EDITORIAL: Polis earns trust with facts, honesty, and others should emulate that – Sentinel Colorado

As Colorado lurches into the unknown, residents here can all be reassured in knowing our state government, and most of the local governments and agencies, are clearly in expert and trusted hands.

Thats not the case with the federal government.

Already reeling from the devastating health and economic disaster of the new coronavirus crisis, as a nation we suffer needlessly under White House leaders lacking competence and integrity.

For years, Trump was warned that his lying and deception would render him useless in crisis. It has done just that. Americans dont know what to believe from a president and an administration that cant even coordinate their mendacity and nonsense.

To this day, it is unclear how many COVID-19 tests are available, how many will become available and how the public can gain access to them.

This, however, is not the time to try Trump again for impeachable offenses. Tragically, Americans have been dealt the hand we now must play in a race against time.

Completely opposite of that, Gov. Jared Polis has deservedly become the most trusted and dependable government official in the state. His honesty and intelligence inspires hope and reassurance, even as Colorado makes tragic but critically necessary decisions.

Those decisions, effectively closing down almost all public venues such as restaurants, ski areas and retailers, doom the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. But not doing it would only postpone the inevitable and compound the longterm financial loss.

The decision jeopardizes a wide range of people and industries, and it even jeopardizes this newspaper.

While continuing to do whatever is necessary to stem the spread of this virus, state and local government officials must do more.

Immediately, state and local officials must intervene in jails and prisons, releasing all prisoners who are held for victimless crimes. Housing people in ill-equipped jails and prisons creates a potential death sentence. In addition, a plague inside a single jail or prison could overwhelm the states hospital systems.

State and city leaders must immediately work to make cash rapidly available to small businesses to ensure payrolls can be met. Through loans or other assistance, small-business employers must be able to continue to provide needed work, and provide for their own families.

Similarly, as meager savings accounts dry up, the nation must offer any struggling American food stamps, using temporary, realistic requirements. Such a system would not only ensure food security for millions who are absolutely going to need it, it will help stabilize the grocery industry, which will be similarly shaken when current hoarding and cash runs out.

While the state has increased money spent on unemployment insurance benefits, the process must immediately be shortened. Huge numbers of unemployed need assistance now.

Nationally, lenders must be able to hit the pause button on certain loans and mortgages, even if it means accruing additional interest. Forcing millions of businesses into bankruptcy over relatively short-term cash crises would be catastrophic for decades. No doubt banks, again, will be the recipients of massive cash infusions. That cash must benefit bank customers, not bank stockholders.

Polis has been welcomingly honest with what hes doing and what the effects could be. Its time now for Polis to share future scenarios based on numbers of infection and illness. If urban areas will be subject to practices such as shelter in place, what do state officials think would trigger that. The public at this point needs to know what events might trigger which scenarios going forward.

Clearly, the press for less public contact will increase. Its not hard to envision that this crisis will continue and evolve for weeks and possibly months. And theres no doubt that the health crisis will eventually subside and end. But Colorado needs to ensure theres no unintended crises created. One of those looming problems is public education.

While colleges have been able to patch together at least an on-line substitute for education, public schools have not. Within days, local and state school officials need a plan on helping students keep on track for what could be months of lost learning time. Thousands of Aurora students dont have computers or even internet access. With libraries and public facilities shuttered, there must be a way to get learning to students.

And the government alone wont solve this large of a crisis. People and businesses alike must do what they can for each other, without being forced by laws or regulations. Like Polis, business leaders and individuals must consider the greater good, not the moments fear when deciding what to do next.

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EDITORIAL: Polis earns trust with facts, honesty, and others should emulate that - Sentinel Colorado