tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/us-government-22701/articlesUS government – The Conversation2024-03-26T12:40:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250612024-03-26T12:40:09Z2024-03-26T12:40:09ZPoliticians may rail against the ‘deep state,’ but research shows federal workers are effective and committed, not subversive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584101/original/file-20240325-22-7ip3p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2995%2C2043&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A worker at the National Hurricane Center tracks weather over the Gulf of Mexico.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/philippe-papin-hurricane-specialist-at-the-national-news-photo/1494908383">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s common for political candidates to disparage “the government” even as they run for an office in which they would be part of, yes, running the government. </p>
<p>Often, what they’re referring to is what <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I_z924QAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">we</a>, as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=RW9itwwAAAAJ">scholars</a> of the inner workings of democracy, call “the administrative state.” At times, these critics use a label of collective distrust and disapproval for government workers that sounds more sinister: “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2023.2249142">the deep state</a>.”</p>
<p>Most people, however, don’t know what government workers do, why they do it or how the government selects them in the first place.</p>
<p>Our years of research about the people who work in the federal government finds that they care deeply about their work, aiding the public and pursuing the stability and integrity of government.</p>
<p>Most of them are devoted civil servants. Across hundreds of interviews and surveys of people who have made their careers in government, what stands out most to us is their commitment to civic duty without regard to partisan politics. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A drawing of a statue with a caricature of Andrew Jackson riding on a pig." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584107/original/file-20240325-23-c14rfc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">President Andrew Jackson was a proponent of the ‘spoils system’ in which new presidents could hire friends and supporters into government jobs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_memorium--our_civil_service_as_it_was.JPG">Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly, via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<h2>From spoils to merit</h2>
<p>From the country’s founding through 1883, the U.S. federal government relied on what was called a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/009539979802900606">spoils system</a>” to hire staff. The system got its name from the expression “to the victor goes the spoils.” A newly elected president would distribute government jobs to people who helped him win election.</p>
<p>This system had two primary defects: First, vast numbers of federal jobholders could be displaced every four or eight years; second, many of the new arrivals had no qualifications or experience for the jobs to which they were appointed. </p>
<p>Problems resulting from these defects were smaller than modern Americans might expect, because at that time the federal government was much smaller than it is today and had less to do with Americans’ everyday lives. This method had its defenders, including President Andrew Jackson, who <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/7597210">believed that government tasks were relatively simple</a> and anyone could do them.</p>
<p>But even so, the spoils system meant government was not as effective as it could have been – and as the people justifiably expected it to be.</p>
<p>In 1881, President James Garfield was assassinated by a <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/114423/destiny-of-the-republic-by-candice-millard/">man who believed he deserved a government job</a> because of his support for Garfield but didn’t get one. The assassination led to bipartisan passage in Congress of the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/pendleton-act">Pendleton Act of 1883</a>. </p>
<p>The law brought sweeping change. It introduced for the first time principles of merit in government hiring: Appointment and advancement were tied to workers’ competence, not their political loyalties or connections. To protect civil servants from political interference, they were given job security: Grounds for firing now revolve around poor performance or misconduct, rather than being a supporter of whichever political party lost the last election.</p>
<p>Nearly <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9091000001">3 million career civil servants</a> continue to have these protections today. New presidents still get to hire <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ppo/">roughly 4,000 political appointees</a> with fewer protections.</p>
<p>As a result of these changes and related reforms in the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/history/civil-service-reform-act-1978">Civil Service Reform Act of 1978</a>, the U.S. government is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12945">far more effective today</a> than it was prior to the Pendleton Act. </p>
<p>In fact, U.S. civil service institutions, built on merit-based appointments, merit-based advancement and security of employment, have become the <a href="https://doi.org/10.33545/26646021.2020.v2.i1b.40">standard for democratic governments</a> around the globe. U.S. federal workers are generally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2023.2249142">high-performing, impartial and minimally corrupt</a> compared with other countries’ civil servants.</p>
<h2>Increasing government responsibilities</h2>
<p>Since 1776, the U.S. population has increased <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/07/july-fourth-celebrating-243-years-of-independence.html">from about 2.5 million people to over 330 million today</a>. With its growing size and with technological advances, the federal government now provides a great many services, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/opinion/trump-deep-state.html">protecting its citizens</a> from complex environmental, health and international threats.</p>
<p>Environmental Protection Agency employees help maintain clean air and water and clean up toxic waste dumps to protect human health. Department of Energy scientists and managers oversee the treatment and disposal of <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Fifth-Risk/">radioactive nuclear waste</a> from our weapons program and power plants. National Park Service staff manage over <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/fy2021-bib-bh081.pdf">85 million acres of public land across all 50 states</a>. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecasters’ advance detection of potential weather emergencies enable early warnings and evacuations from high-risk areas, <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Fifth-Risk/">which has saved countless lives</a>.</p>
<p>Federal Emergency Management Agency employees aid survivors of natural disasters. That agency also subsidizes flood insurance, making home insurance available in flood-prone areas. The U.S. government additionally provides <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/federal-government-pays-farmers-doesnt-mean-farmers-are-fans">billions of dollars in subsidies</a> per year to support farmers and maintain food security. </p>
<p>These programs are all administered by government employees: environmental scientists, lawyers, analysts, diplomats, security officers, postal workers, engineers, foresters, doctors and many other specialized career civil servants. Andrew Jackson’s idea of government work no longer applies: You do not want just anyone managing hazardous waste, sending a space shuttle into orbit or managing public lands constituting <a href="https://www.gao.gov/managing-federal-lands-and-waters">one-third of the country’s territory</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People wearing white helmets and white jackets slice open meat carcasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584104/original/file-20240325-26-idylq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety inspectors examine meat at a processing plant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AgSecretaryFoodSafety/51f2053e7b3841c5b9343ebff015c7c3/photo">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span>
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<h2>A dedicated workforce</h2>
<p>Research, including our own, shows that these workers are not self-serving elites but rather dedicated and committed public servants.</p>
<p>That’s <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/the-new-case-for-bureaucracy/book238024">generally true</a> even of Internal Revenue Service staffers, postal service clerks and other bureaucratic functionaries who may not earn much public respect. Federal employees <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/phantoms-of-a-beleaguered-republic-9780197656945?cc=us&lang=en&">mirror demographics in the United States</a> and are hired, trained and legally obligated to uphold the Constitution and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/725313">serve the public interest</a>.</p>
<p>One of us, Jaime Kucinskas, with sociologist and law professor <a href="https://law.seattleu.edu/faculty/directory/profiles/zylan-yvonne.html">Yvonne Zylan</a>, tracked the experiences of dozens of federal employees across the EPA, Department of Health and Human Services, State Department, Department of Interior, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and various other agencies during the Trump administration. That research found these workers were dedicated to serving the public and the Constitution, upholding the missions of their agencies and democracy, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/725313">working to support leadership and the elected president</a>. </p>
<p>Even though 80% of the centrist and Democratic Party-leaning government workers they spoke with did not believe in the ideas behind the Trump presidency, they were careful to follow legal official orders from the administration.</p>
<p>They noted the importance of speaking up while leaders deliberated what to do. After political appointees and supervisors made their decisions, however, even the civil servants who most valued speaking truth to power acknowledged, “Then it’s time to execute,” as one State Department employee told Kucinskas. “As career professionals we have an obligation to carry out lawful instructions, even if we don’t fully agree with it.”</p>
<p>Another international affairs expert told Kucinskas, “People have voted and this is where we’re at. And we’re not going to change things. We don’t do that here.” He said if political appointees “want to do what you consider bad decisions … we do our best to give more information. … And if they still decide to do (it), then we say okay, that’s what we’re going to do.”</p>
<p>He was firm in this loyal and deferential position to the elected president and his administration in 2018 and again in a 2020 follow-up interview. “If you want to be an advocate, you can leave and work in a different sector,” he concluded. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People wearing reflective safety vests stand in a clearing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584106/original/file-20240325-20-pr6w27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Environmental Protection Agency workers tour the site of an abandoned mercury mine in California slated for cleanup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/environmental-protection-agency-remedial-project-manager-news-photo/2041454729">Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Some decided to do just that: More than a quarter of the upper-level government workers Kucinskas spoke with left their positions during the Trump administration. Although exits typically rise during presidential transitions, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/31/2/451/5983893">they typically remain under 10%</a>, making this degree of high-level exits unusually high.</p>
<p>Even as many Americans express frustration with the president, Congress and the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/06/06/the-people-of-government-career-employees-political-appointees-and-candidates-for-office/">federal government as a whole</a>, however, we believe it is important not to take for granted what federal government workers are doing well. U.S. citizens benefit from effective federal services, thanks in part because the government hires and rewards civil servants because of their merit rather than loyalty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225061/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Years of research about the people who work in the federal government finds that most of them are devoted civil servants who are committed to civic duty without regard to partisan politics.Jaime Kucinskas, Associate Professor of Sociology, Hamilton CollegeJames L. Perry, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs Emeritus, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2202522023-12-21T12:01:30Z2023-12-21T12:01:30ZWhat Ukraine needs from its European partners (and the US) in 2024<p>As 2024 approaches, the top priority of the Ukrainian government is best summed up as ending the war against Russia while regaining as much territory as possible.</p>
<p>President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-vows-end-russian-occupation-crimea-2023-08-23/">claims</a> that Ukraine will only stop fighting when it regains its pre-2014 borders, including Crimea.</p>
<p>This objective appears highly unlikely in 2024, but if it wants any hope of achieving it, Ukraine will need help from its European partners – the main ones being the EU, which has generally shown strong support to Kyiv (with some notable exceptions) and the UK. Ukraine’s objectives are largely overlapping with those of its allies, and help will likely need to come in three forms.</p>
<p>First, military support. Despite Russia having the bigger army, Ukraine has so far <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4351d5b0-0888-4b47-9368-6bc4dfbccbf5">been able to stop</a> the Russian army advancing further than the Dnipro river in the south and the Donbas region in the east. This is mainly because of sophisticated <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62002218">military equipment</a> sold or gifted by its partners, and because of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/us/politics/russia-generals-killed-ukraine.html">intelligence information</a> transferred by Nato and the US. </p>
<p>To avoid being outmatched, Ukraine will need continuous support by its allies in 2024 because, having nearly exhausted its own equipment, it is “almost totally reliant on western assistance for artillery and rocket artillery systems and ammunition”, as <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12150#:%7E:text=Since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,on%20TDF%20and%20Reserve%20units.">reported</a> by a study from the US Congress.</p>
<p>The EU has already <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russias-Against-Ukraine-Foreign-Reaction/dp/3031186931">distributed finance</a> to its member states to deliver military equipment to Kyiv, and now, for the first time in its history, the EU <a href="https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/act-support-ammunition-production-asap_en">will finance</a> member states to assist with the production of military equipment. The EU finances member states both through a special common fund called the <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/05/05/eu-joint-procurement-of-ammunition-and-missiles-for-ukraine-council-agrees-1-billion-support-under-the-european-peace-facility/">European Peace Facility</a> (for the transfer of existing weapons), or through its <a href="https://csfederalismo.it/images/2023/Research-Paper/CSF-RP_EU-Defence-Union-ASAP_FFabbrini_Nov2023.pdf">budget</a> (for assisting with production costs).</p>
<p>Second, economic support. Because of the war, Ukraine is in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-approves-2024-wartime-budget-aims-strengthen-army-2023-11-09/">huge financial debt</a>. But unlike other countries in the same condition, its dire economic situation is much harder to manage due to the war efforts. The US Congress <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/us/politics/senate-ukraine-aid-bill.html">decided</a> to block financial aid to Kyiv, and now the EU has done the same.</p>
<p>However, the reason for the EU’s decision not to commit more money was not that the US had not done so. It was, instead, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán – sometimes <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/video/20231215-russian-s-trojan-horse-in-the-eu-orban-wants-a-european-union-that-would-please-putin">called</a> Russia’s “Trojan horse in the EU” – who <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67724357">vetoed</a> the transfer of €50 billion (£43 billion) in EU aid to Ukraine.</p>
<p>Third, political support. This is the ideological underpinning of the other two forms of support. It is also necessary to influence public opinion. It is important for Kyiv that public opinion in Europe remains overwhelmingly in its favour, so that democratic leaders have another incentive to stand with Ukraine. Political support may come in the form of public statements (“<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pl/speech_22_7684">we stand with Ukraine</a>”), as well as by visiting or hosting Zelensky.</p>
<p>These are acts which show that, two years into the conflict, the commitment of European partners to the Ukrainian cause remains strong – despite the economic cost for their constituencies, shifting international attention towards the <a href="https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2023/1120/1417424-russia-israel-gaza-ukraine-politics/">war between Israel and Hamas</a>, and the <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/olaf-scholz-gets-viktor-orban-out-the-room-to-approve-ukraine-accession-talks/">manifest disunity of European leaders</a>.</p>
<p>Another important symbolic decision was the EU’s choice to formally <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67722252">open membership talks</a> with Kyiv. But it is, at this stage, largely symbolic because the accession process typically takes nearly a decade.</p>
<h2>Will aid continue?</h2>
<p>In 2024, there will be three elections that have the potential to determine what might change: the presidential elections in Russia in March, the EU parliamentary elections in May, and the US presidential elections in November. The US and EU have been Ukraine’s most influential supporters so far, but electoral changes could mean a different policy. (The UK is also likely to have a general election, but both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/16/keir-starmer-visits-kyiv-labour-backing-ukraine">main parties</a> seem committed to continuing aid.)</p>
<p>Military aid looks likely to remain untouched at least until the European elections. It is in the European nations’ interest to stop Russia moving further into Ukraine. Advances could allow Vladimir Putin to cut off more access to the <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/08/14/the-ukraine-wars-black-sea-geopolitics/">Black Sea ports</a>, for instance, or even <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-latest-putin-sky-news-blog-12541713">target</a> Moldova.</p>
<p>So far, this has overridden political contentiousness, even though some opposition figures have suggested that providing weapons to Ukraine only prolongs the war and <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15439.doc.htm">exacerbates insecurity</a>. With the exception of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbhLupWtbik">previous Polish govervnment</a>, the new <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/slovakia-robert-fico-announce-halt-military-aid-ukraine/">Slovakian one</a> and Hungary, no other EU member government has announced that it would stop – or is considering stopping – the sale or gift of weapons to Ukraine. </p>
<p>This is likely to continue even if Donald Trump, who is essentially a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/16/trump-quotes-putin-in-bid-to-portray-biden-as-authoritarian-00132157">pro-Putin candidate</a>, were to be elected US president and were to announce an end to US military support to Ukraine, as has been hinted.</p>
<p>Ongoing financial aid from the EU is also looking possible. The situation in the US is more uncertain, where the bipartisan support of Ukraine that existed at the beginning of the war <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67637679">seems to have evaporated </a>. There is some likelihood that a Trump presidency would try to block both military and financial aid, according to some sources. This has been suggested in the policy agenda <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/project-2025-publishes-comprehensive-policy-guide-mandate-leadership-the-conservative-promise">drafted</a> by America First Policy Institute, which is staffed by former Trump officials.</p>
<p>The Ukrainian government hopes that its <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/enlargement/ukraine/">membership of the EU</a> will materialise soon. The commission <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_3790">has said</a> that it must fulfil the conditions for membership as any other candidate would. The next legislature (2024-2029) in the EU will likely decide at least the timeframe for membership, if not the specific conditions.</p>
<p>Ukraine faces a formidable challenge in reclaiming its pre-2014 borders. To achieve this, continued military support, economic aid and unwavering political backing from European partners, particularly the EU and the UK, are crucial. While a policy shift in the EU is unlikely, the concrete possibility of a Trump presidency in 2024 holds a lot of uncertainty for Ukraine – and that has got to be one Zelensky’s biggest worries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luigi Lonardo is the Principal Investigator of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence 'European Integration and Citizens' Rights', which receives funding from the European Commission. </span></em></p>With four elections among Ukraine’s key partners in 2024, commitment to aid for President Zelensky could be in doubt.Luigi Lonardo, Lecturer in EU law, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146282023-11-29T13:38:28Z2023-11-29T13:38:28ZLGTBQIA+ sanctuary declarations help cities take a stand to defend rights – but may not have much actual legal impact<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560848/original/file-20231121-25-54tmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Minnesotans hold a rally at the state capitol in St. Paul to support trans kids in March 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/st-paul-minnesota-march-6-2022-because-the-attacks-against-news-photo/1385207884?adppopup=true">Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Several <a href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/naacp-joins-other-civil-rights-groups-in-issuing-travel-advisory-for-florida-national-association-for-the-advancement-of-colored-people-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-african-american-studies-history-people-of-color-lgbtq-rights-civil-rights-policy-guns">cities and towns</a>, mostly in the American Midwest and South, are responding to a surge of proposed and approved legislation that restricts gay and transgender people’s rights by declaring they are “sanctuaries” for people who identify as LGBTQIA+. </p>
<p>States like Alabama, Texas, Florida, North Dakota and Montana have <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights">passed 84 laws</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-laws-states-gender-affirming-zephyr-fc2528326823c8232cb0aaa7ece0beab">in 2023 alone</a> that restrict LGBTQIA+ rights, primarily targeting transgender kids. </p>
<p>Some of these laws require teachers to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/north-dakota-advances-record-setting-10-anti-lgbtq-bills-one-day-advoc-rcna78311">call trans students by the name and pronoun</a> they were assigned at birth, for example, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-dont-say-gay-ban-684ed25a303f83208a89c556543183cb">prohibit any students</a> from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity. </p>
<p>In September 2023, the small town of Lake Worth Beach, Florida, was the latest to say that it was “a safe place, a sanctuary, a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/07/lgbtq-sanctuary-city-florida/70789322007/">welcoming and supportive city</a> for LGBTQIA+ individuals and their families to live in peace and comfort.” </p>
<p>At least 15 states and cities have dubbed themselves <a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare/trans_shield_laws">LGBTQIA+ sanctuaries</a> over the last several years.</p>
<p>Sanctuaries are generally considered local refuges, where people who are afraid of persecution or discrimination have legal immunity from particular government policies or laws. </p>
<p>As a <a href="http://jfinn.faculty.wesleyan.edu/">scholar of constitutional law</a> and a student of sanctuary movements, I think that sanctuary declarations of all kinds raise important questions of constitutional law. </p>
<p>The most difficult is the question of whether and when these declarations violate the U.S. Constitution by placing state or local law above federal law.</p>
<p>The short answer is that it depends on what these declarations actually promise. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People hold signs that say 'Love is love,' and 'say gay loud!' Some of the people wear large yellow wigs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560853/original/file-20231121-4697-40ulzc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People protest Florida’s anti-LGBTQIA laws during a pride parade in Wilton Manors in June 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-protesting-against-florida-gov-ron-desantis-and-news-photo/1499333323?adppopup=true">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sanctuaries’ history in the US</h2>
<p>Sanctuaries are a long-standing part of the United States’ constitutional history. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.lirs.org/news/what-are-sanctuary-cities-and-why-do-they-exist-lirs/">In the 1980s,</a> for example, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, among other places, said they would <a href="https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States">not cooperate with federal immigration</a> officials trying to deport Central American migrants. These cities’ representatives said the migrants were eligible for asylum and had fear of returning to their homelands because of persecution – but federal judges still did not give them the right to stay in the U.S. </p>
<p>More recent examples include the proliferation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/sanctuaries-protecting-gun-rights-and-the-unborn-challenge-the-legitimacy-and-role-of-federal-law-122988">Second Amendment sanctuaries</a> <a href="https://www.bradyunited.org/act/second-amendment-sanctuaries">in local towns and counties</a> in 42 states, which say they will not enforce a variety of federal gun laws. </p>
<p>Now, Tallahassee, Florida, is among the places that is considering <a href="https://gray-wctv-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/video/2023/07/14/tallahassee-residents-push-mayor-make-capital-sanctuary-city-lgbtq/">declaring itself a LGBTQIA+ sanctuary</a>. Other places – <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5qk7w/austin-texas-trans-kids-sanctuary-city">including Austin, Texas</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-12/kansas-city-declares-lgbtq-sanctuary-city">Kansas City, Missouri</a> – have also made themselves LGBTQIA+ sanctuaries over the last few years.</p>
<p>Most of the sanctuaries focus on the rights and protection of trans kids and their families, in particular.</p>
<p>In some places, like Austin, the aim is to create a “safe place, a sanctuary, for <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/leaders-to-declare-austin-a-safe-and-inclusive-city-for-transgender-families/">transgender children and their families.”</a> In Kansas City, the intent is to make the city “a sanctuary for people seeking or <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sanctuary-city-lgbtq-kansas-city-resolution-bccdd5c33818bf9c1270ef2af63e393e">providing gender-affirming care.”</a> </p>
<h2>Are they legal?</h2>
<p>Sanctuary declarations raise important and difficult questions of constitutional law, especially when they claim immunity from federal laws or the U.S. Constitution. That’s because the Constitution <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-6/">contains Article 6</a>, commonly known as the supremacy clause, which says that the Constitution and federal laws trump any state or local law. </p>
<p>The supremacy of the Constitution to state and local laws is a key part of how the U.S. government works. It means that state and local governments must act within the confines of the Constitution, even when state or local lawmakers disagree with federal law. </p>
<p>So, does the Constitution allow <a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country">places to say that they will not follow</a> discriminatory laws, such as those that prevent trans students or faculty from use of the restrooms that match their gender identity?</p>
<p>The answer often depends on a sanctuary declaration’s precise wording and meaning.</p>
<p>Some sanctuary declarations, like the <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4192088-this-town-is-floridas-first-lgbtq-sanctuary-city/">Lake Worth Beach resolution</a>, are simply rhetorical statements of support or opposition to a particular cause or policy. They have little or no legal consequences. </p>
<p>Others, like some <a href="https://theconversation.com/sanctuaries-protecting-gun-rights-and-the-unborn-challenge-the-legitimacy-and-role-of-federal-law-122988">Second Amendment resolutions</a>, announce that local officials, often sheriffs or other law enforcement personnel, will not enforce or comply with laws restricting guns that they regard as unconstitutional. </p>
<p>In these sorts of cases, the proclaimed sanctuaries directly challenge what the Constitution says, specifically that the Constitution and federal laws are <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-6/">“the supreme Law of the Land”</a>. State laws or laws passed by lower levels of government cannot overrule them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children wear rainbows on their shirts and dance in front of people also wearing rainbows and waving rainbow flags." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560856/original/file-20231121-19-vf2yk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People dance during a drag story time in Austin, Texas, in June 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-dance-during-a-drag-time-story-hour-at-the-waterloo-news-photo/1497480212?adppopup=true">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Devil is in the details</h2>
<p>It is important to note, however, that not all sanctuary declarations violate Article 6. </p>
<p>When it comes to whether sanctuaries declared by states, cities or small towns are legal, the devil is in the details – as with most things concerning the Constitution. </p>
<p>A sanctuary resolution that only says that local officials disagree about what the Constitution means or requires, without pledging to break federal law, is simply <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does">freedom of expression</a>. </p>
<p>Consequently, a claim of sanctuary for LGBTQIA+ people that simply declares a city or a town a safe and welcoming space, without calling for anything else or any kind of direct violation of federal law, is constitutionally protected. This is what the Lake Worth City <a href="https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/lake-worth/city-of-lake-worth-beach-now-lgbtq-sanctuary-city">sanctuary declaration does</a>. </p>
<p>A more complex case arises when sanctuary spaces claim immunity not from federal law, but rather from state or local laws that impede a certain group of people’s rights. These kinds of sanctuary declarations do not ordinarily challenge the authority of Article 6 or the Constitution, in general, because the sanctuary claim is made against state laws, not federal law or the Constitution.</p>
<p>Indeed, in many such instances, these sanctuaries seek to protect people’s federal civil liberties and rights against discriminatory state laws. This is what the <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/lakeworth/2023/09/07/what-is-an-lgbtq-sanctuary-city-lake-worth-beach-just-became-one/70774974007/">Lake Worth Beach resolution</a> and other <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/kansas-city-declares-lgbtq-sanctuary-city-rcna84126">LGBTQIA+ resolutions do</a>. </p>
<p>These sanctuaries actually reinforce the Constitution’s authority by insisting upon the power of people’s basic, constitutional principles and rights over discriminatory state laws.</p>
<p>Sanctuaries that promise a safe space for people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community do not undermine federal constitutional law. </p>
<p>Instead, they seek to make good on the Constitution’s commitments to equality and human dignity against discriminatory policies. Unlike some sanctuary resolutions, most LGBTQIA+ sanctuaries do not threaten the Constitution – they celebrate it by insisting upon the supremacy of basic constitutional rights and principles without violating Article 6.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214628/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John E. Finn is Professor Emeritus of Government at Wesleyan University.</span></em></p>The question of whether local declarations offering sanctuary for LGBTQIA+ people place local law above federal law depends on what the statements actually promise.John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2077002023-10-16T12:32:54Z2023-10-16T12:32:54ZGangsters are the villains in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552605/original/file-20231006-21-4xdn37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3639%2C2842&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An Osage delegation with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House on Jan. 20, 1924. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/washington-dc-osage-indians-in-washington-regarding-their-news-photo/514689540">Bettman via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Director Martin Scorsese’s new movie, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG0si5bSd6I">Killers of the Flower Moon</a>,” tells the true story of a string of murders on the <a href="https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/">Osage Nation</a>’s land in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Based on David Grann’s <a href="https://www.davidgrann.com/book/killers-of-the-flower-moon/">meticulously researched 2017 book</a>, the movie delves into racial and family dynamics that rocked Oklahoma to the core when oil was discovered on Osage lands.</p>
<p>White settlers targeted members of the Osage Nation to steal their land and the riches beneath it. But from a historical perspective, this crime is just the tip of the iceberg. </p>
<p>From the early 1800s through the 1930s, official U.S. policy displaced thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral homes through the policy known as <a href="https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal/pdf/related-facts.pdf">Indian removal</a>. And throughout the 20th century, the federal government collected billions of dollars from sales or leases of natural resources like timber, oil and gas on Indian lands, which it was supposed to disburse to the land’s owners. But it <a href="https://narf.org/cases/cobell/">failed to account for these trust funds</a> for decades, let alone pay Indians what they were due.</p>
<p>I am the manager of the University of Arizona’s <a href="https://law.arizona.edu/academics/programs/indigenous-governance-program">Indigenous Governance Program</a> and a <a href="https://naair.arizona.edu/person/torivio-fodder">law professor</a>. My ancestry is Comanche, Kiowa and Cherokee on my father’s side and Taos Pueblo on my mother’s side. From my perspective, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is just one chapter in a much larger story: The U.S. was built on stolen lands and wealth.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tribal members, some in traditional garb, on a stage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553328/original/file-20231011-15-91wp92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Osage Nation attend the premiere of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ on Sept. 27, 2023, in New York City.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/julie-okeefe-addie-roanhorse-osage-nation-princess-lawren-news-photo/1705095795">Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Westward expansion and land theft</h2>
<p>In the standard telling, the American West was populated by industrious settlers who eked out livings from the ground, formed cities and, in time, created states. In fact, hundreds of Native nations already lived on those lands, each with their own unique forms of government, culture and language.</p>
<p>In the early 1800s, eastern cities were growing and dense urban centers were becoming unwieldy. Indian lands in the west were an alluring target – but westward expansion ran up against what would become known was “the Indian problem.” This <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears">widely used phrase</a> reflected a belief that the U.S. had a God-given mandate to settle North America, and Indians stood in the way.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/if-BOZgWZPE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In the early 1800s, treaty-making between the U.S. and Indian nations shifted from a cooperative process into a tool for forcibly removing tribes from their lands.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Starting in the 1830s, Congress pressured Indian tribes in the east to sign treaties that required the tribes to <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/indian-removal-act/">move to reservations in the west</a>. This took place over the objections of public figures such as <a href="https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal/pdf/related-facts.pdf">Tennessee frontiersman and congressman Davy Crockett</a>, humanitarian organizations and, of course, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/storiestrailoftears.htm">the tribes themselves</a>. </p>
<p>Forced removal touched every tribe east of the Mississippi River and several tribes to the west of it. In total, <a href="https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal/pdf/lesson-0-full.pdf">about 100,000 American Indians were removed</a> from their eastern homelands to western reservations. </p>
<p>But the most pernicious land grab was yet to come.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing tribes displaced from the eastern U.S." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552609/original/file-20231006-29-gfecbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eastern Native American tribes that were forced to move west starting in the 1830s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal/img/Removal-MAP-20170124.jpg">Smithsonian</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The General Allotment Act</h2>
<p>Even after Indians were corralled on reservations, settlers pushed for more access to western lands. In 1871, Congress formally ended the policy of treaty-making with Indians. Then, in 1887, it passed the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act">General Allotment Act</a>, also known as the Dawes Act. With this law, U.S. policy toward Indians shifted from separation to assimilation – forcibly integrating Indians into the national population.</p>
<p>This required transitioning tribal structures of communal land ownership under a reservation system to a private property model that broke up reservations altogether. The General Allotment Act was designed to divvy up reservation lands into allotments for individual Indians and open any unallotted lands, which were deemed surplus, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act#">to non-Indian settlement</a>. Lands could be allotted only to male heads of households. </p>
<p>Under the original statute, the U.S. government held Indian allotments, which measured roughly 160 acres per person, in trust for 25 years before each Indian allottee could receive clear title. During this period, Indian allottees were expected to <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=fac_pub">embrace agriculture, convert to Christianity and assume U.S. citizenship</a>. </p>
<p>In 1906, Congress amended the law to allow the secretary of the interior to issue land titles whenever an Indian allottee was deemed capable of managing his affairs. Once this happened, the allotment was subject to taxation and could immediately be sold.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHdSZnoDREE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2021 study estimated that Native people in the U.S. have lost almost 99% of the lands they occupied before 1800.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Legal cultural genocide</h2>
<p>Indian allottees often had little concept of farming and even less ability to manage their newly acquired lands.</p>
<p>Even after being confined to western reservations, many tribes had maintained their traditional governance structures and tried to preserve their cultural and religious practices, including communal ownership of property. When the U.S. government imposed a foreign system of ownership and management on them, many Indian landowners simply sold their lands to non-Indian buyers, or found themselves subject to taxes that they were unable to pay.</p>
<p>In total, allotment <a href="https://iltf.org/land-issues/history/">removed 90 million acres of land</a> from Indian control before the policy ended in the mid-1930s. This led to the destruction of Indian culture; loss of language as the federal government <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.21-22/indigenous-affairs-the-u-s-has-spent-more-money-erasing-native-languages-than-saving-them">implemented its boarding school policy</a>; and imposition of a myriad of regulations, as shown in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” that affected inheritance, ownership and title disputes when an allottee passed away. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Antique map with oil production tracts marked" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552606/original/file-20231006-22-gax5ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 1917 map of oil leases on the Osage Reservation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/map-of-osage-indian-reservation-gas-and-oil-leases-1917-news-photo/1371414745">HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A measure of justice</h2>
<p>Today, <a href="https://revenuedata.doi.gov/how-revenue-works/native-american-ownership-governance/">about 56 million acres</a> remain under Indian control. The federal government owns title to the lands, but holds them in trust for Indian tribes and individuals.</p>
<p>These lands contain many valuable resources, including oil, gas, timber and minerals. But rather than acting as a steward of Indian interests in these resources, the U.S. government has repeatedly failed in its trust obligations.</p>
<p>As required under the General Allotment Act, money earned from oil and gas exploration, mining and other activities on allotted Indian lands was placed in individual accounts for the benefit of Indian allottees. But for over a century, rather than making payments to Indian landowners, the government routinely mismanaged those funds, failed to provide a court-ordered accounting of them and <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2318591">systematically destroyed disbursement records</a>. </p>
<p>In 1996, Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, filed a class action lawsuit seeking to force the government to provide a historic accounting of these funds and fix its failed system for managing them. After 16 years of litigation, the suit was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/us/elouise-cobell-65-dies-sued-us-over-indian-trust-funds.html">settled in 2009 for roughly US$3.4 billion</a>. </p>
<p>The settlement provided $1.4 billion for direct payments of $1,000 to each member of the class, and $1.9 billion to consolidate complex ownership interests that had accrued as land was handed down through multiple generations, making it <a href="https://www.doi.gov/ocl/hearings/111/CobellvsSalazar_121709">hard to track allottees and develop the land</a>. </p>
<p>“We all know that the settlement is inadequate, but we must also find a way to heal the wounds and bring some measure of restitution,” said Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, as the organization <a href="https://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2010/06/23/ncai-passes-resolution-to-support-immediate-passage-of-the-cobell-settlement-legislation">passed a resolution in 2010</a> endorsing the settlement.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman and man shake hands in a crowded hearing room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553330/original/file-20231011-15-h5ezb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elouise Cobell shakes hands with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at a Senate hearing on the $3.4 billion Cobell v. Salazar settlement. Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, led the suit against the federal government for mismanaging revenues derived from land held in trust for Indian tribes and individuals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/elouise-cobell-shakes-hands-with-interior-secretary-ken-news-photo/94711236">Mark Wilson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who are the wolves?</h2>
<p>“Killers of the Flower Moon” offers a snapshot of American Indian land theft, but the full history is much broader. In one scene from the movie, Ernest Burkhart – an uneducated white man, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who married an Osage woman and <a href="https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OS005">participated in the Osage murders</a> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG0si5bSd6I&t=4s">reads haltingly from a child’s picture book</a>.</p>
<p>“There are many, so many, hungry wolves,” he reads. “Can you find the wolves in this picture?” It’s clear from the movie that the town’s citizens are the wolves. But the biggest wolf of all is the federal government itself – and Uncle Sam is nowhere to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Torivio Fodder is an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo, and of Comanche, Kiowa and Cherokee descent.</span></em></p>The Osage murders of the 1920s are just one episode in nearly two centuries of stealing land and resources from Native Americans. Much of this theft was guided and sanctioned by federal law.Torivio Fodder, Indigenous Governance Program Manager and Professor of Practice, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145492023-10-03T12:31:31Z2023-10-03T12:31:31ZClimate change is about to play a big role in government purchases – with vast implications for the US economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551043/original/file-20230928-21-6jlfb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C4190%2C2841&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. government is the single largest buyer of services and goods, like vehicles. That has an impact on the economy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/postal-trucks-are-parked-at-a-united-states-postal-service-news-photo/1210107059">Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year, the federal government purchases <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/climate/biden-government-carbon-neutral.html">about 50,000</a> new vehicles. Until recently, almost all of them ran on diesel or gasoline, contributing to U.S. demand for fossil fuels and encouraging automakers to continue focusing on fossil-fueled vehicles.</p>
<p>That’s starting to change, and a new directive that the Biden Administration quietly issued in September 2023 will accelerate the shift. </p>
<p>The administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/21/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-combat-the-climate-crisis/">directed U.S. agencies</a> to begin considering the social cost of greenhouse gases when making purchase decisions and implementing their budgets.</p>
<p>That one move has vast implications that go far beyond vehicles. It could affect decisions across the government on everything from agriculture grants to fossil fuel drilling on public lands to construction projects. Ultimately, it could shift demand enough to change what industries produce, not just for the government but for the entire country.</p>
<h2>What’s the social cost of greenhouse gas?</h2>
<p>The social cost of greenhouse gases represents the damage created by emitting 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/">greenhouse gases</a>, largely from fossil fuels, trap heat in the atmosphere, <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/greenhouse-effect">warming the planet and fueling climate change</a>. The result is <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-extreme-downpours-trigger-flooding-around-the-world-scientists-take-a-closer-look-at-global-warmings-role-213724">worsening storms</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-2023-was-the-hottest-on-record-yes-its-climate-change-but-dont-call-it-the-new-normal-213021">heat waves, droughts and other disasters</a> that harm humans, infrastructure and economies around the world. The estimate is intended to include changes in agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services.</p>
<p>By directing agencies to consider those costs when making purchases and implementing budgets, the administration is making it more likely that agencies will purchase products and make investments that are more energy efficient and less likely to fuel climate change.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Solar panels outside a military airplane hangar." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550835/original/file-20230928-28-pxs7gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Department of Defense has been taking steps to reduce emissions for several years. Many of its military bases have solar panels, which can produce renewable energy for a few buildings or larger installations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/7643438142">U.S. Navy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While only a fraction of the <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58888">roughly $6 trillion</a> that the U.S. government spends each year would likely be considered under the new directive, that fraction could have far-reaching impacts on the U.S. economy by reducing demand for fossil fuels and lowering emissions across sectors.</p>
<h2>Estimating the cost</h2>
<p>The Obama administration introduced the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/for-agencies/Social-Cost-of-Carbon-for-RIA.pdf">first federal social cost of carbon</a> to incorporate climate risk in regulatory decisions. It’s calculated using models of the global economy and climate and weighs the value of spending money today for future benefits. </p>
<p>When the Trump administration arrived, it cut the estimated cost from around $50 per metric ton to less than $5, which justified rolling back several environmental regulations, including <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/documents/utilities_ria_proposed_ace_2018-08.pdf">on power plant emissions</a> and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/safer-affordable-fuel-efficient-safe-vehicles-proposed">fuel efficiency</a>. The Biden administration restored an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/biden-social-cost-carbon-climate-risk-measure-upheld-by-us-appeals-court-2022-10-21/">interim price to about $51</a>, with plans to raise it.</p>
<p>Recent research suggests that the actual social cost of carbon is closer to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05224-9">$185 per metric ton</a>. But carbon dioxide is just one greenhouse gas. The new directive takes other greenhouse gases into consideration, too – in particular, methane, which has <a href="https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/oil-gas-and-coal/methane-emissions_en">about 80 times</a> the warming power of carbon dioxide over 20 years.</p>
<p>Estimates of the social cost of methane, which comes from livestock and leaks from pipelines and other natural gas equipment, range from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03386-6">$933 per metric ton</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03540-1">$4,000 per metric ton</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Photo of a rusted oil pump in an overgrown field in Texas. Rusted parts are piled beside it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551042/original/file-20230928-19-zdojmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Oil and gas wells and pipelines are a common source of methane emissions, including what the Environmental Protection Agency estimates to be more than 3 million abandoned wells across the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Oil-PluggingWellsandBudgets/727e464e95754337a2346d9be981fcc3/photo">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Without directives like these, decision-makers implicitly set the cost of greenhouse gas emissions to zero in their benefit-cost analyses. The new directives allow agencies to instead compare the expected climate damages, in dollars, when making decisions about vehicle purchases, building infrastructure and permitting, among other choices.</p>
<h2>The vehicle fleet as an example</h2>
<p>The federal vehicle fleet is a good example of how the social costs of greenhouse gases add up.</p>
<p>Let’s compare the costs of driving an electric Ford Focus and an equivalent conventional-fuel Ford Focus. </p>
<p>Assume each vehicle drives an average of 10,000 miles (about 16,000 kilometers) per year – that’s <a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm">less than the U.S. average</a> per driver, but it’s a simple number to work with. The damages from emissions in dollars from driving a conventional Ford Focus 10,000 miles are between <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2851/SCC_EV_Spreadsheet.pdf?1696282257">$133 and $484</a>, depending on whether you use a social cost of carbon <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/biden-social-cost-carbon-climate-risk-measure-upheld-by-us-appeals-court-2022-10-21/">of $51 per metric ton</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05224-9">$185 per metric ton</a>.</p>
<p>The climate harm from driving an equivalent electric Ford Focus 10,000 miles, based on the average carbon dioxide emissions intensity from the U.S. electricity grid, would be between $59 and $212, using the same social costs.</p>
<p>Scale that to 50,000 new vehicle purchases, and that’s a cost difference of about $4 million to $13.5 million per year for emissions from operating the vehicles. While producing an EV’s battery <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/comparative-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-a-mid-size-bev-and-ice-vehicle">adds to the vehicle’s emissions up front</a>, that’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/when-do-electric-vehicles-become-cleaner-than-gasoline-cars-2021-06-29/">soon outweighed</a> by operational savings. These are real savings to society.</p>
<p>The U.S. government is also a major consumer of energy. If agencies begin to consider the climate damages associated with fossil energy consumption, they will <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=40192#:%7E:text=The%20U.S.%20federal%20government%20consumed,less%20than%20a%20decade%20before.">likely trend toward renewable energy</a>, further lowering their own emissions while boosting the burgeoning industry.</p>
<h2>How the government can shift demand</h2>
<p>These types of comparisons under the new directive could help shift purchases toward a wide range of less carbon-intensive products.</p>
<p>Much of the U.S. government’s spending goes toward carbon-intensive goods and services, such as transportation and infrastructure development. Directing agencies to consider and compare the social cost of purchases in each of these sectors will send similar signals to different segments of the market: The demand for less carbon-intensive goods is rising.</p>
<p>Because this new directive expands to other greenhouse gases, it could have broad implications for new <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/biden-social-cost-carbon-climate-risk-measure-upheld-by-us-appeals-court-2022-10-21/">permitting for oil and gas</a> development and agricultural production, as these are the two largest sources of methane in the U.S.</p>
<p>While this decision is not a tax on carbon or a subsidy for less carbon-intensive goods, it will likely send similar market signals. With respect to purchases, this policy is akin to tax rebates for energy efficient products, like electric vehicle incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, which boost demand for EVs.</p>
<p>Ultimately, if <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/news/us-government-the-worlds-largest-purchaser-takes-a-bold-step-to-align-supply-chain-with-sbti">one of the largest segments of demand</a>, the U.S. government, transitions to less carbon-intensive products, supply will follow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesse Burkhardt receives funding from the USDA and Department of the Interior. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Gifford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Biden administration directed agencies to consider the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in their future purchasing and budget decisions. An example shows just how much is at stake.Jesse Burkhardt, Associate Professor of Energy Economics, Colorado State UniversityLauren Gifford, Associate Director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065862023-05-29T07:42:41Z2023-05-29T07:42:41ZCan high-stakes debt-ceiling brinkmanship in the US lead to unprecedented political unity?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528752/original/file-20230529-17-9z4e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Congress appears to be on the cusp of passing <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20230529/BILLS-118hrPIH-fiscalresponsibility.pdf">legislation</a> that would not only avoid an unprecedented US government default – and economic catastrophe – but also provide some much-needed political stability in Washington. </p>
<p>Both Republicans and Democrats are claiming victory in the deal and a loss for the other.</p>
<p>From the Republican point of view, the deal <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/kevin-mccarthy-deal-historic-reductions-012005079.html">will bring</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty […] and rein in government overreach. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Key Republican demands included: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>new work requirements for those seeking federal government assistance, meaning more Americans will enter the workforce instead of being paid not to work</p></li>
<li><p>fewer government regulations around infrastructure projects</p></li>
<li><p>a US$20 billion (A$30.5 billion) cut to the Internal Revenue Service budget in 2024 </p></li>
<li><p>a cap on non-defence government spending and federal relief of student loans.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1662989626829676548"}"></div></p>
<p>From the Democratic point of view, the agreement raises the debt ceiling beyond the 2024 elections, does not cut discretionary spending and contains a fraction of the cuts the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had passed in their earlier proposals.</p>
<p>And on the concessions mentioned previously, Democrats are touting: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the new work requirements are minimal and will not affect Medicare recipients</p></li>
<li><p>the streamlining of regulations around infrastructure projects is far more limited than what Republicans had initially sought</p></li>
<li><p>the cuts to the IRS budget are a fraction of the recently passed US$80 billion (A$122 billion) budget increase</p></li>
<li><p>government spending was likely to face limits due to appropriation processes anyway, and student loan payments were already due to restart.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1662952595659390976"}"></div></p>
<h2>Washington maybe isn’t broken</h2>
<p>US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/im-the-unifier-in-chief-says-joe-biden/news-story/4cc6b7aa7983b9bf6b89a18c429c12c0">campaigned</a> in the 2020 elections as a unifier who prioritised his ability to reach across the aisle and lower the levels of political animosity. </p>
<p>As a result, these are the sorts of political arguments – in which both sides argue over who won – that he is all too glad to have.</p>
<p>In today’s political climate, where <a href="https://theconversation.com/joe-biden-wins-the-election-and-now-has-to-fight-the-one-thing-americans-agree-on-the-nations-deep-division-148106">polarisation</a> has resulted in <a href="https://www.thelugarcenter.org/newsroom-news-420.html">decreasing</a> levels of bipartisanship, it can feel like the only thing both sides can agree on is that disagreements are too great to be overcome.</p>
<p>Most US citizens and politicians will <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/us0722-crosstabs-nyt071422/f034d2429900e8eb/full.pdf">agree</a> that Washington is broken and the government does not function as well as it should.</p>
<p>The nature of the debt-ceiling agreement makes clear there is, at least in this instance, bipartisan political leadership in favour of specific legislation instead of endless rhetoric that everything in Washington is broken.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528784/original/file-20230529-25-xp9htf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biden and McCarthy working to find common ground in the Oval Office of the White House last week.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Brandon/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Few, if any, US presidents have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/14/biden-is-one-most-experienced-politicians-ever-seek-presidency/">assumed</a> office with more political experience than Biden. Having arrived in Washington half a century ago, he is acutely familiar with how to negotiate in a manner that allows both sides to claim victory. </p>
<p>Biden has also remained consistently confident about his ability to do so despite bipartisan pessimism. As much as it pays political dividends to campaign on the idea that Washington is so broken only an outsider can fix it, Biden would argue instead that a president with five decades of experience as a “Washington insider” actually makes government function better, not worse.</p>
<p>Crafting a deficit agreement that allows both Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden to claim victory – in the wake of other bipartisan legislation <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/01/1143149435/despite-infighting-its-been-a-surprisingly-productive-2-years-for-democrats">ranging</a> from infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing to veteran health care – is the sort of proof of results that Biden would say comes from such experience. </p>
<p>Biden made his approach to the budget negotiations clear. The agreement is a compromise, he <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/05/28/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-bipartisan-budget-agreement/">said</a>, in which “no one got everything they want, but that’s the responsibility of governing”. </p>
<p>The president believes these sorts of compromises help restore trust and optimism about the US government actually being capable of responsible governing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/voters-want-compromise-in-congress-so-why-the-brinkmanship-over-the-debt-ceiling-206465">Voters want compromise in Congress -- so why the brinkmanship over the debt ceiling?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why does this matter to the world?</h2>
<p>As the world’s largest economy with a debt that is foundational to the global economy, a default would do far more than create chaos in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/business/default-debt-what-happens-next.html">US$24 trillion Treasury debt market</a>. It would ultimately upend financial markets and create international turmoil. </p>
<p>Indeed, the catastrophic economic consequences of a default would be so widespread that it is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/business/default-debt-what-happens-next.html">difficult to quantify</a>. It would have almost certainly led to a recession.</p>
<p>But aside from the most dire of scenarios, these budget negotiations have had direct implications for the rest of the world – far larger than the mere cancelling of Biden’s planned trip to Australia this month.</p>
<p>As my colleagues recently <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-cancelled-australia-png-trip-was-a-missed-opportunity-but-a-us-debt-crisis-would-hurt-a-lot-more-206079">argued</a>, the last US debt-ceiling negotiations, during the Obama administration in 2011, resulted in the Budget Control Act. This law constrained US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific to such an extent that US foreign policy has still not entirely recovered. </p>
<p>As the then US secretary of defence, James Mattis, <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/02/06/mattis_no_enemy_has_done_more_damage_to_military_than_budget_sequester.html">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>No enemy in the field has done as much to harm the readiness of the US military than the combined impact of the Budget Control Act’s defence spending caps.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-cancelled-australia-png-trip-was-a-missed-opportunity-but-a-us-debt-crisis-would-hurt-a-lot-more-206079">Biden's cancelled Australia-PNG trip was a missed opportunity – but a US debt crisis would hurt a lot more</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What to expect next?</h2>
<p>Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously only allowed legislation to be voted on that she knew had the requisite Democratic votes to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/573976-pelosi-on-infrastructure-bill-im-never-bringing-a-bill-to-the/">get passed</a>. </p>
<p>With one of the slimmest possible majorities in the House, McCarthy only won his role as speaker after more than a dozen votes. Few had complete confidence he would ultimately get the job. As a result, McCarthy will rarely – if ever – be able to take a Pelosi-like approach to voting during his speakership.</p>
<p>With the debt-ceiling legislation, McCarthy may again be forced go to the House floor without complete confidence in Republican support. He and centrist Republicans will instead be relying on some centrist Democrats voting in favour of the legislation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1662950270630875136"}"></div></p>
<p>This reality has forced McCarthy to simultaneously tout the proposal to Republicans as exceedingly conservative, but still enough of a compromise to win over some Democrats. Even then, there may once again be symbolic votes against the legislation the first time it is put to the floor in order for some representatives to register a protest with their constituents.</p>
<p>Biden and McCarthy will now need to weather the storm from their respective left and right flanks to secure the agreement’s passage. But they are ultimately hoping this deal will remove one more obstacle to a better-functioning Washington, where political brinkmanship has continued to challenge an otherwise significant <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/26/america-supremacy-irresponsible-politics/">resurgence</a> of US strength at home and leadership abroad. </p>
<p>While failure to raise the debt limit would have been unprecedented, a lowering of Washington’s political antagonism increasingly feels unprecedented, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206586/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Mondschein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Biden believes these sorts of compromises help restore trust and optimism about the US government actually being capable of responsible governing.Jared Mondschein, Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1976042023-02-08T13:42:04Z2023-02-08T13:42:04ZWhat the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the US<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507966/original/file-20230202-5680-ll0ht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=298%2C381%2C2619%2C1641&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A protection that is, at least in this Philadelphia park, carved in stone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Amendment_to_the_U.S._Constitution.jpg">Zakarie Faibis via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elon Musk has claimed he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597405399040217088">bulwark against tyranny in America</a> and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression “<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519036983137509376">matches the law</a>.” Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S. – appears to be quite limited. And he’s not alone.</p>
<p>I am a lawyer and a professor who has taught constitutional concepts to undergraduate students for over 15 years and has written a book for the uninitiated about the <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/W/bo156864042.html">freedom of speech</a>; it strikes me that not many people educated in American schools, whether public or private – including lawyers, teachers, talking heads and school board members – appear to have a working knowledge about the right to free speech embedded in the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/">First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution</a>. </p>
<p>But that doesn’t have to be the case.</p>
<p>In short, the First Amendment enshrines the freedom to speak one’s mind. It’s not written in code and does not require an advanced degree to understand. It simply states: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” The liberties embraced by that phrase belong to all of us who live in the United States, and we can all become knowledgeable about their breadth and limitations.</p>
<p>There are just four essential principles.</p>
<h2>1. It’s only about the government</h2>
<p>The Bill of Rights – the other name for the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution – like the Constitution itself and all the other amendments, sets limits only on the relationship between the U.S. government and its people.</p>
<p>It does not apply to interactions in other nations, nor interactions between people in the U.S. or companies. If the government is not involved, the First Amendment does not apply.</p>
<p>The First Amendment ensures that Twitter is, in fact, free of government restrictions against <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/opinion/donald-trump-twitter-return.html">spreading misinformation and disinformation</a> or virtually anything else. The company is similarly free to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/17/elon-musk-reinstates-twitter-accounts-of-suspended-journalists">expel any users</a> who offend Musk’s personal sensibilities. They can be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/17/elon-musk-reinstates-twitter-accounts-of-suspended-journalists">booted off Twitter</a> and any charges of “Censorship!” don’t apply.</p>
<h2>2. For decades, speech has faced very few limits</h2>
<p>Freedom of expression was understood by the nation’s founders to be a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3016815">natural, unalienable right</a> that belongs to every human being. </p>
<p>Over the course of the first 120-plus years of the country’s democratic experiment, judicial interpretation of that right slowly evolved from a limited to an expansive view. In the middle of the 20th century, the Supreme Court ultimately concluded that because the right to speak freely is so fundamental, it is subject to restriction <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/395/444/">only in limited circumstances</a>. </p>
<p>It is now an accepted doctrine that tolerance for discord is built into the very fabric of the First Amendment. In the words of one of the most revered Supreme Court justices, Louis D. Brandeis, “<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/274/357/#tab-opinion-1931857">it is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination</a>; … fear breeds repression; … repression breeds hate; … hate menaces stable government.” </p>
<p>Opinions, viewpoints and beliefs – which are sometimes based on provable fact, other times on hypothetical theories and occasionally on lies and conspiracies – all contribute to what constitutional scholars and lawyers refer to as the “<a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/999/marketplace-of-ideas">marketplace of ideas</a>.” Similar to the commercial marketplace, the marketplace of ideas subjects all products to competition. The hope is that only the best will survive.</p>
<p>Therefore, members of the <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2010/09-751">Westboro Baptist Church can picket the funerals of fallen soldiers</a> with signs disparaging the LGBTQ+ community, <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/432/43/#tab-opinion-1952312">Nazi hate groups</a> can hold rallies and <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/373/262/">civil rights groups can participate in lunch-counter protests</a>. The ideas expressed by each of these groups represent one perspective in the public debate about rights and privileges, government responsibility and religion. Other people and groups may disagree, but their perspectives are also protected from government censorship and repression.</p>
<p>Messages communicated by means other than speech or writing are generally protected by the First Amendment, too. A jean jacket bearing the Vietnam-era anti-war slogan “<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1970/299">F*ck the Draft</a>” is protected, as is the act of <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/491/397/">burning a United States flag</a> in front of a crowd. These were potentially more emotionally powerful than politely worded statements opposing government policies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people stand nearby while a U.S. flag burns." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507967/original/file-20230202-16618-otink6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It may be upsetting to see – but that’s part of the point of burning a flag, and a key reason it’s protected by the First Amendment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-communist-party-usa-and-other-anti-fascist-news-photo/1230698352">Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. But not all speech is protected</h2>
<p>The government does, in fact, have the power to regulate some speech. When the rights and liberties of others are in serious jeopardy, speakers who <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/315us568">provoke others into violence</a>, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/39">wrongfully and recklessly injure reputations</a> or <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1968/492">incite others to engage in illegal activity</a> may be silenced or punished. </p>
<p>People whose words cause actual harm to others can be held liable for that damage. Right-wing commentator Alex Jones found that out when courts ordered him to pay <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/23/alex-jones-texas-lawsuit-damages/">more than US$1 billion in damages</a> for his statements about, and treatment of, parents of children who were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. </p>
<p>So, abortion opponents can say what they wish but <a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/706/planned-parenthood-of-the-columbia-willamette-inc-v-american-coalition-of-life-activists-9th-cir">can’t threaten or terrorize abortion providers</a>. And the white supremacists who rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 can shout to the rafters that Jews will not replace them, but they can be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/03/charlottesville-unite-the-right-damages/">held liable for the intimidation, harassment and violence</a> they used to amplify their words. </p>
<p>Rules about incitement to illegal action are part of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/justice-department-examines-trumps-conduct-in-jan-6-probe">U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation</a> into whether former President Donald Trump is at all responsible for the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On that day, <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2021/01/trumps-falsehood-filled-save-america-rally/">citing unproven, even disproved, events</a>, Trump <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial">delivered a speech</a> insisting the 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/11-210">the First Amendment doesn’t protect only true statements</a>. Trump has a constitutional right to advocate for his perspective. Even his references to violence might be considered shielded from criminal prosecution by the superpower of the First Amendment. That superpower would evaporate only if a court finds that, when he spoke the words that day, “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” his intent was to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/19/jan-6-committee-report-trump-referrals/">incite the violence that followed</a>.</p>
<h2>4. What’s legal isn’t always morally correct</h2>
<p>Finally, and perhaps most importantly: Moral boundaries to acceptable speech are different, and often much narrower, than constitutional boundaries. They should not be conflated or confused.</p>
<p>The First Amendment right to speak freely as an exercise of people’s natural rights does not mean everything anyone says anywhere is morally acceptable. Constitutionally speaking, ignorant, demeaning and vitriolic speech – including hate speech – are all protected from government repression, even though they may be morally offensive to the majority.</p>
<p>Still, some people insist that malicious and emotionally hurtful speech <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/why-its-a-bad-idea-to-tell-students-words-are-violence/533970/">adds no value to society</a>. That is one reason used by people who seek to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/why-its-a-bad-idea-to-tell-students-words-are-violence/533970/">cancel or ban controversial speakers from college campuses</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, virulent speech may even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/opinion/cancel-culture-free-speech-poll.html">weaken the democratic exchange of ideas</a>, by discouraging some people from participating in public discussion and debate, to avoid potential harassment and scorn. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, that sort of speech remains firmly under the umbrella of First Amendment defenses. Each person must decide how their own humanity and morality allows them to speak for themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynn Greenky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.’ It’s often misunderstood, by many Americans. A constitutional scholar explains what it really boils down to.Lynn Greenky, Associate Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1904022022-09-14T12:24:22Z2022-09-14T12:24:22ZA New Mexico official who joined the Capitol attacks is barred from politics – but the little-known law behind the removal has some potential pitfalls for democracy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484407/original/file-20220913-3906-u7mwho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=499%2C507%2C4945%2C3119&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Couy Griffin, a former county commissioner in Otero County, N.M., rides a horse in New York City in May 2020</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/otero-county-commission-chairman-and-cowboys-for-trump-cofounder-couy-picture-id1211509102">Gotham/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A county court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Sept. 6, 2022, became the first in more than 150 years to <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/D101CV202200473-griffin.pdf">disqualify a person</a> from public office because they participated in an insurrection. </p>
<p>District Court Judge Francis Mathew <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/06/new-mexico-bars-commissioner-from-office-for-insurrection-00055010">found that</a> Couy Griffin, a former county commissioner and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump, had participated in the violent U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Mathew invoked a nearly forgotten part of the 14th Amendment, called <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/">Section 3</a>, which can disqualify certain people from state or federal office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or given “aid or comfort” to the United States’ enemies. </p>
<p>The clause was first adopted after the Civil War to keep former Confederates from participating in politics. The amendment says that disqualified people are barred for life from either running for or being appointed to office. But Congress can vote by a two-thirds majority to waive this ban. </p>
<p>The clause fell into general disuse after 1872, when <a href="https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/after_slavery_educator/unit_one_documents/document_two">Congress gave amnesty</a> to most former Confederates in a move toward reconciliation.</p>
<p>Some observers <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/01/bar-insurrectionists-public-office-fourteenth-amendment-section-three/">have argued</a> that Section 3 disqualification should be dusted off to address the Jan. 6 mob and to stop other people who have threatened and committed violence – or tried to disrupt federal elections – from serving in government. </p>
<p>Mathew’s decision has also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/us/politics/trump-election-insurrection.html">renewed talk</a> among Democrats and good-governance groups about finding a way to use Section 3 against former President Donald Trump in order to disqualify him from ever holding office again. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Y_IU6JwAAAAJ&hl=en">are scholars</a> of <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=6fk8Ks8AAAAJ&hl=en">comparative constitutional law</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QoMY2TEAAAAJ&hl=en">have worked</a> on democratic backsliding around the world. In a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3938600">forthcoming article</a>, we point out that disqualification is potentially a useful tool to protect democracy, but it can also be dangerous – it rubs up against the basic idea of democracy as a system in which anyone can run, and voters can decide. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crowd of men covered with face masks, shields and helmets clash with security forces outside the U.S. Capitol" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484408/original/file-20220913-20-we5mu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The disqualification of Couy Griffin is one of the latest efforts – but the only successful one – to remove people from office or prevent them from running because of their support for the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/trump-supporters-clash-with-police-and-security-forces-as-people-try-picture-id1230734388">Brent Stirton/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recent attempts at disqualification</h2>
<p>The disqualification of Griffin is one of several efforts voters and advocacy groups have lobbied for after Jan. 6. Most of these efforts have failed to remove someone from office or prevent them from running. But the examples are still useful in understanding how disqualification might be an alternative to more punitive criminal law options.</p>
<p>A suit filed by a group of voters to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, foundered in July when a Georgia court <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21902607/marjorie-taylor-greene-ruling.pdf">affirmed a lower court ruling</a> that she had not “engaged in insurrection.” </p>
<p>Arizona and Wisconsin state <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/after-cawthorn-ruling-can-trump-be-saved-section-3-14th-amendment">judges have also rejected</a> efforts to use Section 3 as a sword against those who supported the Jan. 6 insurrection. But none of these targets actually participated in the mob at the Capitol. Mere support of the rioters, or questioning the election outcome, is protected political speech under the First Amendment. </p>
<p>Griffin, though, engaged in a physical invasion of the Capitol.</p>
<p>Mathew’s careful opinion contains extensive factual findings and legal analysis. So it tees up nicely the question of whether and how disqualification from democratic office is legitimate, justified or effective in defense of democracy. </p>
<p>This is especially important in the U.S., where there is a lack of recent historical experience with disqualification of people working in politics.</p>
<h2>When disqualification makes sense</h2>
<p>Other countries make much more extensive use of political disqualification than the U.S. does, as we show in <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3938600">our forthcoming study</a>. </p>
<p>Israel’s courts, for example, have repeatedly <a href="https://www7.tau.ac.il/ojs/index.php/til/article/view/1587">disqualified candidates</a> for lack of “good character.” In Pakistan, the supreme court <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-politics/pakistan-supreme-court-rules-ousted-pm-sharif-cannot-lead-his-party-idUSKCN1G51NX">disqualified</a> sitting <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/former-pakistan-pm-sharif-sentenced-to-10-years-over-panama-papers/">Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif</a> in 2017 after he was named in the Panama Papers because of corruption.</p>
<p>There are various costs and benefits to disqualifying someone from office, and <a href="https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/ccum36&section=5">there are also</a> open questions of <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/disqualifying-insurrectionists-and-rebels-how-guide">how to correctly</a> interpret Section 3. We focus on the first question of costs and benefits here.</p>
<p>Democracies require robust protections for free speech and association. But these freedoms can be abused by those seeking to undermine democracy itself. </p>
<p>For example, Mathew documents Griffin’s persistent efforts to cast doubt on the legitimate outcome of the 2020 election and to instigate violence to derail President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Most of Griffin’s actions, however, fell far short of the threshold necessary to justify criminal penalties for incitement – <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">the First Amendment</a> requires that the violence be imminent.</p>
<p>Griffin, nonetheless, participated in a concerted threat to American democracy. Disqualification is a way to address such threats without the heavy hand of the criminal law. </p>
<p>Section 3, more generally, is another way to address high-level misconduct in politics. As we have explored in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3461120">another study</a> published in 2021, Congress has rarely impeached a U.S. president – and an impeached president has never actually been removed from office. Given partisan dynamics, it is unclear if impeachment could actually remove and disqualify a sitting president. </p>
<p>This might leave Section 3 as the best alternative. </p>
<h2>The risks of disqualification</h2>
<p>Mathew’s opinion suggests that Section 3’s “aid and comfort” language can go uncomfortably far. It could potentially chill legitimate political speech – including criticism of the government, or support for a foreign power – that doesn’t threaten democracy. </p>
<p>For example, plaintiffs justified the need to disqualify Griffin by saying that he committed “actions that normalized and incited violence” by “dehumanizing the opposition as ‘wicked’ and ‘vile.’” </p>
<p>Dehumanizing speech about political opponents is indeed often unhealthy for democratic practice, but it has <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/08/opinion/maga-bidens-charge-semi-fascism/">become routine</a> in politics. </p>
<p>Another challenge is that the text for <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/">Section 3</a> is not entirely clear about how disqualification actually works. Does it apply automatically to anyone who engages in insurrection? Or does it require some sort of either judicial or legislative process?</p>
<p>There is no settled answer. </p>
<p>In an 1869 decision, Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon Chase suggested that Section 3 did not apply automatically – rather, disqualification occurred when Congress, or perhaps a state legislature, authorized it. </p>
<p>Mathew rejected the position that only Congress could make the determination and instead held that Griffin could be disqualified by order of a state court. </p>
<p>The potential breadth and ambiguity of Section 3 creates a risk that the measure could be repurposed, against its original aims, in a way that hurts democracy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white older man with yellow hair and a suit holds up a Washington Post newspaper that says 'Trump acquitted' in large black font" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484409/original/file-20220913-3897-hj2y62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While a few presidents have been impeached, including Donald Trump twice, they were not removed from office.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/president-donald-trump-holds-a-copy-of-the-washington-post-as-he-in-picture-id1198921166">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The bigger picture</h2>
<p>Disqualification, then, is a superficial remedy to a profound problem. It might be effective against a low-level official like Griffin, but the bigger the target, the less power everyday voters have.</p>
<p>Imagine that some court was persuaded to disqualify Trump from a state’s 2024 presidential ballot. Such a move could be considered to disenfranchise his supporters. This could play into Trump’s beliefs that the “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/trumps-rigged-game/504299/">game is rigged</a>.”</p>
<p>Whatever the correct legal answer, there is a strong case for eliminating the uncertainty around how Section 3 works. We’ve argued for a carefully crafted federal statute that clearly explains when it applies and how it works.</p>
<p>If disqualification is to become an effective sword to defend democratic politics, it must not become a two-edged one that later weakens the democratic process in the U.S.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Other countries disqualify political officials and prevent them from holding office more often than the US does. There are benefits and potential risks to using this kind of legal tactic.Aziz Huq, Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law, University of ChicagoDavid Landau, Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State UniversityTom Ginsburg, Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law, Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar, Professor of Political Science, University of ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1897372022-08-31T19:28:30Z2022-08-31T19:28:30ZTrump faces possible obstruction of justice charges for concealing classified government documents – 2 important things to know about what this means<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482102/original/file-20220831-20-rof5aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Department of Justice photo shows of documents seized during its Mar-a-Lago search. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v1/items/954a1ccd337c4f5a8c588260e2abfefc/preview/AP22243147136668.jpg?wm=api&tag=app_id=1,user_id=904438,org_id=101781">Department of Justice via Associated Press </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22272801/justice-dept-response-to-trump-motion-for-special-master.pdf">A court filing by the Justice Department</a> just minutes before midnight on Aug. 30, 2022, was a sharply worded attack on former President Donald Trump’s request for a so-called “special master” – a neutral arbiter – to review the documents <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/08/trump-mar-a-lago-search-fbi/">the FBI seized at his estate</a>, Mar-a-Lago, earlier in the month.</em></p>
<p><em>Bottom line: The Justice Department says the documents don’t belong to Trump and says someone has deliberately concealed documents marked classified from a federal grand jury investigation. The department has not yet publicly stated who they believe is guilty of this crime – whether Trump himself, members of his team, or both.</em></p>
<p><em>In the filing, the Justice Department wrote, “The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”</em></p>
<p><em>This latest revelation has prompted observers to say that <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/8/31/23330643/trump-doj-court-special-master-obstruction">obstruction of justice </a> charges are at stake. But that’s a broad term that covers many wrongful acts. The specific crime at issue here is obstructing a federal investigation.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked Georgia State University legal expert <a href="http://www.clarkcunningham.org/">Clark Cunningham</a>, an <a href="https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/apple-and-the-american-revolution-remembering-why-we-have-the-fourth-amendment-1">authority on search warrants</a>, to describe the meaning of obstruction, and why Trump may be charged with this crime.</em></p>
<h2>The crime of obstruction, and a particular version of it</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-73">21 different federal crimes</a> that involve obstruction of justice. One of the obstruction laws, called Section 1519, is violated if someone “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1519">knowingly conceals any document with the intent to obstruct</a>” – or block – a federal investigation. That’s obstruction of a federal investigation, and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1519">conviction for this crime</a> can result in up to 20 years of prison. </p>
<p>For example, Jesse Benton, who managed Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign, was convicted of violating Section 1519 when <a href="https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/united-states-v-benton-894813523">he concealed improper campaign payments</a> from the Federal Election Commission. Trump later <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2021/09/20/jesse-benton-indicted-rand-paul-mitch-mcconnell-former-campaign-manager/5791086001/">pardoned Benton</a> <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/24/trump-pardons-jesse-benton-ex-campaign-manager-rand-paul-mitch-mcconnell/4042657001/">in December 2020.</a></p>
<p>The FBI cites Section 1519 in its <a href="https://theconversation.com/fbis-mar-a-lago-search-warrant-affidavit-reveals-how-trump-may-have-compromised-national-security-a-legal-expert-answers-5-key-questions-189500">Mar-a-Lago search warrant</a> and in the recently <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/26/doj-fbi-affidavit-trump-mar-a-lago">unsealed affidavit</a> submitted to a Florida court to obtain the warrant. But until the Department of Justice’s Aug. 30, 2022, midnight court filing, the public did not know what kind of concealment and what kind of obstruction the department was alleging Trump committed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="White pages are shown with text, much of it blacked out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482100/original/file-20220831-4764-hl5j8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pages from the FBI’s redacted search warrant affidavit for former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate are shown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/in-this-photo-illustration-pages-are-viewed-from-the-governments-of-picture-id1418610718">Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why the government alleges this crime was committed at Mar-a-Lago</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/donald-trump-maralago-fbi-search-classified-documents/12175658">federal grand jury subpoena</a> demanded on May 11, 2022, that Trump turn over all documents with classified markings to the government. </p>
<p>The FBI was <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22272801/justice-dept-response-to-trump-motion-for-special-master.pdf">informed by Trump representatives in a sworn statement at Mar-a-Lago on June 3</a> that all documents marked classified were being turned over that day. This statement has now been proved to be false.</p>
<p>Trump was aware of the FBI’s June 3 visit to Mar-a-Lago. In his own court filings he has said that <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22164310-trump-motion-for-judicial-oversight-and-additional-relief-8-22-22">he personally met the FBI agents</a> when they arrived.</p>
<p>Despite the sworn statement that no more documents marked as classified remained at Mar-a-Lago, the FBI found 76 documents marked classified in a storage room during its subsequent Aug. 8, 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago. They <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.48.0_1.pdf">also found documents</a> marked “Top Secret” in a container in Trump’s private office. The agents also seized a desk drawer in that office containing documents marked classified that were mixed in with other items, including Trump’s passports.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people gather outside a government building and look at a blacked-out document. Some of them hold cameras." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482108/original/file-20220831-18-otpq7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Journalists in West Palm Beach look at the Justice Department’s heavily blacked-out document on Aug. 26, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v1/items/bbdbb7ee85e44de993efca9c5f3b8703/preview/AP22238621819824.jpg?wm=api&tag=app_id=1,user_id=904438,org_id=101781">Jim Rassol/Associated Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The government believes that the false statement made to the agents on June 3, as well as other evidence they have not yet disclosed, shows <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22272801/justice-dept-response-to-trump-motion-for-special-master.pdf">there was a deliberate plan to conceal</a> documents that should have been given to the grand jury.</p>
<p>Before the Aug. 30 filing, it appeared that Trump’s most serious risk of criminal liability involved <a href="https://theconversation.com/fbis-mar-a-lago-search-warrant-affidavit-reveals-how-trump-may-have-compromised-national-security-a-legal-expert-answers-5-key-questions-189500">violating the Espionage Act</a> by willfully retaining documents relating to national security after he left office. Revelation of these new details emphasize another offense to be added to the list of his possible crimes: obstruction of a federal investigation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clark D. Cunningham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A government filing on August 30, 2022, alleges that efforts were likely taken “to obstruct the government’s investigation” into classified documents held at Donald Trump’s Florida home.Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1871392022-07-22T12:31:36Z2022-07-22T12:31:36ZSurveillance is pervasive: Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475248/original/file-20220720-11760-u3jww7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4632%2C3064&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Video cameras on city streets are only the most visible way your movements can be tracked.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AmericaProtestsRethinkingPolice/afb962959ce14ce4bbd6fd03729c2e57/photo">AP Photo/Mel Evans</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. has the <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/83061-report-finds-us-has-largest-number-surveillance-cameras.html">largest number of surveillance cameras per person</a> in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-video-surveillance-market">screen passengers</a> for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23207072/amazon-ring-privacy-police-footage">smart doorbells</a> and other home security cameras. </p>
<p>Most Americans are aware of video surveillance of public spaces. Likewise, most people know about online tracking – and <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/27/state-privacy-congress-priority-poll/">want Congress to do something about it</a>. But as a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=tMOMmqsAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">studies digital culture and secret communications</a>, I believe that to understand how pervasive surveillance is, it’s important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together. </p>
<p>Databases can correlate <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">location data from smartphones</a>, the growing number of private cameras, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/license-plate-reader-alpr-surveillance-abortion/">license plate readers</a> on police cruisers and toll roads, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21002515/surveillance-cameras-globally-us-china-amount-citizens">facial recognition technology</a>, so if law enforcement wants to track where you are and where you’ve been, they can. They need a warrant to use <a href="https://www.upturn.org/work/mass-extraction/">cellphone search</a> equipment: Connecting your device to a <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Mobile-Security-and-Forensics/Mobile-Forensics">mobile device forensic tool</a> lets them extract and <a href="https://www.forensicmag.com/518341-Digital-Forensics-Window-Into-the-Soul/">analyze all your data</a> <a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-riley-263">if they have a warrant</a>. </p>
<p>However, private <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-data-brokers-know-where-you-are-and-want-to-sell-that-intel/">data brokers</a> also track this kind of data and <a href="https://issues.org/data-brokers-police-surveillance/">help surveil citizens</a> – without a warrant. There is a large market for personal data, compiled from information people volunteer, information people unwittingly yield – for example, <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-control-which-apps-access-your-location-on-ios-and-android/">via mobile apps</a> – and information that is stolen in data breaches. Among the customers for this largely unregulated data are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22565926/police-law-enforcement-data-warrant">federal, state and local law enforcement agencies</a>.</p>
<h2>How you are tracked</h2>
<p>Whether or not you pass under the gaze of a surveillance camera or license plate reader, you are tracked by your mobile phone. GPS tells weather apps or maps your location, Wi-Fi uses your location, and <a href="https://cyberforensics.com/services/cellular-triangulation/">cell-tower triangulation</a> tracks your phone. <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/955287">Bluetooth</a> can identify and track your smartphone, and not just for COVID-19 contact tracing, Apple’s “Find My” service, or to connect headphones.</p>
<p>People volunteer their locations for <a href="https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-ridesharing-privacy-ride.html">ride-sharing</a> or for games like <a href="https://www.pokemon.com/us/app/pokemon-go/">Pokemon Go</a> or <a href="https://www.ingress.com">Ingress</a>, but apps can also <a href="https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/mobile-app-developers-misconfiguration-of-third-party-services-leave-personal-data-of-over-100-million-exposed/">collect and share location</a> without your knowledge. Many late-model cars feature telematics that track locations – for example, <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a7469/your-car-is-spying-on-you-but-whom-is-it-spying-for/">OnStar or Bluelink</a>. All this makes opting out impractical.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="over-the-shoulder view of a young woman on a city street holding a smart phone displaying a map" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475532/original/file-20220721-9531-4dkmtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your phone knows where you are, and that information can readily make its way from apps to data brokers and on to law enforcement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-using-gps-navigation-app-on-smartphone-to-royalty-free-image/1306359673">Oscar Wong/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same thing is true online. Most websites feature <a href="https://themarkup.org/blacklight">ad trackers and third-party cookies</a>, which are stored in your browser whenever you visit a site. They identify you when you visit other sites so advertisers can follow you around. Some websites also use <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/keylogger">key logging</a>, which monitors what you type into a page before hitting submit. Similarly, session recording monitors mouse movements, clicks, scrolling and typing, even if you don’t click “submit.” </p>
<p>Ad trackers know when you browsed where, which browser you used, and what your device’s internet address is. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">Google</a> and Facebook are among the main beneficiaries, but there are many <a href="https://privacybee.com/blog/these-are-the-largest-data-brokers-in-america/">data brokers</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-data-brokers-selling-your-personal-information/">slicing and dicing such information</a> by religion, ethnicity, political affiliations, social media profiles, income and medical history for profit.</p>
<h2>Big Brother in the 21st century</h2>
<p>People may implicitly consent to some loss of privacy in the interest of perceived or real security – for example, in stadiums, on the road and at airports, or in return for cheaper online services. But these trade-offs benefit individuals far less than the companies aggregating data. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-americans-dont-trust-the-census-130109">Many Americans</a> are suspicious of government <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2010/01/20/most-view-census-positively-but-some-have-doubts">censuses</a>, yet they willingly share their jogging routines on apps like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases">Strava</a>, which has <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a15912407/strava-app-military-bases-fitbit-jogging/">revealed</a> sensitive and secret <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-map-showing-the-users-of-fitness-devices-lets-the-world-see-where-us-soldiers-are-and-what-they-are-doing/2018/01/28/86915662-0441-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html">military data</a>. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol50/iss1/2/">post-Roe v. Wade legal environment</a>, there are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/opinion/privacy-technology-data.html">concerns</a> not only about <a href="https://www.stopspying.org/pregnancy-panopticon">period tracking</a> apps but about <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/05/04/data-brokers-selling-location-data-of-americans-who-visit-abortion-clinics/">correlating data</a> on physical movements with online searches and <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">phone data</a>. Legislation like the recent <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB8/2021">Texas Senate Bill 8</a> anti-abortion law invokes “private individual enforcement mechanisms,” raising questions about who gets <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">access to tracking data</a>. </p>
<p>In 2019, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2019/10/31/20939890/missouri-abortion-clinic-hearing-periods-roe-wade">Missouri Department of Health</a> stored data about the periods of patients at the state’s lone Planned Parenthood clinic, correlated with state medical records. Communications <a href="https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2015/05/be-paranoid-how-one-reporter-learned-danger-metadata/">metadata</a> can reveal who you are in touch with, when you were where, and who else was there – whether they are in your contacts or not.</p>
<p>Location data from apps on hundreds of millions of phones lets the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/dhs-location-data-aclu-00046208">Department of Homeland Security</a> track people. Health <a href="https://www.democraticmedia.org/CDD-Wearable-Devices-Big-Data-Report">wearables</a> pose similar risks, and medical experts note a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31146589/">lack of awareness</a> about the security of data they collect. Note the resemblance of your Fitbit or smartwatch to ankle bracelets people wear during court-ordered monitoring.</p>
<p>The most pervasive user of tracking in the U.S. is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">amassed a vast amount of information</a> without judicial, legislative or public oversight. Georgetown University Law Center’s Center on Privacy and Technology <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">reported on how ICE searched</a> the driver’s license photographs of 32% of all adults in the U.S., tracked cars in cities home to 70% of adults, and updated address records for 74% of adults when those people activated new utility accounts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4068%2C2697&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A streetlight post with a second boom with a round black sphere hanging off the end" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4068%2C2697&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475235/original/file-20220720-26-5djlgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Video cameras and license plate readers, like those attached to this Baltimore streetlight, monitor and record the comings and goings of pedestrians and cars on city streets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BaltimoreAerialSurveillance/2bd5050cf1874c85911db98629799f45/photo">AP Photo/Julio Cortez</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>No one is watching the watchers</h2>
<p>Nobody expects to be invisible on streets, at borders, or in shopping centers. But who has access to all that surveillance data, and how long it is stored? There is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/state-of-privacy-laws-in-us/">no single U.S. privacy law</a> at the federal level, and states cope with a regulatory patchwork; only five states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia – <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/state-us-state-privacy-laws-comparison">have privacy laws</a>. </p>
<p>It is possible to <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-location-services-on-your-smartphone-a8219252827/">limit location tracking</a> on your phone, but not to avoid it completely. Data brokers are supposed to mask your <a href="https://dataprivacymanager.net/what-is-personally-identifiable-information-pii/">personally identifiable data</a> before selling it. But this “<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2021/11/22/anonymized-data-is-gibberish-term-rampant-location-data-sales-is-still-problem/">anonymization</a>” is meaningless since individuals are easily identified by cross-referencing additional data sets. This makes it easy for <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/panvkz/stalkers-debt-collectors-bounty-hunters-impersonate-cops-phone-location-data">bounty hunters and stalkers</a> to abuse the system. </p>
<p>The biggest risk to most people arises when there is a <a href="https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/4-credit-bureau-data-breaches-predate-2017-equifax-hack/">data breach</a>, which is happening more often – whether it is a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajdellinger/2019/06/07/many-popular-android-apps-leak-sensitive-data-leaving-millions-of-consumers-at-risk/?sh=367a2418521e">leaky app</a> or careless <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/6/23196805/marriott-hotels-maryland-data-breach-credit-cards">hotel chain</a>, a <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2019/11/26/california-makes-50-million-annually-selling-your-dmv-data/">DMV data sale</a> or a compromised <a href="https://www.securityweek.com/massive-credit-bureau-hack-raises-troubling-questions">credit bureau</a>, or indeed a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/22/tech/equifax-hack-ftc/index.html">data brokering</a> middleman whose <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/02/cloud-hack-problems/">cloud storage</a> is hacked. </p>
<p>This illicit flow of data not only puts <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/online-data-brokers/529281/">fuzzy notions</a> of privacy in peril, but may put your addresses and passport numbers, biometric data and social media profiles, credit card numbers and dating profiles, health and insurance information, and more <a href="https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/">on sale</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Krapp does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s increasingly difficult to move about – both in the physical world and online – without being tracked.Peter Krapp, Professor of Film & Media Studies, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1720082021-11-18T20:16:48Z2021-11-18T20:16:48ZWhy Moderna won’t share rights to the COVID-19 vaccine with the government that paid for its development<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432489/original/file-20211117-9381-40y1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=87%2C40%2C4265%2C2961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. government funded a significant portion of the R&D behind the Moderna vaccine. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/march-2021-saxony-leipzig-a-hand-with-disposable-gloves-news-photo/1231919693">Peter Endig/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A quiet <a href="https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/moderna-us-government-at-odds-over-covid-19-vaccine-patent">monthslong legal fight</a> between the U.S. National Institutes of Health and drugmaker Moderna over COVID-19 vaccine patents recently burst into public view. The outcome of the battle has important implications, not only for efforts to contain the pandemic but more broadly for drugs and vaccines that could be critical for future public health crises. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.slu.edu/law/faculty/ana-santos-rutschman.php">I teach drug regulation</a> and patent law at Saint Louis University’s <a href="https://www.slu.edu/law/health/index.php">Center for Health Law Studies</a>.</p>
<p>Moderna recently <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/moderna-covid-vaccine-patent-dispute-national-institutes-health/">offered to share ownership</a> of its main patent with the government to resolve the dispute. Whether or not this is enough to satisfy the government’s claims, I believe the dispute points to serious problems in the ways U.S. companies bring drugs and vaccines to market. </p>
<h2>US was a major funder of the Moderna vaccine</h2>
<p>Vaccines have <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines">played a crucial role</a> in the response to the pandemic.</p>
<p>In December 2020, Moderna became the second pharmaceutical company after Pfizer to <a href="https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/12/fda-issues-eua-for-moderna-covid-vaccine">obtain authorization</a> from the Food and Drug Administration to market a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. People have since grown so used to talking about the “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/french-health-authority-advises-against-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-under-30s-2021-11-09/">Moderna vaccine</a>” that a crucial element in the history of how it was developed risks being overshadowed: Moderna was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-covid-19-vaccine-patent-dispute-headed-court-us-nih-head-says-2021-11-10/">not the sole developer</a> of the vaccine.</p>
<p>Unlike many of the other pharmaceutical companies involved in the <a href="https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol64/iss1/12/">COVID-19 vaccine race</a>, Moderna is a newcomer to drug and vaccine commercialization. Founded in Massachusetts in 2010, the company had <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/11/19/moderna-vaccine-distribution-lonza-swiss/">never brought a product to market</a> until the FDA authorized its COVID-19 vaccine last year.</p>
<p>Throughout the 2010s, Moderna focused on the development of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mRNA.html">mRNA technology</a>, attracting over <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/mysterious-2-billion-biotech-revealing-secrets-behind-its-new-drugs-and-vaccines">US$2 billion in funding</a> from pharmaceutical companies and other investors. <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/moderna-ipo-5-things-to-know-about-what-could-be-the-largest-biotech-ipo-in-history-2018-12-05">It went public</a> in 2018.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/qss/article/1/4/1381/96111/Coronavirus-research-before-2020-is-more-relevant">before the pandemic</a>, research on both coronaviruses and vaccine candidates against emerging pathogens was a priority for agencies operating in the public health space. In 2015, the <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov">National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases</a>, an institute within the NIH, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6935295-NIH-Moderna-Confidential-Agreements.html">signed a cooperative R&D agreement</a> with Moderna on basic research, including the development of new vaccines. The agreement resulted in an <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/24/fact-check-donations-research-grants-helped-fund-moderna-vaccine/6398486002/">undisclosed amount of funding</a> and assistance with research. </p>
<p>In addition, after the COVID-19 outbreak began Moderna also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-moderna-funding/moderna-gets-further-472-million-u-s-award-for-coronavirus-vaccine-development-idUSKCN24R0IN">received almost $1 billion</a> in <a href="https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-announces-award-us-government-agency-barda-483-million">funding</a> from the <a href="https://www.phe.gov/about/barda/Pages/default.aspx">Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority</a>, which operates within the Department of Health and Human Services. This funding was specifically targeted to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. </p>
<p>Researchers have calculated that, collectively, the U.S. government <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/24/fact-check-donations-research-grants-helped-fund-moderna-vaccine/6398486002/">has provided $2.5 billion</a> toward the development and commercialization of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. </p>
<h2>US, Moderna scientists working side by side</h2>
<p>In addition to providing financial support, the federal government was instrumental in the development of Moderna’s vaccine for other reasons. Namely, federal scientists worked alongside Moderna scientists on different components of the vaccine.</p>
<p>These contributions included <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-covid-19-vaccine-patent-dispute-headed-court-us-nih-head-says-2021-11-10/">working on dosing mechanisms</a>, and the NIH said federal scientists created the <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6956323-NIH-Statement-to-Axios.html">stabilized spike proteins</a> that are a key component of the vaccine made by Moderna.</p>
<p>The importance of the role played by federal scientists in their work with Moderna would soon become apparent. A <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6935295-NIH-Moderna-Confidential-Agreements.html#document/p105/a568569">2019 agreement</a> with a third party explicitly acknowledged this, alluding to mRNA vaccine candidates “developed and jointly owned by NIAID and Moderna.” And by late 2020, the U.S. government was calling it the “<a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/promising-interim-results-clinical-trial-nih-moderna-covid-19-vaccine">NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine</a>.”</p>
<p>While the U.S. government has spent money on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/politics/pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine.html">COVID-19 vaccines</a> <a href="https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2021-03-10-federal-government-purchase-additional-100-million-doses-johnson-johnsons">made by other companies</a>, its close involvement in the R&D stages of Moderna’s sets it apart. </p>
<h2>How it became a patent dispute</h2>
<p>As development of the vaccine progressed, Moderna applied for <a href="https://www.modernatx.com/patents">several patents</a>, each one covering different components of the vaccine. U.S. law allows inventors to apply for patents on products or methods that are <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/general-information-patents">new, not obvious and useful</a>. While some early modern vaccines – like the <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/salk-announces-polio-vaccine">polio vaccine</a> developed by Jonas Salk’s team – were <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2014/04/the-real-reasons-jonas-salk-didnt-patent-the-polio-vaccine.html">not covered</a> by patents, from the late 20th century onward <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3437006">it became very common</a> for one or multiple patents to cover a newly developed vaccine.</p>
<p>In applying for some patents related to its vaccine, Moderna named National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists as co-inventors alongside Moderna scientists. This was the case, for example, in a <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2021159130">patent application</a> dated May 2020 for a relatively minor component of the vaccine. </p>
<p>However, in July 2021, Moderna made it clear that it would not name government scientists as co-inventors in a <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/docs2/wipocase/505ZsMDTUgVOqJF7T5XENxyO6tAyZyhu2VjKp25wWCc1G0VAtPuhbCFZOpp-d79HpUrKxDRzhZhLRGVvlDiE3NgLw3QMAP3mkUwKxrJkQHVT7e0ImBPSldyY2tt3-Whp1e5VI8D_InSWK-6CzQMToUJHq4SPXkX1vxlWCT95M8EOIXzWRp_Hq3nTwgotDaOmMXdDoeh8LkRUic82FMd7qN7ymc8Hgg_Rr94szG4fhkaukT6ahB2kq3Lf3fRyk06ellqMDBIo3z4aSa1jfU2VuBXr0Gd4_VguMOcIGyYWGHcTvAjdLob5BFLOj9ZE8HIGI4AtqeOF0idCAgbhj10sNw?filename=Letter_specifying_the_conditions_for_filing_under_37CFR1.97.pdf">patent application</a> covering a much more significant component of the vaccine: the mRNA sequence used to produce the vaccine, known as mRNA-1273.</p>
<p>Moderna’s position was that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/moderna-vaccine-patent.html">Moderna scientists alone</a> had selected the sequence. The <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/docs2/wipocase/505ZsMDTUgVOqJF7T5XENxyO6tAyZyhu2VjKp25wWCc1G0VAtPuhbCFZOpp-d79HpUrKxDRzhZhLRGVvlDiE3NgLw3QMAP3mkUwKxrJkQHVT7e0ImBPSldyY2tt3-Whp1e5VI8D_InSWK-6CzQMToUJHq4SPXkX1vxlWCT95M8EOIXzWRp_Hq3nTwgotDaOmMXdDoeh8LkRUic82FMd7qN7ymc8Hgg_Rr94szG4fhkaukT6ahB2kq3Lf3fRyk06ellqMDBIo3z4aSa1jfU2VuBXr0Gd4_VguMOcIGyYWGHcTvAjdLob5BFLOj9ZE8HIGI4AtqeOF0idCAgbhj10sNw?filename=Letter_specifying_the_conditions_for_filing_under_37CFR1.97.pdf">company informed</a> the Patent and Trademark Office of its position in a 2020 statement.</p>
<p>In November 2021, government officials publicly challenged the company’s decision after months of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/moderna-vaccine-patent.html">failed negotiations</a> with the company. Moderna then <a href="https://twitter.com/moderna_tx/status/1458896909008048131?s=20">took to social media</a> to defend its position, tweeting:</p>
<p>“Just because someone is an inventor on one patent application relating to our COVID-19 vaccine does not mean they are an inventor on every patent application relating to the vaccine.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1458896909008048131"}"></div></p>
<p>By contrast, the National Institutes of Health <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-covid-19-vaccine-patent-dispute-headed-court-us-nih-head-says-2021-11-10/">argued that three NIAID scientists</a> – Kizzmekia Corbett, Barney Graham and John Mascola – had meaningfully contributed to the invention, though <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/dr-kizzy-breaks-silence-us-010000004.html">they’ve declined</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/moderna-vaccine-patent.html">publicly specify how</a>. If true, patent law says they <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2109.html">should be named co-inventors</a>. </p>
<p>But this dispute is not merely about scientific principles or technical aspects of the law. While patents are also regarded as proxies for measuring scientific reputation, their most immediate and powerful effect is to give patent holders a <a href="https://www.wipo.int/patents/en/">significant amount of control</a> over the covered technology – in this case, the main component of the vaccine made by Moderna.</p>
<p>From a practical perspective, excluding federal scientists from the application means that Moderna alone gets to decide how to use the vaccine, whether to license it and to whom. If, by contrast, the government co-owns the vaccine, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/262">federal patent law allows</a> each of the joint owners to engage in a variety of actions – from making and selling the vaccine to licensing it – without the consent of the other owners.</p>
<p>This is especially relevant in cases of product scarcity or potential pricing issues in connection with the commercialization of the vaccine. For instance, the U.S. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/262">would have the ability</a> to allow more manufacturers to produce vaccines using the mRNA-1273 technology. In addition, it could direct vaccine doses wherever it likes, including to <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">lower-income countries that have received few vaccines so far</a>.</p>
<h2>Broader implications</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graphic shows how its mRNA technology works" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432677/original/file-20211118-23-42dxde.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Moderna explains its mRNA technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ModernaAnnouncesFundingAwardfromBARDAfor8MillionwithPotentialofupto125MilliontoAccelerateDevelopmentofZikaMessengerRNAmRNAVaccine/4b1115aa7055e766289234593ca164bb/photo?Query=mrna&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=23&currentItemNo=4">Business Wire</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ongoing battle between the government and an emerging star in the pharmaceutical industry is yet another episode in a complicated relationship between actors with complementary yet distinct roles in the production of drugs and vaccines.</p>
<p>On the one hand, the federal government <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/data-check-us-government-share-basic-research-funding-falls-below-50">has long played a critical role</a> in both performing and funding basic research. On the other, it does not have the resources and capacity to bring most types of new drugs and vaccines to market on its own. </p>
<p>The pharmaceutical industry thus plays an important and necessary role in drug innovation, which I believe should be rewarded – although not boundlessly.</p>
<p>If the NIH is correct about co-ownership of the vaccine, then Moderna is unduly using a legal tool to achieve a position of market control – a reward it does not deserve. This position of sole control becomes even more problematic in light of the significant amounts of public money that funded the development of this vaccine. This offset some of Moderna’s financial risk, even as the <a href="https://investors.modernatx.com/static-files/24613a26-607a-4012-b0c2-df415ca09e36#page=6">company projects</a> to make $15 billion to $18 billion in revenue from vaccine sales in 2021 alone, with much more expected in 2022. </p>
<p>[<em>More than 140,000 readers get one of The Conversation’s informative newsletters.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140K">Join the lists today</a>.]</p>
<p>However, even if the NIH prevails in the patent dispute, it is important to understand the limitations of such a “win.” The U.S. would be in a position to license the vaccine, for example, and could do so by requiring that licensees agree to equitable distribution of vaccine doses. </p>
<p>But co-ownership would not enable the government to fix any of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02383-z">other problems</a> that currently affect the manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, such as scaling up production or building infrastructure to deliver vaccine doses.</p>
<p>In my view, the dispute is a reminder of the <a href="https://healthcareglobal.com/procurement-and-supply-chain/challenges-vaccine-distribution-affecting-everyone">many</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/01/26/new-vaccine-supply-and-distribution-problems-slow-fight-against-covid---and-provide-more-crisis-management-lessons/">problems</a> embedded in how vaccines are made and delivered in the U.S. And it shows that when taxpayers fund basic research of a drug, they deserve more of the control – and rewards – when that drug succeeds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ana Santos Rutschman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Moderna claims its scientists alone invented the mRNA sequence used to produce its COVID-19 vaccine. The US government, which helped fund the drug, disagrees.Ana Santos Rutschman, Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690792021-10-11T12:17:52Z2021-10-11T12:17:52ZIf the US defaults on debt, expect the dollar to fall – and with it, Americans’ standard of living<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425116/original/file-20211006-22-1lr8y3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C18%2C4037%2C2673&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Would a default mean an end to the dollar's position as the go-to trading currency?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MnuchinCurrency/7b012a744f40428c9f55e0df7e331931/photo?Query=printing%20AND%20dollars&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=24&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Congress has seemingly kicked the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-america-has-a-debt-ceiling-5-questions-answered-164977">debt ceiling</a> deadline down the road – but the threat of a future default still exists.</p>
<p>On Oct. 7, 2021, lawmakers in the Senate agreed to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-republicans-haggle-over-short-term-debt-fix-2021-10-07/">extend the government’s ability to borrow</a> until December. It came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/mcconnell-to-offer-short-term-deal-to-raise-u-s-debt-ceiling?srnd=premium&sref=Hjm5biAW">offered a temporary suspension to the debt limit</a>, averting a default until at least December. But at that point, Democrats would have to find a way to raise the debt ceiling on their own – <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/574455-schumer-dems-cannot-and-will-not-raise-debt-ceiling-through-reconciliation">something they’ve said they won’t do</a>. </p>
<p>This isn’t the first time Republicans <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE98N11220131006">have resisted</a> helping a Democratic president raise the debt ceiling. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://tci.touro.edu/academics/faculty/">an economist</a>, I know that this political game of chicken has real-life consequences – even if it doesn’t end with default. In <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-debt-downgrade/united-states-loses-prized-aaa-credit-rating-from-sp-idUSTRE7746VF20110807">August 2011</a>, during the Obama administration, brinkmanship over the debt ceiling led to an unprecedented downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, which <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/08/08/139081051/developing-in-wake-of-s-p-downgrade-watching-the-markets">caused markets to plunge</a>. </p>
<h2>What is national debt?</h2>
<p>Understanding those consequences begins with looking at how the U.S. government finances its spending. The Treasury Department has three sources. </p>
<p>It can use revenue from taxes and fees approved by Congress but collected by the Treasury. </p>
<p>It can also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/williammeehan/2020/10/21/can-the-federal-reserve-print-money-forever-or-how-continuing-to-print-money-to-support-deficit-spending-may-end-badly-with-chinas-help/?sh=6ca3b32358d4">print money</a> through the Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>But when the first two options don’t supply enough cash to pay the bills, the Treasury can borrow the difference by <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/services/treasury-auctions">issuing bonds and selling them</a> on the world’s financial markets. Bondholders lend the government a set amount of money to be paid back with interest over a certain time frame. The amount owed is the national debt, which <a href="https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny">currently stands at US$28.43 trillion</a>. That is above the debt ceiling of $28.4 trillion set by Congress earlier this year. The Treasury had been using “extraordinary measures” to finance government spending in lieu of an extension, but those measures were due to expire within weeks.</p>
<p>Although this includes money due to lenders and investors both overseas and in the U.S., a sizeble chunk is money that the federal government owes itself – the U.S. Treasury <a href="https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/charts/principal/principal_govpub.htm">owes money to other parts of the government</a> as part of an accounting procedure. The Fed buys Treasury bonds when it wants to increase the supply of money in the economy and currently owns around one-fifth of the Treasury debt. The Social Security Administration holds around <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/24/facts-about-the-national-debt/">$2.9 trillion in national debt</a>, which is financed with surplus revenue.</p>
<p>Among the largest nonfederal institutions that hold Treasury debt are private pension funds.</p>
<p>Altogether, the Federal Reserve, government and nongovernment pension funds hold about half of U.S. national debt.</p>
<h2>What happens if the U.S. defaults?</h2>
<p>If Congress doesn’t suspend or raise the debt ceiling, the government would not be able to borrow additional funds to meet its obligations, including interest payments to bondholders. That would most likely trigger a default. </p>
<p>The knock-on effect of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/22/politics/debt-ceiling-warnings/index.html">U.S. defaulting would be catastrophic</a>.</p>
<p>Investors such as pension funds and banks holding U.S. debt could fail. Tens of millions of Americans and thousands of companies that depend on government support could suffer. The dollar’s value could collapse, and the U.S. economy would most likely sink back into recession. </p>
<p>And that’s just the start. The U.S. dollar could also lose its unique place in the world as its primary “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/DollarInGlobalFinance.final_.9.20.pdf">unit of account</a>,” which means that it is widely used in global finance and trade. Without this status, Americans simply wouldn’t be able to maintain their current standard of living. </p>
<p>A U.S. default would set off a series of events, including a depreciating dollar and surging inflation, that I believe would likely lead to the abandonment of the U.S. dollar as a global unit of account. </p>
<p>The combination of all this would make it a lot harder for the U.S. to afford all the stuff it imports from abroad, and with it Americans’ standard of living would fall.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Humphries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An economist explains why defaulting on the national debt would result in economic crisis.Michael Humphries, Deputy Chair of Business Administration, Touro UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1649872021-07-29T12:22:49Z2021-07-29T12:22:49ZBig tech has a vaccine misinformation problem – here’s what a social media expert recommends<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413625/original/file-20210728-25-19cs07d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4992%2C3488&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Misinformation on social media is hindering efforts to vaccinate people against the coronavirus.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/health-worker-prepares-a-syringe-with-the-covid19-vaccine-news-photo/1233122251">Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With less than half the United States population fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and as the delta variant sweeps the nation, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory that called misinformation <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/07/15/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-during-covid-19-vaccination-push-warning-american.html">an urgent threat to public health</a>. The advisory said efforts by social media companies to combat misinformation are “too little, too late and still don’t go far enough.” The advisory came more than a year after the World Health Organization warned of a COVID-related <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%E2%80%98infodemic%E2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19">“infodemic.”</a> </p>
<p>There’s good reason to be concerned. A study in the U.K. and the U.S. found that exposure to online misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01056-1">reduced the number of people who said they would get vaccinated</a> and increased the number of people who said they would not. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JpFHYKcAAAAJ&hl=en">researcher who studies social media</a>, I can recommend ways social media companies, in collaboration with researchers, can <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.hlpt.2021.100520">develop effective interventions against misinformation</a> and help build trust and acceptance of vaccines. The government could intervene, but <a href="https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/5/35599177-e826-4155-bb92-785d9c50c452/61E493711AE47642A9416719C042404F.health-misinformation-act.pdf">a bill to curb medical misinformation on social media</a> filed in July is revealing some of the challenges – it’s <a href="https://techpolicy.press/experts-bill-to-reform-section-230-to-address-health-misinfo-is-a-dud/">drawing scorn</a> for leaving to a political appointee decisions about what constitutes misinformation.</p>
<h2>The threat</h2>
<p>A serious threat in online settings is that <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559">fake news spreads faster</a> than verified and validated news from credible sources. Articles connecting vaccines and death have been <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/25/980035707/lying-through-truth-misleading-facts-fuel-vaccine-misinformation">among the content people engage with most</a>. </p>
<p>Algorithms on social media platforms are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hate-cancel-culture-blame-algorithms-129402">primed for engagement</a>. Recommendation engines in these platforms <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/23262">create a rabbit-hole effect</a> by pushing users who click on anti-vaccine messages toward more anti-vaccine content. Individuals and groups that spread medical misinformation <a href="https://techpolicy.press/vaccines-and-the-mediation-of-consent/">are well organized to exploit the weaknesses</a> of the engagement-driven ecosystems on social media platforms. </p>
<p>Social media is being <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-01-13-social-media-manipulation-political-actors-industrial-scale-problem-oxford-report">manipulated on an industrial scale</a>, including <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-disinformation-campaign-aims-to-undermine-confidence-in-pfizer-other-covid-19-vaccines-u-s-officials-say-11615129200">a Russian campaign pushing disinformation</a> about COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers have found that people who rely on Facebook as their primary source of news about the coronavirus are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/27/people-are-more-anti-vaccine-if-they-get-their-covid-19-news-facebook-rather-than-fox-news-new-data-shows/">less likely to be vaccinated</a> than people who get their coronavirus news from any other source.</p>
<p>While social media companies have actively tagged and removed misinformation about COVID-19 generally, stories about vaccine side effects are more insidious because conspiracy theorists may not be trafficking in false information as much as engaging in selectively distorting risks from vaccination. These efforts are part of a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01452-z">well-developed disinformation ecosystem</a> on social media platforms that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/26/vaccine-mandate-litigation-siri-glimstad-ican/">extends to offline anti-vaccine activism</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a white lab coat sitting in a kitchen points a laptop screen to the viewer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413424/original/file-20210727-590-ylofq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anti-vaccine activists use sophisticated misinformation techniques, including hijacking social media accounts of health care workers like this physician and presenting misinformation via the stolen identities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakMisinformationTargets/ef2aaaeb6c9d4a25b634558b787f0f58/photo">AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Misinformation on social media may also fuel vaccine inequities. There are <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity/">significant racial disparities</a> among COVID-19 vaccine recipients so far. For example, though vaccine-related misinformation is not the only source of these differences, health-related misinformation is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/mar/03/facebook-spanish-language-misinformation-covid-19-election">rife on Spanish-language Facebook</a>. </p>
<p>Here are two key steps social media companies can take to reduce vaccine-related misinformation.</p>
<h2>Block known sources of vaccine misinformation</h2>
<p>There have been popular anti-vaccine hashtags such as #vaccineskill. Though it was blocked on Instagram two years ago, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/tech/facebook-vaccineskill-hashtag/index.html">it was allowed on Facebook until July 2021</a>. Aside from vaccines, misinformation on multiple aspects of COVID-19 prevention and treatment abounds, including <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.2498">misinformation about the health benefits of wearing a mask</a>. </p>
<p>Twitter recently suspended U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for a couple of days, citing a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/technology/marjorie-taylor-greene-twitter.html">post of COVID misinformation</a>. But social media companies could do a lot more to block disinformation spreaders. Reports suggest that most of the vaccine disinformation on Facebook and Twitter <a href="https://www.counterhate.com/disinformationdozen">comes from a dozen users who are still active on social media</a> referred to as the disinformation dozen. The list is topped by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercola-doctor-disinformation-dozen-anti-covid-vaccination-2021-7">businessman and physician Joseph Mercola and prominent anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a></p>
<p>Evidence suggests that infodemic superspreaders engage in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F20539517211013861">coordinated sharing of content</a>, which increases their effectiveness in spreading disinformation and, correspondingly, makes it all the more important to block them. Social media platforms need to more aggressively <a href="https://techpolicy.press/vaccines-and-the-mediation-of-consent/">flag harmful content</a> and remove people known to traffic in vaccine-related disinformation. </p>
<h2>Disclose more about medical misinformation</h2>
<p>Facebook claims that it has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/facebook-removed-18-million-misleading-posts-on-covid-19">taken down 18 million pieces of coronavirus misinformation</a>. However, the company <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/facebook-willfully-ignored-its-covid-misinformation-problem-report-says/">doesn’t share data about misinformation</a> on its platforms. Researchers and policymakers don’t know how much <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/joe-biden-facebook-anti-vax-covid-killing-people.html">vaccine-related misinformation is on the platforms and how many people are seeing and sharing</a> misinformation. </p>
<p>Another challenge is distinguishing between different types of engagement. My own research studying medical information on YouTube <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3061149">found different levels of engagement</a>, people simply viewing information that’s relevant to their interests and people commenting on and providing feedback about the information. The issue is how vaccine-related misinformation fits into people’s preexisting beliefs and to what extent their skepticism of vaccines is accentuated by what they are exposed to online.</p>
<p>Social media companies can also partner with health organizations, medical journals and researchers to more <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.hlpt.2021.100520">thoroughly and credibly identify medical misinformation</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Researchers who are working to understand how misinformation spreads rely on social media companies to conduct research about users’ behavior on their platforms. For instance, <a href="https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c202djsz">what researchers do know about anti-vaccine disinformation</a> on Facebook comes from Facebook’s <a href="https://www.crowdtangle.com/">CrowdTangle</a> data analysis tool for public information on the platforms. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BZs9bO8crjE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How to use CrowdTangle to see coronavirus information on Facebook and Instagram.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers need more information from the companies, including ways to <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/21/opinion/divisive-demoralizing-bots-are-winning-so-big-tech-needs-think-bigger/">spot bot activity</a>. Facebook could follow its own example from when it provided data to researchers <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49987657">seeking to uncover Russian fake news campaigns</a> targeted at African American voters. </p>
<p>Data about about social media will help researchers answer key questions about medical misinformation, and the answers in turn could lead to better ways of countering the misinformation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anjana Susarla does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Combating vaccine misinformation on social media requires blocking sources of misinformation – and giving researchers access to data about how misinformation spreads.Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor of Responsible AI, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1630592021-06-30T12:14:27Z2021-06-30T12:14:27ZUS intelligence report on UFOs: No aliens, but government transparency and desire for better data might bring science to the UFO world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408956/original/file-20210629-23-49zsqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=66%2C35%2C602%2C596&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new government report describes 144 sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.navair.navy.mil/foia/documents">U.S. Navy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On June 25, 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a much-anticipated <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf">report on UFOs to Congress</a>. The military has rebranded unidentified flying objects as unidentified aerial phenomena – UAPs – in part to avoid the stigma that has been attached to claims of aliens visiting the Earth since the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/roswell-ufo-crash-what-really-happened.html">Roswell incident in 1947</a>. The report presents no convincing evidence that alien spacecraft have been spotted, but some of the data defy easy interpretation. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.as.arizona.edu/people/faculty/chris-impey">professor of astronomy</a> who has written extensively on the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/talking-about-life/696F47F802931AE9021CA72083313579">search for life</a> in the universe. I also teach a <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/astrobiology-exploring-other-worlds">free online class on astrobiology</a>. I do not believe that the new government report or any other sightings of UFOs in the past are proof of aliens visiting Earth. But the report is important because it opens the door for a serious look at UFOs. Specifically, it encourages the U.S. government to collect better data on UFOs, and I think the release of the report increases the chances that scientists will try to interpret that data. Historically, UFOs have felt off limits to mainstream science, but perhaps no more.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rO_M0hLlJ-Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Three videos from the U.S. military sparked a recent surge in interest in UFOs.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/us-government-ufo-report-from-shrouded-history-to-a-data-driven-future-podcast-163675">US government UFO report: from shrouded history to a data–driven future – podcast</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s in the UFO report?</h2>
<p>The No. 1 thing the report focuses on is the lack of high-quality data. Here are the highlights from the <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf">slender nine-page report</a>, covering a total of 144 UAP sightings from U.S. government sources between 2004 and 2021:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>“Limited data and inconsistent reporting are key challenges to evaluating UAP.” </p></li>
<li><p>Some observations “could be the result of sensor errors, spoofing, or observer misperception.”</p></li>
<li><p>“UAP clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security.”</p></li>
<li><p>Of the 144 sightings, the task force was “able to identify one reported UAP with high confidence. In that case, we identified the object as a large, deflating balloon. The others remain unexplained.”</p></li>
<li><p>“Some UAP many be technologies deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or non-governmental entity.”</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The front page of the report with a U.S. government logo and 'unclassified' listed at the top." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408950/original/file-20210629-11592-6d5ji7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Office of the Director of National Intelligence prepared the report for the Congressional Intelligence and Armed Services Committees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf">Office of the Director of National Intelligence</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>UFOs are taboo among scientists</h2>
<p>UFO means unidentified flying object. Nothing more, nothing less. You’d think scientists would enjoy the challenge of solving this puzzle. Instead, UFOs have been taboo for academic scientists to investigate, and so unexplained reports have not received the scrutiny they deserve.</p>
<p>One reason is that most scientists think there is <a href="http://www.fraknoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Responding-to-Claims-about-Alien-UFOs-2.pdf">less to most reports than meets the eye</a>, and the few who have dug deeply have mostly <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2005r2h">debunked the phenomenon</a>. <a href="http://www.ianridpath.com/ufo/astroufo1.htm">Over half of sightings can be attributed</a> to meteors, fireballs and the planet Venus. </p>
<p>Another reason for the scientific hesitance is that UFOs have been co-opted by popular culture. They are part of a landscape of conspiracy theories that includes accounts of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370600878545">abduction by aliens</a> and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/crop-circles-the-art-of-the-hoax-2524283/">crop circles</a>. Scientists worry about their professional reputations, and the association of UFOs with these supernatural stories causes most researchers to avoid the topic.</p>
<p>But some scientists have looked. In 1968, Edward U. Condon at the University of Colorado published the <a href="https://files.ncas.org/condon/">first major academic study of UFO sightings</a>. The Condon Report put a damper on further research when it found that “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1725090">nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years</a> that has added to scientific knowledge.”</p>
<p>However, a <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/pr/98/980629ufostudy.html">review in 1998</a> by a panel led by Peter Sturrock, a professor of applied physics at Stanford University, concluded that some sightings are accompanied by physical evidence that deserves scientific study. Sturrock also <a href="https://www.scientificexploration.org/docs/8/jse_08_2_sturrock.pdf">surveyed professional astronomers</a> and found that nearly half thought UFOs were worthy of scientific study, with higher interest among younger and more well-informed astronomers.</p>
<p>If astronomers are intrigued by UFOs – and believe some cases deserve study with academic rigor – what’s holding them back? A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662515617706">history of mistrust</a> between ufologists and scientists hasn’t helped. And while UFO research has employed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/B:QUAS.0000015542.28438.41">some of the tools of the scientific method</a>, it has not had the core of skeptical, evidence-based reasoning that demarcates science from <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pseudoscience/">pseudoscience</a>.</p>
<p>A search of 90,000 recent and current <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/">grants awarded</a> by the National Science Foundation finds none addressing UFOs or related phenomena. I’ve served on review panels for 35 years, and can imagine the reaction if such a proposal came up for peer review: raised eyebrows and a quick vote not to fund.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of satellite dishes pointing in various directions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408955/original/file-20210629-28-ro64v4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Radio telescopes like the Allen Telescope Array seen here scan the sky looking for signs of intelligent life in the universe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allen_Telescope_Array_-_Flickr_-_brewbooks_(11).jpg#/media/File:Allen_Telescope_Array_-_Flickr_-_brewbooks_(11).jpg">Brewbooks/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A decadeslong search for aliens</h2>
<p>While the scientific community has almost entirely avoided engaging with UFOs, a much more mainstream search for intelligent aliens and their technology has been going on for decades.</p>
<p>The search is motivated by the fact that astronomers have, to date, discovered <a href="https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/">over 4,400 planets orbiting other stars</a>. Called exoplanets, some are close to the Earth’s mass and at just the right distance from their stars to potentially have water on their surfaces – meaning they might be habitable.</p>
<p>Astronomers estimate that there are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/05/world/nasa-300-million-habitable-planets-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html">300 million habitable worlds</a> in the Milky Way galaxy alone, and each one is a <a href="https://www.seti.org/drake-equation-index">potential opportunity</a> for life to develop and for intelligence and technology to emerge. Indeed, most astronomers think it very unlikely that <a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1350/are-we-alone-in-the-universe-revisiting-the-drake-equation/">humans are the only or the first advanced civilization</a>. </p>
<p>This confidence has fueled an active <a href="https://www.seti.org/">search for extraterrestrial intelligence</a>, known as SETI. It has been unsuccessful so far. As a result, researchers have recast the question “Are we alone?” to “Where are the aliens?” The absence of evidence for intelligent aliens is called the <a href="https://www.seti.org/fermi-paradox-0">Fermi paradox</a>. First articulated by the physicist Enrico Fermi, it’s a paradox because advanced civilizations should be spread throughout the galaxy, yet we see no sign of their existence. </p>
<p>The SETI activity has not been immune from scientists’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/461316a">criticism</a>. It was starved of federal funding for decades and recently has gotten most of its support from <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/how-big-money-powering-massive-hunt-alien-intelligence">private sources</a>. However, in 2020, NASA <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/20/nasa-funds-research-alien-technological-civilizations/3224063001/">resumed funding for SETI</a>, and the new NASA administrator wants researchers to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/04/tech/ufos-nasa-study-scn/index.html">pursue the topic of UFOs</a>. </p>
<p>In this context, the intelligence report is welcome. The report draws <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d">few concrete conclusions</a> about UFOs and avoids any reference to aliens or extraterrestrial spacecraft. However, it notes the importance of destigmatizing UFOs so that more pilots report what they see. It also sets a goal of moving from anecdotal observations to standardized and scientific data collection. Time will tell if this is enough to draw scientists into the effort, but the transparency to publish the report at all reverses a long history of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html">secrecy surrounding U.S. government reports on UFOs</a>.</p>
<p>I don’t see any convincing evidence of alien spacecraft, but as a curious scientist, I hope the subset of UFO sightings that are truly unexplained gets closer study. Scientists are unlikely to weigh in if their skepticism generates attacks from “true believers” or they get ostracized by their colleagues. Meanwhile, the truth is still out there.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to clarify that the report was produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Impey receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>A new nine-page report, requested by Congress, doesn’t say what the 144 UFO sightings from 2004 to 2021 are, but does say that the government wants to learn more.Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1618062021-06-28T02:23:17Z2021-06-28T02:23:17ZPentagon report says UFOs can’t be explained, and this admission is a big deal<p>A report from the US task force dedicated to investigating UFOs — or, in the official jargon, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) — has neither confirmed nor rejected the idea such sightings could indicate alien visits to Earth.</p>
<p>On Friday June 25, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its eagerly awaited <a href="https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2021/item/2223">unclassified intelligence report</a>, titled “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”.</p>
<p>The document is a brief nine-page version of a larger classified report provided to the Congressional Services and Armed Services Committees. It assesses “the threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and the progress the Department of Defence <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/">Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force</a> has made in understanding this threat”.</p>
<p>The report certainly does not, as many were hoping, conclude UFOs are alien spacecraft. Rather, it shows the task force hasn’t made much progress since first being set up ten months ago. Perhaps this is unsurprising, given its task. </p>
<p>However, the task force’s very existence would have been unthinkable to many people just one year ago. It’s unprecedented to see the broader policy shift towards the acknowledgement of UFOs as real, anomalous physical phenomena that are worthy of extended scientific and military analysis.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408564/original/file-20210628-15-10iuecm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In April of last year, the US Department of Defense released three ‘UFO’ videos taken by Navy pilots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Defense/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Seemingly advanced technologies</h2>
<p>The report withholds specific details of its data sample, which consists of 144 UFO reports made mostly by military aviators between 2004 and 2021. Its bombshell finding is that “a handful of UAP appear to demonstrate advanced technology”.</p>
<p>This “handful” — 21 of the 144 reports — represents classic UFO enigmas. These objects:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, manoeuvre abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion. In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These characteristics indicate some UAP may be intelligently controlled (because they aren’t blown around by the wind) and electromagnetic (as they emit radio frequencies). </p>
<p>In March, Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told Fox News some reports describe objects “<a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a35904670/pentagon-ufo-reports-objects-breaking-sound-barrier-without-sonic-boom/">travelling at speeds that exceed the sound barrier without a sonic boom</a>”. Sonic booms are sound waves generated by objects breaking the sound barrier.</p>
<p>No <em>known</em> aircraft can travel faster than sound without creating a sonic boom. NASA is currently developing “<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/ames/nasa-supercomputers-visualize-quieter-supersonic-flight">quiet supersonic technology</a>”, which may allow planes to break the sound barrier while issuing a subdued “sonic thump”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-aliens-exist-we-asked-five-experts-161811">Do aliens exist? We asked five experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufo-report-pentagon-security-experts-reaction">Some</a> have claimed the objects are probably secret, advanced Russian or Chinese aircraft. However, global aerospace development has failed to match the flight characteristics of objects reported since the late 1940s. And it seems counterproductive to repeatedly fly secret aircraft into an adversary’s airspace where they can be documented.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a9Jli0D1uEM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>How did we get here?</h2>
<p>The report’s release is a profoundly important moment in the history of the UFO mystery, largely because of its institutional context. To fully appreciate what this moment might mean for the future of UFO studies, we have to understand how the UFO problem has been historically “institutionalised”.</p>
<p>In 1966, the US Air Force was facing increasing public pressure to resolve the UFO problem. Its effort to do so, then known as Project Blue Book, had become an organisational burden and a public relations problem.</p>
<p>It funded a two-year scientific study of UFOs based at the University of Colorado, headed by prominent physicist Edward Condon. The findings, published in 1969 as the Final Report on the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, allowed the Air Force to end its UFO investigations. </p>
<p>Condon concluded nothing had come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that added to scientific knowledge. He also said “further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby”.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/221899a0">Nature</a>, one of the world’s most reputable scientific journals, described the Condon Report as a “sledgehammer for nuts”. But by then the Air Force had collected 12,618 reports as part of Project Blue Book, of which 701 sightings were categorised as “unidentified”.</p>
<p>Unlike the new Pentagon report, the Condon Report didn’t find any UFOs that appeared to demonstrate advanced technology. The most problematic cases were resolved by being categorised ambiguously. Here’s one example: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This unusual sighting should therefore be assigned to the category of some almost certainly natural phenomenon which is so rare that it apparently has never been reported before or since.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With this strategic category in the toolkit, there was no need to acknowledge seemingly advanced technology exhibited by UAPs. Indeed, they were deliberately filtered from institutional knowledge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-military-has-officially-published-three-ufo-videos-why-doesnt-anybody-seem-to-care-137498">The US military has officially published three UFO videos. Why doesn't anybody seem to care?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Recovering from ‘institutional forgetting’</h2>
<p>For most of their postwar history, UFO reports have been regarded by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0090591708317902">state institutions</a> as knowledge out of place, or “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2011.637335?casa_token=Pnh6UEBjAjYAAAAA%3Aip-biUlRCq6M7P-dt83F7AQpso78Wgb_0cVoLPLWJYhujSpl4MaS3kz3MTEaW8DMyl6FH-yUbocLRqg">information pollution</a>” — something to be excluded, ignored or forgotten.</p>
<p>The Pentagon’s UAP task force represents an abrupt reversal of this longstanding organisational policy. UFO reports, made primarily by military personnel, are no longer pollutants. They are now important data with national security implications.</p>
<p>That said, they do still represent “uncomfortable knowledge”. As the late Oxford University anthropologist Steve Rayner <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2011.637335?casa_token=KX72WiCiY3kAAAAA%3ASedfoQoBaB2ob1gBOEZ5rSPOunl9aJL_DUR2v48ul8VlBy_KU0yEiC5QnhEWrDSYVclteGJoQ4L_">observed</a>, knowledge can be “uncomfortable” for institutions in two ways.</p>
<p>First, Rayner said, “acknowledging potential information by admitting it to the realm of what is ‘known’ may undermine the organisational principles of a society or organisation”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he said “not admitting such information may also have serious deleterious effects on institutions, either directly or by making them prone to criticism from other parts of society that they ‘ought’ to have known”. Both aspects describe the institutional context of UFO information.</p>
<p>The US Department of Defence has confirmed UFOs threaten flight safety, and potentially, national security. In doing so, it has exposed a weakness in its organisational principles. It has admitted it’s not very good at knowing what UFOs are. </p>
<p>It also faces the criticism that <a href="https://www.osapublishing.org/josa/abstract.cfm?uri=josa-43-4-311">seven decades</a> after UFOs first appeared on the radar, it <em>ought</em> to know what they are. The new Pentagon report doesn’t compel us to accept the reality of alien visitation. But it does compel us to take UFOs seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161806/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Dodd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some UFO sightings appear to demonstrate ‘advanced technology’. The Pentagon has confirmed some threaten flight safety, and potentially national security.Adam Dodd, Tutor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1574652021-04-06T12:28:47Z2021-04-06T12:28:47ZThe US is worried about its critical minerals supply chains – essential for electric vehicles, wind power and the nation’s defense<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393342/original/file-20210404-13-12hqo30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=166%2C0%2C1461%2C939&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wind turbines and fighter jets both rely on imported critical minerals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/478441/f-35a-lightning-ii/">U.S. Air Force; Dennis Schroeder/NREL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When U.S. companies build military weapons systems, electric vehicle batteries, satellites and wind turbines, they rely heavily on a few dozen “critical minerals” – many of which are mined and refined <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/mcs2021">almost entirely by other countries</a>. Building a single F-35A fighter jet, for example, requires at least <a href="https://www.airforcemag.com/article/rare-earth-uncertainty/">920 pounds</a> of rare earth elements that come primarily from China. </p>
<p>That level of dependence on imports <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/24/executive-order-on-americas-supply-chains/">worries the U.S. government</a>.</p>
<p>Natural disasters, civil unrest, trade disputes and company failures can all disrupt a mineral supply chain and the many products that depend on it – making many critical minerals a national security priority. </p>
<p>The U.S. has increased its strategic planning and investment in reliable supply chains in recent years, particularly as China has moved to <a href="https://www.china-briefing.com/news/china-tightens-control-over-management-of-rare-earths/">increase control over critical mineral exports</a>, but the U.S.’s own mining and recycling of these minerals is still small. This is due in part to how environmentally destructive and polluting many mining and processing operations can be, but also because policy measures are only recently being explored and funded. The U.S. now has a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/24/executive-order-on-americas-supply-chains/">review underway</a> of critical mineral supply chains, and the Department of Energy recently <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-30-million-research-secure-domestic-supply-chain-critical-elements-and">pledged up to US$30 million</a>, on top of funding included in the December pandemic aid package and a <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-122-million-regional-initiative-produce-rare-earth-elements-and">2020 support package for mining</a>.</p>
<p>The question <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KttlJdQAAAAJ&hl=en">policy</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DAwwVkwAAAAJ&hl=en">experts</a> like ourselves are exploring is how best to provide sustainable and secure critical mineral supply chains in a way that limits environmental damage and promotes good governance. </p>
<h2>The list: 35 critical minerals</h2>
<p>Critical minerals earn their name from their vital role in products Americans rely on every day.</p>
<p>Over the last 60 years, the U.S. has doubled the number of these minerals it is 100% reliant on other countries to provide. Of the 35 critical minerals identified by the U.S. in 2018, 28 are <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021.pdf">at least 50% imported</a>.</p>
<p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/18/2018-10667/final-list-of-critical-minerals-2018">critical minerals list</a> has changed since it was first created by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1973. Many of the same minerals are there, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-rare-earths-crucial-elements-in-modern-technology-4-questions-answered-101364">rare earth elements</a> and lithium, but their relative importance in 1973 was for petroleum refining and making glass, among other goods.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Photo of bauxite with a pink hue" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392922/original/file-20210331-25-sju2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bauxite is a source of aluminum and gallium, which is used in LEDs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/bauxite-and-alumina-statistics-and-information?qt-science_support_page_related_con=0#qt-science_support_page_related_con">Scott Haworth/USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The list today reflects the essential role that renewable energy, electric vehicles and advanced defense technologies have in the U.S. economy – and the specialized alloys, magnets and catalysts that enable them. These include batteries and electric motors, but also missile guidance systems, communications and <a href="https://www.airforcemag.com/article/rare-elements-of-security/">even satellites</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Piles of rare earth elements, clockwise from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C8%2C1176%2C756&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391003/original/file-20210322-23-1y0389.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of rare earth elements, which are used in batteries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/rare-earth-oxides">Peggy Greb/USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of this, the Department of Defense has been one of the strongest supporters for more resilient supply chains. In the last few years it has been proactive about <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2488672/dod-announces-rare-earth-element-award-to-strengthen-domestic-industrial-base/">strengthening domestic production</a>, especially for rare earth elements. That includes <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2418542/dod-announces-rare-earth-element-awards-to-strengthen-domestic-industrial-base/">new contracts</a> with rare earth mining and production operations in <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2418542/dod-announces-rare-earth-element-awards-to-strengthen-domestic-industrial-base/">California, Nebraska</a> and <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2488672/dod-announces-rare-earth-element-award-to-strengthen-domestic-industrial-base/">Texas</a>. The <a href="https://www.dla.mil/HQ/Acquisition/StrategicMaterials/About/OurOffices/">Defense Logistics Agency</a> also has emergency stockpiles of 42 commodities with a market value of US$1.1 billion at six different locations across the U.S.</p>
<p>Now, with President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/">infrastructure plan</a> promising an expansion of electric vehicles and renewable energy, “green” legislation becoming more likely and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963014373/how-fast-will-biden-need-to-move-on-climate-really-really-fast">climate change becoming a priority</a>, critical mineral supply chains are again in the spotlight.</p>
<p><iframe id="caYW9" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/caYW9/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Getting serious about supply chains</h2>
<p>The amounts of lithium, cobalt, graphene, indium and other critical minerals needed for low-carbon technologies alone are expected to increase anywhere from <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6473/30">100% to 1,000% by 2050</a>.</p>
<p>These estimates are concerning on their own, but when combined with military needs, industrial needs and the decline of U.S. mining, it paints a troubling picture for U.S. supply shortages.</p>
<p>Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which made headlines in the past due to mineral sales that <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-responsible-sourcing-of-drc-minerals-has-major-weak-spots-115245">financed armed conflict</a>, are not particularly appealing partners for U.S. companies. The DRC is responsible for producing <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-cobalt-mining-drc-needs-urgent-attention">more than 70%</a> of the world’s cobalt, used in almost all rechargeable lithium ion batteries that power everything from cellphones and laptops to electric vehicles, and China has invested heavily in the region.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of countries with bar charts showing percentage of minerals supplied in 2017." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392919/original/file-20210331-17-tqr4qs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The largest sources of critical minerals used in the United States.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R45810.html">Congressional Research Service</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ability of the United States to drive demand – but hesitation to get involved with “risky” nations or commit to domestic production – means the U.S. is reliant on countries that are more willing to accept those risks. China <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/china-dominates-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-but-europe-is-on-the-rise/">now controls</a> 80% of the world’s lithium-ion battery material refining, 77% of the world’s battery cell capacity and 60% of the world’s battery component manufacturing.</p>
<h2>How to strengthen critical supply chains</h2>
<p>The U.S. can take several steps to avoid being left behind by shortages and to ensure a successful energy transition.</p>
<p>During the Trump administration, the U.S. launched a <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/trump-administration-announces-strategy-strengthen-americas-economy-defense#:%7E:text=In%202017%2C%20President%20Donald%20Trump,to%20critical%20mineral%20supply%20disruptions.">federal strategy to ensure reliable supplies of critical minerals</a>, but that strategy was based in part on scaling back reviews of the projects’ environmental impact, and it didn’t have many actionable steps. The administration also started the Energy Resource Governance Initiative, focused on working with partner countries on improving the governance of mineral supply chains. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The U.S. has lots of room to improve its support for critical mineral markets and trade agreements. Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/24/fact-sheet-securing-americas-critical-supply-chains/">100-day review</a> of the critical mineral supply chains is a good start.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.minesnewsroom.com/news/sustainable-supply-minerals-and-metals-key-low-carbon-energy-future">Expanding recycling and reuse</a> of critical minerals can also increase sustainability and make minerals more available for U.S. use. One way to encourage recycling programs is to shift responsibility from waste managers to major producers like Apple and Samsung.</p>
<p>International agreements can also be written in ways that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz6003">require responsible mining</a>. U.S. companies, similarly, can do more to ensure that they aren’t purchasing from unsustainable sources or supporting practices that encourage the abuse and exploitation of developing economies.</p>
<p>The U.S. can also expand its exploration for critical minerals. Rio Tinto recently announced plans for a new plant to <a href="https://riotintokennecott.com/coppercurrents/rio-tinto-to-build-new-tellurium-plant-at-kennecott-mine/">recover tellurium</a>, a critical mineral used in solar panels, from its copper refining operations in Utah. <a href="https://qz.com/1975325/electric-cars-are-fueling-the-uss-lithium-mining-boom/#:%7E:text=But%20the%20US%20has%2010,public%20land%20in%20California%20alone.">Lithium mining</a> in the California desert has also started to attract investors, as have rare earth projects in <a href="https://www.mining.com/rare-earths-processing-facility-opens-in-colorado/">Colorado</a> and Nevada. </p>
<p>Discussions of clean energy technologies should also include industrial policy, such as how mines are permitted, funding for processing plants and advanced manufacturing research. How the U.S. shapes the path for critical minerals will have important consequences for everything from the environment to national security.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Right now, the nation is almost entirely dependent on other countries for minerals that are used in everything from wind turbines to strike fighters and satellites.Jordan Lee Calderon, Payne Institute Program Manager, Colorado School of MinesMorgan Bazilian, Professor of Public Policy and Director, Payne Institute, Colorado School of MinesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1559352021-03-25T12:25:10Z2021-03-25T12:25:10ZWho gets Cherokee citizenship has long been a struggle between the tribe and the US government<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391389/original/file-20210324-17-1cdahr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C44%2C4217%2C2182&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Cherokee Census card from 1904. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Enrollment_for_Cherokee_Census_Card_R645_-_NARA_-_259708.jpg#/media/File:Enrollment_for_Cherokee_Census_Card_R645_-_NARA_-_259708.jpg">Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/cherokee-nation-supreme-court-rules-by-blood-reference-be-stricken-from-tribe-s/article_e79f78b4-756b-11eb-b0bc-13a1954dc30b.html">recent decision by the Cherokee Nation’s Supreme Court</a> struck down a law that freedmen – descendants of people enslaved by Cherokees in the 18th and 19th centuries – cannot hold elective tribal office. The ruling is the latest development in a long-standing dispute about the tribal rights available to Black people once held in bondage by Native Americans.</p>
<p>National media reported this news as a victory against racism in the tribe. “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/us/politics/cherokee-nation-black-freedmen.html">Cherokee Nation Addresses Bias Against Descendants of Enslaved People</a>,” reads a representative headline from The New York Times.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/3531774">as a scholar of Cherokee law and history</a>, I argue this development can be seen another way: as only the latest chapter in a long struggle between the Cherokee Nation and the federal government over which has the power to determine who should be considered a tribal citizen, and which culture’s values should be most important in that determination.</p>
<h2>Status of freedmen</h2>
<p>On Feb. 22, the <a href="https://www.cherokeecourts.org/Supreme-Court/SC-2017-01-to-current">Cherokee Supreme Court</a> struck the words “by blood” from the <a href="https://www.cherokee.org/our-government/cherokee-nation-constitution/">Cherokee Constitution</a>. </p>
<p>This decision means that the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/25/us/cherokee-nation-ruling-freedmen-citizenship-trnd/index.html">8,500</a> tribal descendants of Cherokee freedmen can <a href="https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/election-complaint-filed-over-freedmen-descendants-eligibility/article_3589c336-b676-5906-bb9b-d55292529663.html">run for tribal office</a>. Freedmen currently have access to voting and other benefits of citizenship that were not a part of this particular decision.</p>
<p>The Cherokee Nation has wrestled with the tribal citizenship status of freedmen since U.S. officials <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100630013134/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/VOL2/treaties/che0942.htm">forced Cherokees to adopt freedmen</a> into the tribe in 1866. Part of the tension, as I have <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-american-political-development/article/abs/cherokee-political-thought-and-the-development-of-tribal-citizenship/CC9A3DA37538AAE21F1AEBAF9DE061A6">written elsewhere</a>, stems from the Cherokee commitment to limit citizenship to those meeting certain eligibility requirements – in this case, those who are Cherokee by blood. For the Nation, keeping citizenship exclusive preserves both Cherokee culture and status as a distinct sovereign entity. </p>
<p>Historically, U.S. officials, often encouraged by public opinion, have wanted Cherokees to adopt U.S. legal and cultural practices. When not attempting to <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/7690-a-move-to-destroy-the-cherokee-nation">terminate the tribe</a>, U.S. officials have sided with freedmen whenever tribal citizenship disputes <a href="https://casetext.com/case/cherokee-nation-v-nash-4">reach U.S. courts</a>. U.S. politicians have also repeatedly threatened to <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11280553">withhold federal money</a> should the Cherokee Nation not grant freedmen citizenship.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Information from the Cherokee Nation on how to register as a tribal citizen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391276/original/file-20210323-17-1a2jm34.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A screenshot from the Cherokee Nation’s tribal registration webpage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cherokee.org/all-services/tribal-registration/">Cherokee Nation website</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Origins of a conflict</h2>
<p>Before living in Indian Territory – now Oklahoma – Cherokees lived for centuries in the American Southeast. Their society was a collection of towns held together by <a href="https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/education/the-cherokee-clan-system/article_a88fcc42-f3f8-5f33-b575-8cff7d3bffd2.html">clan affiliation</a> and kinship bonds. </p>
<p>These clan and kin relationships were the basis of Cherokee <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691006277/cherokee-renascence-in-the-new-republic">social and political life</a>. Their strong communal ethic, with <a href="https://www.oupress.com/books/14444470/serving-the-nation">each person playing a particular role in determining the health and strength of the community</a>, supported and was encouraged by the practice of holding land in common; Cherokees did not own land privately. </p>
<p>Cherokees were also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/000271627843600104">intensely spiritual</a>, believing that frequent personal and communal rituals maintained harmony and balance between all living things. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0898588X20000176">Exclusive membership</a>, limited to Cherokees with few exceptions, was one natural extension of their cultural beliefs and practices. </p>
<p>Colonists, later U.S. citizens, wanted to acquire Cherokee land and to make Cherokees more like whites in terms of their religious, government and economic practices. That meant that Cherokees would have to abandon their practice of holding land communally, which made land difficult for U.S. settlers to acquire because they could not deal with individuals. </p>
<p>By the 1820s, Cherokees had adopted many customs and institutions from Americans, including <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-native-american-slaveholders-complicate-trail-tears-narrative-180968339/">Black slavery</a>, a written language and a <a href="https://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CherokeePhoenix/Vol1/no01/constitution-of-the-cherokee-nation-page-1-column-2a-page-2-column-3a.html">constitution</a>. But instead of making the tribe more white – and thereby giving up their lands, as settlers hoped – the Cherokee constitution declared the tribe’s intent to preserve its lands.</p>
<p>Hungry for Cherokee land and the gold in it, and disdaining the Cherokee way of life, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Removal-Act">Congress in the 1830s gave</a> the president power to force the Cherokee west. Roughly <a href="https://ugapress.org/book/9780820323671/john-ross-cherokee-chief/">16,000 Cherokees</a>, along with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/25/us/pain-of-trail-of-tears-shared-by-blacks-as-well-as-native-americans">many slaves</a>, walked the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory – some <a href="https://www.nps.gov/trte/learn/historyculture/what-happened-on-the-trail-of-tears.htm">4,000 dying</a> as a result.</p>
<h2>1866 treaty</h2>
<p>Cherokees rebuilt their nation in what is now northeastern Oklahoma. Enslaved Black labor aided this process. </p>
<p>When the Civil War began, the Cherokee first <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-native-americans-ended-up-fighting-for-the-confederacy-2019-6">joined the Confederacy</a>. The Nation, however, <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/how-the-cherokee-fought-the-civil-war">experienced a schism</a> that led most, including Chief John Ross, the Nation’s leader, to flee to the Union side. Ross’ rival, Stand Watie, and others remained with the Confederates.</p>
<p>After the war, the U.S. forced the Cherokee Nation to sign the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100630013134/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/VOL2/treaties/che0942.htm">Treaty of 1866</a>. The tribe’s <a href="https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/1839-cherokee-constitution-born-from-act-of-union/article_5621e3f8-f65c-5990-8af2-c889b21b0abc.html">1839 Constitution</a>, affirming previous laws, had stated that Cherokee citizens must be descended from Cherokees, not their Black slaves. But in this peace treaty, Cherokees agreed to make their former slaves full tribal citizens. </p>
<p>This meant granting many who did not share in <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520230972/blood-politics">clan affiliation</a> or Cherokee blood access to tribal services like education and potentially a portion of federal monetary payments.</p>
<p>For many, <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300234671/cherokee-diaspora">being a Cherokee</a> citizen was not merely about receiving things from the government – it was also about living the Cherokee lifestyle and dedicating one’s life to that culture. Many Cherokees <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/third-annual-message-of-hon-jb-mayes-principal-chief-of-the-cherokee-nation/oclc/593622785">opposed making freedmen citizens</a>, since most were not Cherokee by blood. </p>
<p>Importantly, they <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc0738405">did not want</a> U.S. officials dictating who could be a tribal citizen. </p>
<p>The 1866 treaty stipulated that only freedmen living on Cherokee land within six months of the signing could be citizens. While some freedmen did gain citizenship this way, Cherokees used that provision to <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520230972/blood-politics">deny it to those who did not return on time</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman who descends from Cherokee Freedmen holding her tribal ID card." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391279/original/file-20210323-2283-1q28xwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rena Logan, whose ancestors were enslaved by the Cherokee Indians in the 1800s, fought to gain full tribal membership for descendants of freedmen like her.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CherokeeFreedmen/c8e7ed4dfd514580bda402f115b55b00/photo?Query=freedmen&mediaType=photo,graphic&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=29&currentItemNo=19">Dave Crenshaw/AP photos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Termination</h2>
<p>After the Civil War, U.S. officials, settlers and freedmen made demands on Cherokee land and resources. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/4144838">Freedmen wanted</a> to <a href="https://www.blairpub.com/shop/black-indian-slave-narratives">build a life</a> – most returned to Cherokee territory from surrounding states, as they were not wanted there.</p>
<p>Settlers wanted Cherokee lands. Christian and philanthropic organizations also pressured U.S. politicians to <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393304978">hasten the “civilization” of Indians</a>. This meant forcing them to adopt American economic and social norms – especially private land ownership. </p>
<p>The federal government used freedmen’s petitions for Cherokee citizenship to undermine tribal authority. Freedmen who wanted to live among the Cherokee but were stymied by tribal leaders <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1185118">appealed to the Office of Indian Affairs</a>. Federal representatives, called “Indian agents,” stepped in, superseding Cherokee sovereignty, giving freedmen (and white settlers) Cherokee land. </p>
<p>Congress forced the conversion of Cherokee communal lands into individual lots in 1887 with the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/dawes-act.htm">Dawes Act</a>. As part of this process, U.S. agents counted those living on tribal land – creating the <a href="https://www.okhistory.org/research/dawes">Dawes Rolls</a>, which divided the inhabitants into three categories: Cherokee, white and freedmen. </p>
<p>Congress’ ultimately successful goal was to dissolve tribal governments, freeing up land for new American cities and farms in Oklahoma – which achieved statehood in 1907. </p>
<h2>Rebirth</h2>
<p>In the 1970s, Congress passed legislation <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-84/STATUTE-84-Pg1091-2">enabling Cherokees to re-form their sovereign government</a>, recognized by the U.S. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/cherokees-ratified-first-modern-constitution-in-1976/article_19fc963d-1df6-5f9c-a700-c8320012fc1e.html">Cherokees drafted a constitution</a> in 1975, re-articulating their sovereignty, including citizenship requirements. </p>
<p>The Cherokee Nation, <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/lemame">40,000 strong</a>, used the Cherokee Dawes Rolls – excluding the freedmen list – to determine citizenship. Identifying individual Cherokee by blood had become impossible without some arbitrary reference point; they chose the 1906 list that U.S. agents had compiled to reestablish exclusive citizenship as a sovereign nation. </p>
<p>Descendants of freedmen objected to Cherokees not including the Dawes freedmen list too; <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1185118">freedmen had wanted citizenship</a> to gain access to tribal services and suffrage. This became an even greater issue as the Cherokee Nation <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/lemame">expanded to 200,000 people in the 1990s</a>. </p>
<p>Cherokees have <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780312206628">legally and socially wrestled</a> with whether excluding freedmen was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1185118">an act of racism</a> or a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0898588X20000176">show of strength against the U.S.</a> for repeatedly denying tribal sovereignty. </p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p>
<p>Freedmen struggled against the Cherokee Nation for decades to secure citizenship, often getting the U.S. involved. In 2017, a U.S. district judge ruled that the Cherokee <a href="https://casetext.com/case/cherokee-nation-v-nash-4">do not have the sovereign authority to deny citizenship</a> to freedmen, since they agreed to make them citizens in the Treaty of 1866. </p>
<p>The 2021 decision to strike “by blood” from the candidate requirement is the next step in that process of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1MaAlo2o6s">debating what Cherokee citizenship means</a> – and how to keep it exclusive despite U.S. interference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155935/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Kushner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the Cherokee Supreme Court ruled that tribal elected officials no longer had to be Cherokee “by blood,” it was the latest chapter in a long-running fight over who controls tribal citizenship.Aaron Kushner, Postdoctoral Scholar, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1554402021-02-18T19:54:17Z2021-02-18T19:54:17ZOne month in, how Biden has changed disaster management and the US COVID-19 response<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384890/original/file-20210217-19-1614g8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=380%2C14%2C4131%2C2730&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The National Guard joined forces with FEMA to launch a mass vaccination site in Los Angeles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/motorcyclist-receives-his-covid-19-vaccine-administered-by-news-photo/1231206587">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After one month in office, the Biden administration has fundamentally changed how the federal government responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>In direct contrast to his predecessor, President Joe Biden is treating this as a national-scale crisis requiring a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/covid-19/">comprehensive national strategy</a> and federal resources. If that sounds familiar, it should: It’s a return to a traditional – and in many ways proven – approach to disaster management.</p>
<p>The Trump administration deviated dramatically from established emergency management practices. It <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2820%2932545-9">politicized public health and related decision-making processes</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/trump-administration-influenced-cdc-guidance-to-suppress-covid-testing-house-panel-says.html">overrode the disaster response roles</a> of federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.</p>
<p>Among other things, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/data-resources/initial-assessment-report">established an entirely new coordination structure</a> headed by a White House task force, then changed the lead federal agency from Health and Human Services to FEMA. Those moves, combined with a disjointed array of other operational task forces, made it difficult to create an integrated response. <a href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/data-analytics/hospital-covid-19-data-now-goes-to-hhs-cdc-s-hospital-capacity-data-disappears-7-details-emerge.html">Even basic data collection from hospitals</a> for tracking the coronavirus’s spread was thrown into disarray by changes.</p>
<p>The Biden administration is now reempowering key federal agencies to return to the <a href="https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/response">roles</a> <a href="https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/recovery">and responsibilities</a> they were designed for within a planned national disaster management structure. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://publicservice.asu.edu/content/brian-gerber-0">own work in</a> <a href="https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/melanie--gall/">hazards management</a>, with both governments and nongovernmental organizations, has shown us that fidelity to proper process and respect for expertise is essential to effective disaster management. The Biden administration’s approach to the pandemic so far suggests this is the model it will follow.</p>
<h2>What federal emergency response was designed to do</h2>
<p>By design, the U.S. federal system for managing disasters is decentralized and tiered.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/response">system is structured</a> so that local governments take the lead in managing hazards and responding to local emergencies. But when an emergency becomes a disaster-scale problem, state and federal governments should be prepared to provide financial assistance and other support, particularly logistical support.</p>
<p>FEMA, <a href="https://www.fema.gov/about/history">established in 1979</a> by President Jimmy Carter, has a crucial role as a national emergency management coordinator. Just getting all levels of government to work together effectively, along with private and nonprofit organizations, represents a massive challenge. Major crises over the years, including the <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg80653/html/CHRG-107shrg80653.htm">Sept. 11 terror attacks</a>, <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-109srpt322/pdf/CRPT-109srpt322.pdf">Hurricane Katrina</a> in 2005 and <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-90T">Hurricane Sandy</a> in 2012, have helped refine federal strategies and processes and improve preparedness for future disasters – including pandemics.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Joe Biden holds a copy of the national COVID-19 strategy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7696%2C4769&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384871/original/file-20210217-19-hrhpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of Joe Biden’s first moves as president was to issue a national strategy for responding to the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-speaks-as-vice-president-kamala-harris-news-photo/1297666586">Alex Wong/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pandemic preparedness has been a part of U.S. emergency management planning <a href="https://www.fema.gov/txt/media/factsheets/2009/npd_natl_plan_scenario.txt">since at least 2003</a>. The H1N1 bird flu crisis in 2009 triggered the passage of the <a href="https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/pahpa/Pages/pahpra.aspx">Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Authorization Act</a> in 2013. That law established Health and Human Services as the lead federal agency, and the statute specifically addresses the development of medical surge capacity, pandemic vaccine and drug development and more. </p>
<p>Managing a pandemic is more challenging than other types of disasters. Unlike a wildfire or tornado, which strikes a specific place for a limited period of time, a global pandemic is all-encompassing, affecting all jurisdictions and every economic sector. It requires focused coordination between public health and emergency response bureaucracies within government and with other key partners such as hospitals. </p>
<p>Given the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government normally would have taken the lead in coordinating the response and assistance. Instead, the Trump administration devolved primary responsibility for the pandemic response to state and local governments, despite their limited capacity.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/04/the-plague-year?source=search_google_dsa_paid&gclid=Cj0KCQiA962BBhCzARIsAIpWEL0lrIQLjJZ-WCRag9L5kGzKvKbDb_X9Ol4KVmOTPz57Fkodl7Gh3RkaAsmXEALw_wcB">approach was doomed to fail</a>. It muddled use of the <a href="https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/response">National Response Framework</a> and created a competitive environment for state and local governments as they scrambled for supplies. It sidelined the agencies involved in pandemic preparedness, such as the CDC and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and it <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/obama-team-left-pandemic-playbook-for-trump-administration-officials-confirm">ignored specific plans for a pandemic response</a>. It also <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/how-jared-kushners-secret-testing-plan-went-poof-into-thin-air">politicized resource allocation choices</a> and undermined, <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19/21497221/donald-trump-covid-19-coronavirus-news-misinformation-study">through misinformation</a>, the importance of public health behaviors such as wearing masks.</p>
<h2>Biden’s return to established practices</h2>
<p>Against this backdrop, the Biden administration’s early efforts to return to established disaster management practice underscore the importance of leadership of complex systems used to address complex problems.</p>
<p>The list of changes in the month since Biden took office is extensive. The administration issued a comprehensive <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf">national strategy for pandemic response</a>. It increased the involvement of FEMA and the Department of Defense to <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2503020/dod-to-support-fema-vaccination-effort/">support vaccination distribution</a>, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/17/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-expand-and-improve-covid-19-testing/">expanded COVID-19 testing</a> for underserved populations and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/letter-his-excellency-antonio-guterres/">rejoined the World Health Organization</a>, which Trump had pulled out of. Biden also invoked the <a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/covid-19-the-biden-administration-s-9963366/">Defense Production Act</a> to mobilize private industry to ramp up production of test kits, vaccines and personal protective equipment. The administration is now <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/fact-sheet-president-bidens-new-executive-actions-deliver-economic-relief-for-american-families-and-businesses-amid-the-covid-19-crises/">advocating for a</a> national COVID-19 relief package in Congress. </p>
<p>The Biden administration’s rapid, strategic reorientation of the federal government to manage the pandemic has parallels for other complex challenges, including developing a national strategy for <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-plans-to-fight-climate-change-in-a-way-no-u-s-president-has-done-before-152419">addressing climate change</a>. Continuing to refine these processes, including proper management of the federal bureaucracy, and public investments aimed at reducing risk should be priorities for the administration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155440/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian J. Gerber receives funding from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Security Agency. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Gall receives funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Academies of Sciences' Gulf Research Program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Feeding America. She is a member of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM).</span></em></p>Developing a national disaster response plan for the pandemic was only step one.Brian J. Gerber, Associate Professor, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and Co-Director, Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Arizona State UniversityMelanie Gall, Clinical Professor and Co-Director, Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Watts College, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1455182021-01-28T18:15:37Z2021-01-28T18:15:37ZTrump wasn’t the first president to try to politicize the civil service – which remains at risk of returning to Jackson’s ‘spoils system’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381160/original/file-20210128-19-bzgg9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=129%2C120%2C5622%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trump put a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office when he was president. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-speaks-during-an-event-with-members-news-photo/880468366">Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government’s core civilian workforce has long been <a href="https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001540761">known for its professionalism</a>. About <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43590.pdf">2.1 million nonpartisan career officials</a> provide essential public services in such diverse areas as agriculture, national parks, defense, homeland security, environmental protection and veterans’ affairs. </p>
<p>To get the vast majority of these “competitive service” jobs – which are protected from easy firing – federal employees must <a href="https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/">demonstrate achievement in job-specific knowledge, skills and abilities superior to other applicants</a> and, in some cases, pass an exam. In other words, the civil service is designed to be “<a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/10/why-merit-matters/169657/">merit-based</a>.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t always so. </p>
<p>From Andrew Jackson until Theodore Roosevelt, much of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/11.1.172">federal workforce was subject to change after every presidential election</a> – and often did. Known as the spoils system, this pattern of political patronage, in which officeholders award allies with jobs in return for support, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1893171">began to end</a> in the late 19th century as citizens and politicians like Roosevelt grew fed up with its <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1845445">corruption, incompetence and inefficiency</a> – and its role in the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-federal-civil-service-and-the-death-of-president-james-a-garfield.htm">assassination of a president</a>.</p>
<p>Less than two weeks before Election Day, former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/10/stunning-executive-order-would-politicize-civil-service/169479/">signed an executive order that threatened</a> to return the U.S. to a spoils system in which a large share of the federal government’s workforce could be fired for little or no reason – including a perceived lack of loyalty to the president.</p>
<p>While President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/22/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce/">quickly reversed the order</a> soon after taking office, the incident shows just how vulnerable the civil service is.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An old picture shows a crowd of people in front of the White House in 1829." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C39%2C941%2C633&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375959/original/file-20201218-17-14hpknu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People seeking government jobs crashed the White House on the day of Andrew Jackson’s inauguration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://picryl.com/media/presidents-levee-or-all-creation-going-to-the-white-house-robert-cruikshank-1">Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Birth of the spoils system</h2>
<p>The government of the early republic <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/the-early-federal-workforce-by-p-kastor.pdf?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Executive%20Education&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email">was small</a>, but the issue of whether civil servants should be chosen on the basis of patronage or skills was hotly debated. </p>
<p>Although George Washington and the five presidents who followed him <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/11.1.172">certainly employed patronage</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_j_YiYda81AC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false">they emphasized merit</a> when making appointments. </p>
<p>Washington wrote that relying on one’s personal relationship to the applicant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/634173">would constitute</a> “an absolute bar to preferment” and wanted those “as in my judgment shall be the best qualified to discharge the functions of the departments to which they shall be appointed.” <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/11.1.172">He would not even appoint</a> his own soldiers to government positions if they lacked the necessary qualifications.</p>
<p>That changed in 1829 when Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, entered the White House.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of Andrew Jackson riding a horse on a statue with the words, 'To the victors belong the spoils,' while several men seeking jobs bow down to him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379832/original/file-20210120-21-1cnf97x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Political cartoon by Thomas Nast depicts office seekers seeking jobs from Andrew Jackson.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/political-cartoon-by-thomas-nast-with-the-caption-cant-you-news-photo/96743647">Fotosearch/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jackson came to office <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/andrew-jackson-0">as a reformer</a> with a promise to end the dominance of elites and what he considered their corrupt policies. He believed that popular access to government jobs – and their frequent turnover through a four-year “<a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/andrew-jackson-0">rotation in office</a>” – could serve ideals of democratic participation, regardless of one’s qualifications for a position.</p>
<p>As a result, at his inaugural reception on March 4, a <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/112695/american-lion-by-jon-meacham/">huge crowd of office seekers crashed</a> the reception. Jackson was “besieged by applicants” and “battalions of hopefuls,” <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/17600/andrew-jackson-by-hw-brands/">all seeking government jobs</a>.</p>
<p>Instead of preventing corruption from taking root, Jackson’s <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Jacksonians/2V9_twEACAAJ?hl=en">rotation policy became an opportunity for patronage</a> – or rewarding supporters with the spoils of victory. He <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/andrew-jackson-0">defended the practice</a> by declaring: “If my personal friends are qualified and patriotic, why should I not be permitted to bestow a few offices on them?” </p>
<p>Besides possessing a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1845445">lack of appropriate skills and commitment</a>, office seekers <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1845445">were expected to pay “assessments”</a> – a percentage of their salary ranging from 2% to 7% – to the party that appointed them.</p>
<p>Although Jackson <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/andrew-jackson-0">replaced only about 10%</a> of the federal workforce and 41% of presidential appointments, the practice increasingly <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Civil_Service_and_the_Patronage/URJPPqndZGYC?hl=en">became the norm</a> as subsequent presidents fired as well as refused to reappoint ever-larger shares of the government. </p>
<p><iframe id="kIe1G" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kIe1G/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The peak of the spoils system came under James Buchanan, who served from 1857 to 1861. He <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_the_Federal_Civil_Service_178.html?id=dwbvhZnJT9sC">replaced</a> <a href="https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001540761">virtually every federal worker at the end of their “rotation.”</a> William L. Marcy, who was secretary of state under Buchanan’s predecessor and was the first to refer to patronage as “spoils,” <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/jacksonians-a-study-in-administrative-history-1829-1861/oclc/498178">wrote in 1857</a> that civil servants from his administration were being “hunted down like wild beasts.”</p>
<p>Even Abraham Lincoln, who followed Buchanan, made extensive use of the system,
<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Civil_Service_and_the_Patronage/URJPPqndZGYC?hl=en">replacing at least 1,457 of the 1,639 officials</a> then subject to presidential appointment. The number would have been higher but for the secession of Southern states, which put some federal officials out of his reach.</p>
<h2>A ‘vast public evil’ comes to an end</h2>
<p>The tide began to turn in the late 1860s following <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_the_Federal_Civil_Service_178.html?id=dwbvhZnJT9sC">public revelations</a> that positions had been created requiring little or no work and other abuses, including <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/jacksonians-a-study-in-administrative-history-1829-1861/oclc/498178">illiterate appointees</a>, and a <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_the_Federal_Civil_Service_178.html?id=dwbvhZnJT9sC">congressional report about the success</a> of civil service systems in Great Britain, China, France and Prussia. </p>
<p>In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant asked Congress to take action, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_the_Federal_Civil_Service_178.html?id=dwbvhZnJT9sC">complaining,</a> “The present system does not secure the best men, and often not even fit men, for public place.” Congress responded with legislation that authorized the president to use executive orders to prescribe regulations for the civil service. That power exists today, most recently exercised in Trump’s own order. </p>
<p>Grant established a Civil Service Commission that led to some reforms, but just two years later a <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_the_Federal_Civil_Service_178.html?id=dwbvhZnJT9sC">hostile Congress cut off new funding</a>, and Grant terminated the experiment in March 1875. The number of jobs potentially open to patronage continued to soar, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970.html">doubling from 51,020 in 1871 to 100,020 in 1881</a>.</p>
<p>But across the U.S., <a href="https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00024784/00001/3x">citizens were becoming disgusted</a> by a government stuffed with the people known as “spoilsmen,” leading to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2508.t01-1-00003">growing reform movement</a>. The assassination of President James Garfield in 1881 <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-federal-civil-service-and-the-death-of-president-james-a-garfield.htm">by a deranged office seeker</a> who felt Garfield had denied him the Paris diplomatic post he wanted pushed the movement over the edge.</p>
<p>Garfield’s murder <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1893171">was widely blamed</a> on the spoils system. George William Curtis, editor of Harper’s Weekly and an advocate for reform, published cartoons <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_j_YiYda81AC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false">lambasting the system</a> and called it “a vast public evil.” </p>
<p>In early 1883, immediately after an election that led to sweeping gains for politicians in favor of reform, <a href="https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001540761">Congress passed the Pendleton Act</a>. It created the civil service system of merit-based selection and promotion. The act banned “assessments,” implemented competitive exams and open competitions for jobs, and prevented civil servants from being fired for political reasons. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Donald Trump stands in front of a painting of former President Teddy Roosevelt in the White House." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379569/original/file-20210119-15-1craue6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teddy Roosevelt helped end the spoils system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Trump/67fe2946462340c7a4a99409d94f295d/photo?hpSectionId=879083fa405d449fa332cbf742e7d609&st=hpsection&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=69&Query=teddy%20AND%20roosevelt&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Roosevelt was appointed to the new commission that oversaw the system by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889 and quickly <a href="https://www.opm.gov/about-us/our-mission-role-history/theodore-roosevelt/">became its driving force</a> – even as Harrison himself abused the spoils system, <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/series/american-presidency-series/978-0-7006-0320-6.html">replacing 43,823 out of 58,623 postmasters</a>, for example.</p>
<p>At first, the system <a href="https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00024784/00001/5x">covered just 10.5% of the federal workforce</a>, but it was gradually expanded to cover most workers. Under Roosevelt, who became president in 1901 after William McKinley was assassinated, the number of covered employees <a href="https://www.opm.gov/about-us/our-mission-role-history/theodore-roosevelt/">finally exceeded those not covered</a> in 1904 and soon reached <a href="https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00024784/00001/5x">almost two-thirds of all federal jobs</a>. At its peak in the 1950s, the competitive civil service <a href="https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00024784/00001/5x">covered almost 90% of federal employees</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>New York, where Roosevelt was an assemblyman, and Massachusetts were the first states to implement their own civil service systems. Although all states now have such systems in place at local, state or both levels, it was not until <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055411000256">after 1940 that most states adopted a competitive civil service</a>. </p>
<h2>Teddy’s unfinished work</h2>
<p>Trump’s <a href="https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3896676/posts">Oct. 21 executive order</a> would have undone over a century of reforms by stripping potentially hundreds of thousands of civil servants of the protections that keep them from being summarily fired for political reasons. Insufficient loyalty to the president would be enough to lose one’s job. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/22/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce">Biden revoked the changes</a> two days after taking office, but the episode is a reminder just how fragile the system supporting a merit-based government workforce remains. </p>
<p>While Trump’s effort to meddle in the civil service was particularly brazen, administrations of both parties still have a habit of doing so. For example, a common practice of outgoing administrations – including Trump’s – is to convert political appointees into permanent and protected civil servants in a process known as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/06/some-trump-officials-are-burrowing-into-government-jobs-what-does-that-mean-exactly/">burrowing</a>.” Whether an effort to plant people who can <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-trump-burrowing-federal/2021/01/24/a495ae76-5c02-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html">carry on a previous administration’s policies</a> or simply meant as a patronage reward, such appointees can be very hard for the incoming one to remove. </p>
<p>Both Trump’s executive order and the bipartisan practice of burrowing show the civil service needs stronger protections and that Teddy Roosevelt’s work is still unfinished. If, on a whim, a president can undo over a century of reforms, then the civil service remains insufficiently insulated from politics and patronage. </p>
<p>It may be time Congress passed a new law that permanently shields one of America’s proudest achievements from becoming another dysfunctional part of the U.S. government. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-revived-andrew-jacksons-spoils-system-which-would-undo-americas-138-year-old-professional-civil-service-150039">article originally published</a> on Jan. 21, 2021.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barry M. Mitnick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For decades, presidents beginning with Andrew Jackson routinely replaced large swaths of the government workforce, often requiring them to pay fees to political parties in exchange for their jobs.Barry M. Mitnick, Professor of Business Administration and of Public and International Affairs, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1485192020-10-21T04:51:58Z2020-10-21T04:51:58ZThe US is taking on Google in a huge antitrust case. It could change the face of online search<p>The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitrust-laws">antitrust lawsuit against Google</a> for unlawful monopolisation. The department says Google’s conduct harms competition and consumers, and reduces the ability of new innovative companies to develop and compete.</p>
<p>It’s the most important monopolisation case in the US since 1998, when the DoJ brought <a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact">proceedings against Microsoft</a>. </p>
<p>It’s possible the current proceedings, given their timing, are politically motivated. US President Donald Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/06/trump-accuses-google-anti-conservative-bias-without-providing-evidence/">voiced</a> the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/6/20756734/trump-google-anti-conservative-bias-claims-tweets">view</a> that Google is prejudiced against conservative beliefs. </p>
<p>But even if Democratic candidate Joe Biden is elected president, this action against Google is unlikely to go away.</p>
<p>The ramifications for Google, if the court rules against it, could ultimately be dramatic. The DoJ’s associate deputy attorney general, Ryan Shores, has refused to rule out seeking orders to break up the tech giant, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/technology/google-antitrust.html">saying</a> “nothing is off the table”.</p>
<h2>Google’s monopoly power</h2>
<p>Google’s economic power is no secret. Regulators around the world, including in the European Union, are investigating the company’s conduct and bringing actions under competition, consumer and privacy laws. </p>
<p>US Attorney General William Barr said the new DoJ action:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Specifically, the DoJ claims Google is illegally <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1328941/download">monopolising the markets</a> for online search and search advertising (the advertising that appears alongside search results). </p>
<p>According to the DoJ, Google’s US market share is roughly:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>88% in the market for general search services</p></li>
<li><p>70% in the search advertising market. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>However, holding a dominant position isn’t against the law. A company is allowed to enjoy a dominant position or even a complete monopoly, as long as it doesn’t do so by unlawful means. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-accc-is-suing-google-for-misleading-millions-but-calling-it-out-is-easier-than-fixing-it-143447">The ACCC is suing Google for misleading millions. But calling it out is easier than fixing it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what has Google allegedly done wrong?</h2>
<p>The DoJ’s main complaint is Google has entered into several “exclusionary agreements” that preserve its monopoly power by <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/anti-competitive-behaviour/exclusive-dealing">hindering competition</a> from rivals (and potential rivals). Exclusionary agreements are deals that restrict the ability of at least one party to deal with other players. </p>
<p>The DoJ says Google spends billions of dollars each year on: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>long-term agreements with Apple that require Google to be the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser</p></li>
<li><p>exclusivity agreements that forbid pre-installation of competing search services by certain mobile device manufacturers and distributors</p></li>
<li><p>arrangements that force certain mobile device manufacturers and distributors to pre-install Google search applications in prime locations on mobile devices and make them undeletable, regardless of consumer preference</p></li>
<li><p>using monopoly profits to buy preferential treatment for its search engine on devices, web browsers and other search access points. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The DoJ claims these agreements have created a “continuous and self-reinforcing cycle of monopolisation” in the market for online search and search advertising (which relies on Google’s dominance in online search).</p>
<p>Google has responded by describing the court action as “deeply flawed”. In a <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/response-doj">blog post</a> it said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] people don’t use Google because they have to, they use it because they choose to. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It also said users are free to switch to other search engines. </p>
<p>But even if that’s technically true, Google’s agreements for pre-installation, default settings and preferential treatment give it a substantial advantage over its rivals. </p>
<h2>Does any of this matter when Google is ‘free’?</h2>
<p>Google provides services that are hugely valued the world over — and with no direct financial cost to the user. That said, “free” services can still cause harm. </p>
<p>According to the DoJ, by restricting competition Google has harmed search users, in part “by reducing the quality of search (including on dimensions such as privacy, data protection, and use of consumer data)”. This is an important recognition that price is not all that matters.</p>
<p>The logic behind this claim is that other search engines with better track records on privacy, such as <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/privacy">DuckDuckGo</a>, might otherwise be more successful than they are. </p>
<p>Or, to frame that another way, Google might actually have to compete vigorously on privacy, instead of allegedly imposing privacy-degrading terms on its users. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="DuckDuckGo logo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364645/original/file-20201021-15-q4rsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">DuckDuckGo says it ‘does not collect or share personal information’ from users.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What might happen if the action succeeds?</h2>
<p>If Google is found to have contravened the prohibition against monopolisation under the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/competition-and-monopoly-single-firm-conduct-under-section-2-sherman-act-chapter-1">US Sherman Act</a>, it could face substantial fines and damages claims.</p>
<p>But perhaps more concerning for Google would be the prospect of the DoJ seeking to break up Google’s various businesses. </p>
<p>Google owns a range of highly successful services, including Google search, Google Chrome, the Android operating system, and numerous ad tech (“advertising technology”) services. Google’s position and access to data in one business arguably give it advantages in its other businesses.</p>
<p>Eleven Republican attorneys general from various US states have joined the proceedings and could individually seek remedies.</p>
<p>The action won’t be having a major impact any time soon, though. Google’s lawyers estimate the case would only come before the US District Court for the District of Columbia in a year.</p>
<h2>Could our competition watchdog be taking notes?</h2>
<p>Google could contravene Australia’s misuse of market power law under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, if it has engaged in conduct of the kind alleged by the DoJ that has an effect on Australian markets. </p>
<p>As part of its 2019 <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/digital-platforms-inquiry-final-report">Digital Platforms Inquiry</a>, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Google has substantial market power in the general search and search advertising markets in Australia. It has a market share of about 95% in both cases. </p>
<p>If this is true, it would be unlawful for Google to engage in any conduct that substantially lessens competition in a market (or has the purpose or likely effect of doing so). This could include entering exclusionary agreements that affect Australian markets. </p>
<p>So far, the ACCC has twice brought <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-29/google-faces-accc-federal-court-misleading-use-of-data/11649356">proceedings against Google</a>, alleging it misled users about how it collects and uses their data. It is also investigating the conduct of Google and Facebook, in particular, in digital advertising markets as part of its <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries-ongoing/digital-advertising-services-inquiry/issues-paper">ad tech inquiry</a>. </p>
<p>While Australia’s consumer watchdog might wait and see how proceedings against Google fare in the US <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-tech-google-antitrust-analysis-idUSKBN242623">and the EU</a>, the recent DoJ action could encourage the ACCC in any action it might be contemplating under Australian law on misuse of market power.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-step-you-take-why-googles-plan-to-buy-fitbit-has-the-acccs-pulse-racing-141052">Every step you take: why Google's plan to buy Fitbit has the ACCC's pulse racing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Kemp receives funding from The Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation. She is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Future of Finance Initiative in India, the Centre for Law, Markets & Regulation and the Australian Privacy Foundation.</span></em></p>It’s the biggest monopolisation case since a 1998 lawsuit against Microsoft. But it may be several years before a settlement of any kind is reached.Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Academic Lead, UNSW Grand Challenge on Trust, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1476432020-10-07T01:54:27Z2020-10-07T01:54:27ZWhat happens to national security and foreign relations if the president is incapacitated?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362007/original/file-20201006-18-30pl47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C26%2C5991%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If there's a question about who is in charge, the government isn't totally rudderless.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TrumpVirusOutbreak/008a06666f564862975ef7809bb4cec9/photo">AP Photo/Evan Vucci</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If President Donald Trump is too sick to perform his duties, it’s not clear what might happen to the country’s national security and foreign relations. That’s a concern because crises like a terrorist attack or the outbreak of hostilities between nations can appear without warning.</p>
<p>As someone who has served as a senior budget official in the White House in the 1990s and has <a href="https://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/gadams.cfm">taught and written on national security and foreign policy</a> institutions and processes for 15 years, I know the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-25th-amendment-says-about-presidents-who-are-unable-to-serve-102825">25th Amendment</a> offers some help. It defines a process by which the president can declare himself, or be declared by others, to be unable to perform his job. But that process takes time, and its <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-covid-19-diagnosis-what-lies-ahead-could-include-a-constitutional-crisis-over-succession-147420">outcome is not necessarily certain</a>.</p>
<p>For the American people and the world as a whole, it’s important that there is certainty about who is in charge and whose orders the military, the diplomats, the spies and other government officials should follow. </p>
<p>That sense of stability can be reassuring in uncertain times and allow whomever is in charge to make what decisions are needed. That is especially true at a time when the country is facing a pandemic, global warming, wildfires, foreign intrusion in elections, massive unemployment and widespread racial tension.</p>
<p>But at a time when many senior officials – <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/politics/pentagon-leadership-self-isolating-coronavirus/index.html">including most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff</a> – are quarantining, the country is not completely rudderless. That’s true even in a situation where the vice president has not become acting president, or if there are political or legal battles over the succession process.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Gen. Mark Milley" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362010/original/file-20201006-24-o2cp6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is one of the senior military leaders now quarantining as a result of possible exposure to the coronavirus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressPentagonLeaders/e386760b50614e30b3ab719c88ed0283/photo">Greg Nash/Pool via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The military</h2>
<p>In the case of a crisis, the decision to use military force is made by the president, and passes through the secretary of defense to the operational commander in the field. The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are <a href="https://www.jcs.mil/About/The-Joint-Staff/Chairman/">not in the formal chain of command</a>, although the chairman is the military adviser to the president.</p>
<p>The military services all have done significant planning for possible contingencies. Should force be needed, there are procedures and even specific plans – as well as large numbers of military and civilian staff to execute them.</p>
<p>But any order must come from the top. President Donald Trump has gone through <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/trump-third-acting-defense-secretary/index.html">three secretaries of defense</a>, and his administration’s relationship with the military has been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/us/politics/trump-veterans-losers.html">controversial</a>. Morale in the military is <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0908/p3s1.html">seen as low</a>. If there isn’t clarity about who is in charge, the military will not know whether or how to respond to any orders they might receive from people claiming to be leading the country.</p>
<h2>National Security Council</h2>
<p>The National Security Council, the president’s White House coordinating body for foreign and national security policy, also has standard practices, including regular meetings of members from national security-related Cabinet departments the president selects. Those meetings would continue, dealing with crises and teeing up decision options up to the president with recommendations for action.</p>
<p>The council has for many years been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/how-national-security-council-got-so-powerful/589273/">criticized for going beyond the role of creating options</a> and actually <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/how-the-obama-white-house-runs-foreign-policy/2015/08/04/2befb960-2fd7-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html">telling government agencies how to implement decisions and what to do</a>.</p>
<p>But the Trump administration’s situation is more complicated. The person serving as the national security adviser, heading the National Security Council and serving as a key consultant for the president, is the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/02/politics/robert-obrien-national-security-adviser-coronavirus-out-of-sight/index.html">sixth in four years</a>, including two acting advisers. </p>
<p>Moreover, signals from insiders and former insiders writing “tell-all” books indicate that the president often makes decisions the council has not reviewed, and confers independently with key members, separate from the rest of the committee.</p>
<p>Were this particular president to become incapacitated, it is not clear who would receive options or relay decisions. The national security adviser does not have the authority to issue orders on his own.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<h2>Office of Management and Budget</h2>
<p>Less well known to the public, but perhaps more critical to conveying stability in times of presidential uncertainty is the <a href="http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/national-security-enterprise-0">Office of Management and Budget</a>. </p>
<p>This office, which reports directly to the president and is part of the White House, has a 400-person permanent staff who review all agency budget and legislative proposals before transmitting them to Congress – including aspects of foreign policy and national security. It controls the budget, proposed legislation and regulations, and planning processes all agencies must follow. It is hard at work during October reviewing proposals for next fiscal year’s budget. Input from the president and vice president doesn’t typically come until the very end, in December.</p>
<p>In a crisis, the office can play a key role in coordinating agency resources to address the problem and in communicating authoritative guidance for agency responses. However, it does not provide policy direction; that must come from the president or through other senior staff. </p>
<p>The office instructed the Defense Department to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783487901/the-hold-on-ukraine-aid-a-timeline-emerges-from-impeachment-probe">delay providing funds for military assistance to the Ukraine</a> in the summer of 2019 – but it was passing along an order, not making the decision itself. Without someone clearly in charge, the office is unlikely to make any changes in spending or government policy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mike Pompeo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362012/original/file-20201006-22-1hqjd22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has so far tested negative for the coronavirus, has shortened a trip to Asia in light of the president’s positive test result.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/JapanQuadMeeting/63dea6597f4445a8825fbab8477abc3c/photo">Kiyoshi Ota/Pool Photo via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>State Department</h2>
<p>The Department of State is the oldest Cabinet department; it handles diplomacy and foreign relations. It has a large, permanent professional staff – both civilian and diplomatic – and a standard set of operating procedures and diplomatic processes. Those will not change if there is confusion about who wields executive power in the U.S.</p>
<p>However, Trump has had two secretaries of State and critics have complained that he has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/12/politics/state-oig-report-hiring-freeze/index.html">“gutted” the department</a>, making continuity and stability less certain. Nevertheless, diplomats can continue to ply their trade and maintain orderly relationships with foreign governments.</p>
<p>In the end, the foreign policy and national security system will be stable and staffed, even if the president is incapacitated. True stability and reassurance, however, depend on an orderly process at the top. </p>
<p>A lack of clarity about leadership would make that stability and reassurance hard to guarantee. Agencies can easily figure out how to keep critical functions and existing policies going. But in the end, the system would need central decisions and guidance from above – placing stability and predictability squarely in the hands of leadership in the White House.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gordon Adams has received funding from the Open Society Foundations. Way in the past, mostly pre-1993, I received foundation funding for research on national security policy and budgets. I am currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center and a Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute, both in Washington, D.C.</span></em></p>The country is not completely rudderless, even if many senior officials are quarantining to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.Gordon Adams, Professor Emeritus, American University School of International ServiceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1387602020-06-16T11:50:40Z2020-06-16T11:50:40ZA pragmatist philosopher’s view of the US response to the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338053/original/file-20200527-20245-16flyc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C80%2C5964%2C5694&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">American thinker John Dewey in 1946.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/candid-portrait-of-american-philosopher-psychologist-and-news-photo/590236214">JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Though many in the U.S. are disoriented and disheartened by the lack of an effective federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist and educator, would not have been surprised. </p>
<p>Dewey presented a nuanced analysis of <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=t7QTC8NuGL8C&pg=PA296&lpg=PA296&dq=democracy+is+radical+dewey&source=bl&ots=1oxi8KJVdH&sig=ACfU3U2ScEOA0A39YP1zC6C4yNSoa6VcDg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi76PLB0L7pAhVRlHIEHSl4ARw4ChDoATAAegQIDBAB#v=onepage&q=democracy%20is%20radical%20dewey&f=false">democracy</a>, which <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-Ijk7W0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">we</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Gw18csMAAAAJ">study</a> as philosophers. </p>
<p>Dewey, who <a href="https://www.biography.com/scholar/john-dewey">lived from 1859 to 1952</a>, argued that democracies that put capitalism at their center, like the U.S., will march toward what he called a “bourgeois democracy.” This political system pays lip service to “government of, by, and for all the people,” and promises opportunities and freedom for all. But in reality, power is concentrated in the hands of industry and the economic elite. </p>
<p>Dewey outlined two characteristics of bourgeois democracy that can help explain the current U.S. federal response to the coronavirus: a focus on corporate interests, which many people have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/05/donald-trump-coronavirus-economic-recovery">criticized</a> for <a href="https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/04/27/breaking-news/trump-shifts-coronavirus-focus-to-economy/">focusing on business and the economy</a>, and an “us versus them” dynamic demonstrated in President Donald Trump’s response to the global aspects of the pandemic.</p>
<h2>Corporate interests versus people</h2>
<p>In Dewey’s view, humans’ actions affect others, making people interdependent: “<a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.263386/page/n25/mode/2up/search/connected+with+other">A being connected with other human beings</a> cannot perform his own activities without taking the activities of others into account.” This interdependence gives rise to shared interests. For example, it is in the public interest, for its health, to limit toxic waste dumping. </p>
<p>The public is in the best position to protect its own interests, via democratic decision-making. In bourgeois democracies <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.190550">officials ignore their wider civic responsibility</a>, creating a “void between the government and the public,” which company leaders fill eagerly. Those leaders want government to be small and let the market take care of public problems. </p>
<p>In the current pandemic, companies such as Amazon have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2020/mar/24/the-us-of-amazon-how-the-coronavirus-has-created-a-governance-vacuum-the-tech-giant-is-quickly-filling">stepped into the void</a>, rapidly mobilizing 100,000 workers, extending grants to small businesses and cracking down on profiteers who hiked the prices of sought-after goods. While such actions were undeniably useful for Amazon customers, there is no guarantee that Amazon’s interests overlap with those of the public. For instance, there was little incentive for Amazon to make sure it <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-04-16/la-fi-toilet-paper-amazon-china-sellers">kept stocking toilet paper</a>, which has low profit margins and takes up a lot of bulk, though the public struggled to find this basic item. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337749/original/file-20200526-106853-136wrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">John Dewey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Dewey_cph.3a51565.jpg">Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Dewey’s insight was that in a bourgeois democracy, capitalism is perceived as the force that lets people accomplish freedom and individuality. In that analysis, the health of business becomes synonymous with the health of democracy itself. As a result, protecting businesses becomes the highest goal. Businesses trump people because without the businesses and the economy, people cannot fulfill their democratic potential.</p>
<p>Dewey’s views on democracy explain why the federal government has done <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21242003/trump-failed-coronavirus-response">less than</a> <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-federal-governments-coronavirus-actions-and-failures-timeline-and-themes/">many had hoped</a>, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/30/848179346/pandemic-fuels-debate-trumps-america-first-or-u-s-global-leadership">less than other national governments</a> have done, to fight the coronavirus. </p>
<p>Dewey also explains why most funds have gone to bailing out large companies, including <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-04/airlines-got-the-sweetest-coronavirus-bailout-around">airlines and oil companies</a>, the speed of response and magnitude of which dwarfs aid for <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/who-should-get-bailed-out-in-the-coronavirus-economy">small businesses and workers</a>.</p>
<p>President Trump’s phrase “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-restrictions.html">the cure cannot be worse than the problem itself</a>” illustrates this point. In a bourgeois democracy, any “cure” to the pandemic – such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders – that damages the economy is also a threat to democracy. In that view, protecting people from a deadly disease should not be allowed to destroy the economy.</p>
<h2>Us versus them</h2>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=t7QTC8NuGL8C&pg=PA296&lpg=PA296&dq=democracy+is+radical+dewey&source=bl&ots=1oxi8KJVdH&sig=ACfU3U2ScEOA0A39YP1zC6C4yNSoa6VcDg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi76PLB0L7pAhVRlHIEHSl4ARw4ChDoATAAegQIDBAB#v=onepage&q=democracy%20is%20radical%20dewey&f=false">Dewey</a> believed democracy was more than a system of government: It was a way of living together and sharing our experiences. When people engage with each other and different ideas, Dewey taught, they come to understand themselves and humanity more fully. This would help people to understand what decisions would be in everyone’s best interests. Dewey’s insights are borne out in studies that show that the best remedy to xenophobia and racism is to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-public-policy/article/contact-hypothesis-reevaluated/142C913E7FA9E121277B29E994124EC5">know more</a> <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/interracial-contact-during-medical-school.html">about the people</a> you might harbor prejudice against. </p>
<p>By contrast, bourgeois democracy can only survive if citizens do not develop a collective faith in humanity through sharing experiences – if they are scared of each other, cut off from each other and in competition rather than cooperation. Stoking social division maintains the status quo and prevents transforming society from a bourgeois democracy into a truer, more human-focused democracy.</p>
<p>Early reactions to the pandemic from the Trump administration included banning travel from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/business/china-travel-coronavirus.html">China</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-europe-travel/index.html">Europe</a>, issuing an executive order that halted applications for <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/politics/donald-trump-immigration-coronavirus/index.html">green cards</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/trump-administration-has-expelled-10000-migrants-at-the-border-during-coronavirus-outbreak/2020/04/09/b177c534-7a7b-11ea-8cec-530b4044a458_story.html">expelling undocumented migrants</a>.</p>
<p>This fits in a broader pattern: In the U.S., <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/11/26/trumps-xenophobia-is-an-american-tradition-it-doesnt-have-be/">members of the conservative right</a> have been portraying non-Americans as a threat to society. They have been blamed for stealing jobs, bringing crime and otherwise harming the economy in ways that block people from achieving the freedom and individuality that bourgeois democracy promises.</p>
<h2>Education as the remedy</h2>
<p>While this diagnosis of American democracy is bleak, Dewey believed there was a remedy: education. In the early 20th century, when Dewey was alive and most active, scientific advances were already so widely spread and so detailed in their insights that regular people couldn’t realistically keep up with all the latest information. That led some thinkers, such as <a href="https://archive.org/details/publicopinion00lippgoog">Walter Lippmann</a>, to argue for governance by experts, rather than the masses.</p>
<p>Dewey, however, maintained his belief in the importance of <a href="https://archive.org/details/publicitsproblem00dewe/mode/2up">public engagement</a> in democracy. To him, democracy is not some special, obscure force but something that arises spontaneously, as seen throughout the country in town halls and school districts every day. But in order to participate in democratic decision-making, people need to be educated. </p>
<p>Dewey promoted changes to American public education that would help people analyze the flood of expert knowledge to determine what policies best served their interests, such as considering the potential risks and benefits of <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3605981">imposing and lifting lockdowns</a>. </p>
<p>To Dewey, a well-informed public could help make those decisions and hold government officials accountable for the results. He believed education should help people realize their full potential in a collective democratic society. That is at odds with the bourgeois democracy vision of education, where higher education is worthwhile because of the net benefits it provides in terms of income. For Dewey, the federal failure in response to the pandemic would be evidence that the country has not valued the potential of all its members, but rather only those who hold financial power.</p>
<p>Instead, Dewey taught, true democracy can only be achieved if people were to live democracy, to let their lives be directed by an enduring faith in the possibility for humans to be more than what they are. As a result, the political institution of democracy would manifest our enduring faith in what we can achieve as human beings, rather than in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=t7QTC8NuGL8C&pg=PA296&lpg=PA296&dq=democracy+is+radical+dewey&source=bl&ots=1oxi8KJVdH&sig=ACfU3U2ScEOA0A39YP1zC6C4yNSoa6VcDg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi76PLB0L7pAhVRlHIEHSl4ARw4ChDoATAAegQIDBAB#v=onepage&q=democracy%20is%20radical%20dewey&f=false">capitalism</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Though many in the US are disoriented and disheartened by the lack of an effective federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, American thinker John Dewey would not have been surprised.Johnathan Flowers, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Worcester State UniversityHelen De Cruz, Danforth Chair in the Humanities, Saint Louis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1384672020-05-21T14:32:31Z2020-05-21T14:32:31ZHow the US government seized all citizens’ gold in 1930s<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336821/original/file-20200521-102637-fu2c9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1880%2C1334&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Franklin D Roosevelt signs bill that will lead to Gold Reserve Act 1934. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Reserve_Act#/media/File:Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt_signs_Gold_Bill_1934.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With global financial markets in disarray, many investors are turning to classic safe havens. Gold <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cwjzj55q2p3t/gold">is trading</a> above US$1,750 (£1,429) per troy ounce, which is the standard measure – more than 15% above where it started 2020. Even after a strong rally since March, the S&P 500 stock market index is down nearly 10% over the same period. </p>
<p>Gold confers familiarity during downturns. Its returns are uncorrelated with assets like stocks, so it tends to hold its value when they fall. It is also a good way of avoiding currency devaluation. It therefore features in any well diversified investor’s portfolio, whether via gold-mining shares, <a href="https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-guide/gold-etf">gold funds</a>, bullion or whatever. </p>
<p>Yet there are two slight caveats to viewing gold as a safe haven. Early in an economic downturn, gold prices often plummet with the rest of the market. This is from investors selling gold to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/margincall.asp">offset losses</a> in shares and other assets. We <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cwjzj55q2p3t/gold">saw this</a> in March, when gold fell 12% in two weeks, then quickly recovered. If the coronavirus causes more market panic, this could happen again. </p>
<p><strong>Gold return vs S&P 500 (Jan-May 2020)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336467/original/file-20200520-152338-alihgf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomson Reuters/Datastream</span></span>
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<p>During extreme crises, governments can also seize people’s gold. There have been some stunning examples of “gold confiscation” in the past. Most memorably, this occurred in the US in 1933 during the great depression – albeit it’s more accurate to call it a nationalisation than a confiscation, since citizens were compensated. The government of Franklin D Roosevelt seized all gold bullion and coins via <a href="https://mises.org/library/great-gold-robbery-1933">Executive Order 6102</a>, forcing citizens to sell <a href="https://www.exponentialinvestor.com/commodities/if-you-hold-gold-should-you-be-worried-about-executive-order-6102/">at well below</a> market rates. Immediately after the “confiscation”, the government set a new official rate for gold that was much higher as part of the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gold-reserve-act-1934.asp">Gold Reserve Act 1934</a>. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336004/original/file-20200519-152302-fp0zpu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Gold has enthralled humanity since ancient times. Still it glitters from central bank vaults to jewellery bazaars the world over. The Conversation brings you <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/gold-series-87168">five essential briefings by academic experts</a> on the world’s favourite precious metal. For more articles written by experts, join the hundreds of thousands who <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">subscribe to our newsletter</a></em></p>
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<p>This was the era of the gold standard, which meant dollars were tradeable for an exact amount of the precious metal. Seizing the metal enabled the government to print more dollars to try to stimulate the economy, and also to buy more dollars on the international markets to <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xLY4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354&lpg=PA354&dq=dollar+exchange+rate+1933+too+low&source=bl&ots=FmitRcY5i5&sig=ACfU3U3KKojqXQVbpJoB64fgWQcr8Kc_ug&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9rq7flLbpAhV4ShUIHVVFCyUQ6AEwCXoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=dollar%20exchange%20rate%201933%20too%20low&f=false">shore up</a> the <a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/gold-standard/">exchange rate</a>. </p>
<p>Many gold owners <a href="https://mises.org/library/great-gold-robbery-1933">were understandably unhappy</a> about the gold seizure, and some fought it in the courts. Ultimately, however, the government could not be stopped, and gold ownership remained illegal in the US until the 1970s. </p>
<p>This intervention was not unique, even in contemporary history. In 1959, Australia’s government <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nWrXPC33D4oC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=Australia+gold+%22expedient+to+do+so,+for+the+protection+of+the+currency+or+of+the+public+credit+of+the+Commonwealth%22&source=bl&ots=nghf22P85K&sig=ACfU3U2hr_DoEdpZKsnvH1xOXLHEKfxaAA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5xZT1ua7pAhXVPsAKHRX9A2IQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Australia%20gold%20%22expedient%20to%20do%20so%2C%20for%20the%20protection%20of%20the%20currency%20or%20of%20the%20public%20credit%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%22&f=false">put a law in place</a> that allowed gold seizures from private citizens if “expedient to do so, for the protection of the currency or of the public credit of the Commonwealth [of Australia]”. And in 1966, to stop the decline in the pound, the UK government <a href="https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/uk-gold-bullion-market-since-1964/254">banned citizens</a> from owning more than four gold or silver coins and blocked the private import of gold. This was only lifted in 1979. </p>
<h2>Horns of a trilemma</h2>
<p>Why do governments risk the bad publicity of restricting gold? This is linked to a cornerstone of macroeconomics known as the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/04/how-to-understand-policy-trilemmas/">monetary policy trilemma</a>. This states that countries must choose between two of the following and can’t generally do all three at the same time: (1) setting fixed exchange rates; (2) allowing capital to move freely over international borders; and (3) being able to independently set interest rates and print money (in other words, control monetary policy). </p>
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<p>In the 1930s system, countries generally chose fixed exchange rates linked to gold, plus free capital movement and sacrificed control of monetary policy. The system came under more and more pressure because too many investors were trading in their money for gold. One way for the US to take enough control of monetary policy to print more money was to impose various <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/great-depression-recovery-role-capital-controls">capital controls</a>, including seizing gold. </p>
<p>Today, the situation is different because western economies have free-floating exchange rates so they have control over monetary policy and can allow capital to move freely. This means that during a crisis, they can print money and cut interest rates without having to impose controls on the likes of gold. </p>
<p>In fact, any direct meddling by governments in the gold markets today would likely be counterproductive. It would increase investor anxiety and encourage them to rush to other assets with similar properties such as silver or other precious metals. Those who hold gold are therefore probably safer than they might have been in the past. </p>
<p>There are alternatives open to governments besides outright gold nationalisation. For example, when <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/11330611/How-the-Bank-of-England-abandoned-the-gold-standard.html">the UK left</a> the international gold standard in 1931, the devaluation of the pound put pressure on other currencies such as the Dutch guilder. In response, the Netherlands <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/qucehw/201903.html">imposed a</a> variety of restrictions on gold that stopped short of confiscation. </p>
<p>Again, this kind of move is unnecessary in today’s era when countries control their own monetary policy. Gold will probably remain a safe haven on the sidelines – unless countries felt they had to sell their reserves aggressively for some reason, say to reduce debts. Even in the current crisis, that’s not on the horizon. But the one lesson from history that all investors need to bear in mind is that in times of crisis, anything goes. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>If you liked this article, find more expertise in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-gold-series-five-essential-briefings-on-the-worlds-favourite-precious-metal-139085">our gold series</a>:</strong></p>
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<br>Since the demise of the gold standard in the early 1970s, the precious metal has gone through four distinct phases.</p></li>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You’ve heard of compulsory purchase orders for houses, but few realise it has sometimes happened with the world’s favourite precious metal.Chris Colvin, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Queen's University BelfastPhilip Fliers, Lecturer in Finance, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1344392020-03-26T12:11:12Z2020-03-26T12:11:12ZWhat does a state of emergency mean in the face of the coronavirus?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322337/original/file-20200323-112720-ed3qt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pence and Trump attend a coronavirus task force briefing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Virus-Outbreak-Trump/d035a160923e4c27a8ab2454dd9ad165/78/0">AP Photo/Patrick Semansky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Following Donald Trump’s declaration of a federal state of <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/state-of-emergency-coronavirus">emergency nearly two weeks ago</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-washington-state-of-emergency-coronavirus-what-it-means-2020-3#ohio-13.%20https://kfor.com/health/coronavirus/oklahoma-coronavirus-cases-grow-to-106-with-3-deaths/">every state except West Virginia</a> had also declared a state of emergency over COVID-19.</p>
<p>States <a href="https://astho.org/Programs/Preparedness/Public-Health-Emergency-Law/Emergency-Authority-and-Immunity-Toolkit/Emergency-Declarations-and-Authorities-Fact-Sheet/">have statutes</a> that give police powers to the government in situations like hurricanes, fires or disease outbreaks.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amy_Fairchild">as experts</a> in <a href="https://sph.umd.edu/people/marian-moser-jones">public health</a>, we know that different states empower different types of officials to declare an emergency. This is important because a <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.25.4.958">lack of clear lines complicated</a> the response to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and, later, Hurricane Rita in Texas.</p>
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<h2>Who decides?</h2>
<p>In most states, the power to declare an emergency lies with the governor. Several have used this authority in cases of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/12/10/washington-gov-declares-weather-emergency/77081310/">weather emergencies</a> or <a href="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=state+of+emergency&view=detail&mid=49F7854B52AA934BE6EB49F7854B52AA934BE6EB&FORM=VIRE">severe flooding</a>, for example.</p>
<p>In some states, both governors and local officials like mayors have the authority to grant such a declaration. Although Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on March 7, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio – though having <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/de-blasio-declares-nyc-state-of-emergency-to-stem-coronavirus">declared a state of emergency in the city on March 11</a> – kept <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/de-blasio-announces-nyc-schools-will-close-due-to-coronavirus/ar-BB11e5zU">schools open until March 15</a>. The dual lines of authority underscored the struggles that can unfold between mayors and governors.</p>
<p>The federal government also has power to prevent disease transmission across states and territories <a href="https://www.fema.gov/robert-t-stafford-disaster-relief-and-emergency-assistance-act-public-law-93-288-amended">because of the 1974 Stafford Act</a>. Evoking this is contingent on a governor’s request, based upon “<a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.25.4.958">a finding that the disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state</a>.”</p>
<p>In the case of COVID-19, the Department of Health and Human Services, using the federal <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/264">Public Health Services Act</a>, invoked federal powers to prevent “<a href="https://jamanetwork-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761556">cascading public health, economic, national security and societal consequences</a>.” In addition to this, federal authority empowers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42">quarantine anyone entering the U.S. or traveling across state lines</a>. </p>
<p>Another key rationale for invoking emergency powers is to <a href="https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency-declarations">trigger federal disaster relief</a> to states. The amount is being debated in Congress as we write.</p>
<p>Before getting federal assistance, the governor must declare a state of emergency and begin to follow <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/5191">the state’s emergency plan</a>, a provision which emphasizes that the state is the primary authority in the disaster. That is important because emergency powers not only allow state governments to “provide for” populations, but also “decide for” individuals <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/">in ways that might limit their rights</a>.</p>
<p>The idea is that <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1406167">sticking to normal legislative processes and legal standards takes time – and that during a crisis delays could cost lives</a>. In an outbreak, such limits on individual rights involve <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html">travel restrictions</a>, <a href="https://time.com/5800442/social-distancing-coronavirus/">social distancing measures</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/index.html">isolation and quarantine</a>.</p>
<h2>Protecting everyone at once</h2>
<p>During an outbreak, people typically accept limits on the liberty of those who are infected as necessary to protect the uninfected.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if a person with COVID-19 wants to go to the mall, for example. As a society we are willing to order that individual’s confinement to protect others. But what distinguishes the U.S. from authoritarian nations is that those compelled into confinement can always challenge those orders in a court of law.</p>
<p>Emergency powers also allow state and federal governments to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list">cancel public events</a> and <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/perth-streets-empty-as-businesses-close-to-comply-with-coronavirus-lockdown-measures/ar-BB11zAj5">close businesses</a>. These kinds of measures are designed to keep unexposed folks safe at home but also to protect those who would be willing to risk getting infected at a bar, restaurant or concert hall. </p>
<p>Emergency orders that protect us from our own poor judgment are the most controversial. After all, we often allow adults to take risks that could harm them. <a href="https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/smoking/">Smoking is legal</a>. In some states, so is <a href="https://www.dmv.org/articles/do-i-need-to-wear-a-helmet-on-my-motorcycle/">riding a motorcycle without a helmet</a>. Neither do we prohibit adults from participating in “extreme sports,” such as rock climbing, sky diving or auto racing, <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/38/3/337">knowing well that some will suffer injuries from these activities</a>.</p>
<p>An outbreak is different. Even mild or <a href="https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/coronavirus-how-asymptomatic-carriers-spread-virus-like-covid-19">asymptomatic COVID-19 cases pose a risk to others</a>. And every case poses a risk to health care personnel, who are called on to treat the most serious cases of infection and who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/15/business/economy/coronavirus-worker-risk.html">run a high risk of infection</a>. Furthermore, health care systems <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/480590-coronavirus-poses-new-test-for-strained-public-health-system">become strained with a scarcity of human and other resources</a>, including beds, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/ventilators-respirators-masks-gowns-hospitals-are-all-competing-to-fill-their-shelves-as-wave-of-coronavirus-cases-approaches-233125517.html">respirators and</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/health/coronavirus-n95-face-masks.html">masks</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, emergency public health orders slow the spread of disease, protecting individuals by limiting some choice regardless of their personal perception of risk. This both prevents new infections and protects the ability of the health care system to save lives.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for our newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134439/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Lauren Fairchild receives funding from National Endowment for the Humanities. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian Moser Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The federal government has declared a state of emergency over COVID-19. Two public health scholars explain what that means.Amy Lauren Fairchild, Dean and Professor, College of Public Health, The Ohio State UniversityMarian Moser Jones, Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Family Science, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1292092020-03-06T13:02:13Z2020-03-06T13:02:13ZWhy having fewer OSHA inspectors matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313790/original/file-20200205-149789-1rzatcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some U.S. workplaces can be dangerous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/danger-hard-hat-area-safety-warning-77002051">Olivier Le Queinec/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318441/original/file-20200303-66056-1574rez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>In many industries, such as construction, transportation, warehousing and health care, the workplace is dangerous. In 2018 alone, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.toc.htm">5,250 workers died on the job</a>.</p>
<p>In an effort to protect workers from death or injury, Congress created the <a href="https://www.osha.gov">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a> – better known as OSHA – in 1970, to “assur[e] so far as possible <a href="https://www.oshatrain.org/courses/mods/744m1.html">every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions</a>.”</p>
<p>OSHA inspections successfully improve workers’ physical safety. A 2012 randomized study found that OSHA inspections reduced the number of injuries leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1215191">workers’ compensation claims by around 9%</a> and lowered the medical expenses and wage replacement paid from those claims by 26%.</p>
<p>But the number of federal OSHA inspectors fell to a <a href="https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/DOTJ2019nb.pdf">low of 875 in 2019</a>, compared to a high of 1,469 in 1980.</p>
<p>The drop in inspectors coincided with an expansion of workplaces to protect, from <a href="https://www.bls.gov/bdm/us_age_naics_00_table5.txt">4.5 million in 1980 to more than 8.1 million today</a>. That means that there were 3,063 workplaces for each OSHA inspector in 1980, compared to 9,286 today, more than a 200% increase.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022185618765551">Effective enforcement</a> requires a workplace focus to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2555847?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">increase compliance with safety and health standards</a> and change practices that can lead to fatalities and serious injuries. </p>
<p>Overburdening inspectors reduces OSHA’s ability to find and remediate workplace safety violations, like inadequate protections against slips and falls, a major cause of workplace injuries and fatalities.</p>
<p>It also reduces the incentives created by deterrence. When businesses know they’re not likely to be inspected, they are less likely to devote resources to create safe workplaces.</p>
<p>Reducing the number of OSHA inspectors puts more workers in danger of physical harm on the job.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Weil received past funding from the US Department of Labor for studies of enforcement and compliance of federal workplace laws. </span></em></p>A reduction in OSHA inspectors may lead to a reduction in workplace safety.David Weil, Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.