Dewine is another chief executive who acted quickly.  Neither state can claim victory but the trends in both states are beginning to offer some hope.  Back in school we heard that states were  "laboratories of democracy" (the texts did not mention it but many states have  been and still are "laboratories of anti-democracy) where ideas can be developed, tested and possibly serve as models for other states and even the federal government.  Although the fierce competition among the states for equipment, protective gear and other needed resources is not quite what the theory had in mind, it does demonstrate the deep reserve of competence and initiative within state governments that can provide a backstop to a feckless federal government in a time of national emergency.