AOC: Leaders lack ‘political imagination’ to transform status quo after COVID-19
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said leaders need “political imagination and political will” to pursue policies that promote justice and equity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. AP Photo/Paul Sancya
By David Brand
The coronavirus public health crisis and corresponding economic shutdown will demand a transformative response from elected officials, but many leaders lack the “political imagination and political will” to pursue policies that promote justice and equity, says U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, spoke with the Eagle Friday to describe the urgent need for federal and state relief packages that reach low-wage workers and undocumented immigrants, many of whom do not qualify for unemployment or other benefits.
“In the wake of this devastation our goal should not be to make things as they were,” she said. “Our goal should be to rebuild in a way that is just and makes things better for people.”
Ocasio-Cortez also addressed efforts to reduce the number of people detained on Rikers Island and other city jails and encouraged Queens residents to get involved with mutual aid initiatives – informal support networks where neighbors help neighbors. The complete interview aired Sunday night on City Watch, a weekly program on WBAI 99.5 FM.
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“Inequity is a comorbidity” that has led to more low-income people, particularly people of color, testing positive for COVID-19 and succumbing to the illness, Ocasio-Cortez said. Low-income New Yorkers are more likely to have chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma that exacerbate the impact of the coronavirus, according to Health Department reports.
City health data published last week depicts high concentrations of COVID-19 in low-income communities throughout the city, particularly in the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona, where immigrants and low-wage workers make up the majority of the population.
Nevertheless, many of the people most in need of financial and health support are left behind in state and federal relief packages, she said. Voters must push their elected officials to prioritize equity in the rebuilding effort, she added.
“I don’t know if some of these people have the political imagination and the political will to really understand the scale of action that we’re going to have to take just to … keep things relatively preserved for everyday life,” she said of her fellow elected officials.
But maintaining the status quo is not enough in the current crisis, which saw more than 10 million people apply for unemployment last month, she said. That figure does not account for total unemployment, since “off the books” workers — mostly low wage, hourly workers — cannot apply for the relief.
She said she was particularly troubled by state budget cuts that passed last week.
“One of the big lessons we should have learned from 2008 is that austerity does not create prosperity,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We cannot cut our way to growth.”
Ocasio-Cortez connected the crisis to one of her signature issues, Medicare For All, and said the current moment illustrates the dire need for comprehensive insurance coverage for all Americans.
“The question is, are our elected officials going to allow people to die? Would they prefer people to die or not have healthcare than actually guarantee healthcare?” she asked. “And there are quite a few who will make that choice.”
Eagle managing editor David Brand is co-host of City Watch, which airs on WBAI 99.5 FM every Sunday night from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Episodes are available in the shows archive at wbai.org.
