Fifty governors share responsibility with the Trump administration to the overall response to the coronavirus. There is naturally a lot of focus on the president and his response team, but people should look at how their state governors are handling the outbreak while reopening their economies in various stages.
It is instructive, in this context, to learn of gubernatorial ratings from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. It is based on research compiled by Reagan-era economist Art Laffer, Steve Moore of the Heritage Foundation, market analyst Phil Kerpen and journalist John Fund. The ratings are weighted toward how states reopen their economies based on the proposition that the longer they wait the longer the economic damage.
The ratings gave seven governors an “A for effort”: Jared Polis of Colorado, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.
To read the full report and how the ratings were compiled log on to: https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/committee-to-unleash-prosperity-coronavirus-response-scorecard/
The Wall Street Journal heralded these ratings in a Monday editorial, saying:
“The ratings can be debated. … But the ratings are still useful to pushing back against the dominant media narrative that any state that reopens soon is indifferent. The bitter truth is that recessions also exact terrible costs, including suicides and drug dependency. The best governors understand they must look out for the economy as well as public health.”
