Sam Pizzigati: CEO's of defense contractors get very, very rich off taxpayers

The Springfield (Mass.)Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield, was the primary center for making U.S. military firearms from 1777 until its closing, in 1968.

At Westover Air Reserve Base, an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow. Established at the outset of World War II, Westover is now the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States, home to about 5,500 military and civilian personnel, and covering 2500 acres.

U.S. Naval Station Newport, in Newport and Middletown, R.I., on Aquidneck Island

Via OtherWords.org

BOSTON

Does anyone have a sweeter deal than military contractor CEOs?

The United States spent more last year on defense than the next 10 nations combined. A deal brokered the other week by the White House and House Republicans increases that amount even further — to $886 billion. Defense contractors will pocket about half of that.

Just eight years ago, the national defense community made do with over $300 billion less. But making do with “less” doesn’t come easy to corporate titans like Dave Calhoun, the CEO at Boeing, the nation’s second-largest defense contractor. Lockheed Martin is the biggest.

In March, Boeing’s annual filings revealed that Calhoun had missed his CEO performance targets and would not be receiving a $7 million bonus. As a result, Calhoun had to be content with a mere $22.5 million in 2022 — but to sweeten the deal, the Boeing board granted their CEO an extra stack of shares worth some $15 million at today’s value.

The Government Accountability Office may have had incidents just like that in mind when it urged the Pentagon to “comprehensively assess” its contract financing arrangements a few years ago.

This past April, the Department of Defense finally attempted to do it.

“In aggregate,” its report concludes, “the defense industry is financially healthy, and its financial health has improved over time.” But despite “increased profit and cash flow,” the DoD found, corporate contractors have chosen “to reduce the overall share of revenue” they spend on R&D.

Instead, they’re “significantly increasing the share of revenue paid to shareholders in cash dividends and share buybacks.” Those dividends and buybacks have jumped by an astounding 73 percent!

Contractor CEOs have been lining their pockets accordingly.

In 2021, the most recent year with complete stats, the nation’s top five weapons makers — Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman – grabbed over $116 billion in Pentagon contracts and paid their top executives $287 million, Pentagon-watcher William Hartung noted this past December.

Taxpayers subsidize these more-than-ample paychecks. Corporate giants like Boeing and Raytheon depend on government contracts for about half the dollars they rake in. For Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, it’s at least 70 percent.

“Huge CEO compensation,” Hartung observes, “does nothing to advance the defense of the United States and everything to enrich a small number of individuals.”

Even before Biden and Republicans agreed to increase spending, the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) calculated the “militarized portion” of the federal budget at 62 percent of all discretionary spending.

We have precious little to show for this enormous expenditure.

“The post-9/11 ‘War on Terror,’ for example, has cost more than $8 trillion and contributed to a horrific death toll of 4.5 million people in affected regions,” the IPS report notes. “Meanwhile, a U.S. military budget that outpaces Russia’s by more than 10 to 1 has failed to prevent or end the Russian war in Ukraine.”

So what can we do? The IPS analysts advocate reducing the national military budget by at least $100 billion and reinvesting the savings in social programs.

Progressive members of Congress, meanwhile, have also been pushing for a major change in contracting standards. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s (D.-Ill.) “Patriotic Corporations Act” would give companies with smaller pay gaps between their CEOs and workers a leg up in the bidding for federal defense contracts.

Or we could go the Franklin D. Roosevelt route. In the year after Pearl Harbor, FDR issued an order limiting top corporate executive pay to $25,000 after taxes — a move Roosevelt said was needed “to correct gross inequities and to provide for greater equality in contributing to the war effort.”

By the war’s end, America’s wealthy were paying federal taxes on income over $200,000 at a 94 percent rate. That top rate hovered around 90 percent for the next two decades and helped give birth to the first mass middle class the world had ever seen.

Miracles can happen.

Sam Pizzigati, based in Boston, co-edits Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies. His books include The Case for a Maximum Wage and The Rich Don’t Always Win.

MIT spinoff seeks big new energy source via drilling very deep boreholes

Edited from a New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com) statement

BOSTON

“A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), spinoff company, Quaise Energy, is digging into the Earth to ease fossil-fuel reliance. MIT invests in startup technology companies, including Quaise Energy, using its fund and platform, called The Engine, to commercialize world-changing technologies.

“Quaise Energy has created new technology capable of digging some of the deepest boreholes in history to reach rocks below ground and surface a kind of heavy steam that has the potential to provide enormous quantities of energy, with a goal of using this steam to run power plants.

“To dig these holes, it will require the power of a laser to cut through dense rock, and it also needs to retain its intensity over long distances. This means as the technology goes further underground, it will have to maintain its power. Another advantage is that the lasers vitrify boreholes, meaning that their heat encases the blasted rock in glass and makes the holes less likely to collapse, which has been a significant problem in getting this type of energy when past companies have tried. There are other concerns that this team with the backing of MIT is working to resolve, including reducing the chances of seismic waves because of this.

“‘By drilling deeper, hotter, and faster than ever before possible, Quaise aspires to provide abundant and reliable clean energy for all humanity,’ said Carlos Araque, a former MIT student and employee, whose new company has raised $63 million to prove its technology. ‘This could provide a path to energy independence for every nation and enable a rapid transition off fossil fuels.’’’

George McCully: Rauch book tries to ‘socialize knowledge’

“Knowledge’’ (1896), by Robert Reid, at the Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

BOSTON

From The New England Journal of Higher Education (NEJHE), a service of The New England Board of Higher Education (nebhe.org)

Book Review

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth; Jonathan Rauch; Brookings Institution Press; Washington D.C.; 2021.

Reviewed by George McCully 

This is a prominent and timely book by a distinguished journalist on a subject of profound national significance, especially for our educational and scholarly professions as NEJHE has previously noted. Yet, despite its many admirable features and high praise from leading commentators, I found the book’s argument and potential value fundamentally undermined by a surprising misconception of its central subject.

The book contends that, as with our national political Constitution, we have a “Constitution of Knowledge,” which works to channel our civic discourse in constructive directions by defining the bounds of proper intellectual customs. By acting as a filter for debates among contending parties, it sorts out true, good and beautiful ideas from their opposites, over time pointing us in progressive directions. This Constitution developed concurrently with our federal Constitution, over centuries leading to the Enlightenment, with the rise of “liberal science” and progressive ideals. Recent psychological experiments have shown, however, that humans can be and often are driven by irrational impulses to act selfishly and against the common good. The current revolution in information and communication technology has been used maliciously to favor and manipulate those impulses, as shown by our recent politics, especially under Trump. Therefore, we need now to revive and strengthen this Constitution of Knowledge in our politics and civil affairs. All this is certainly a plausible argument.

Plausible, but not persuasive. The epitome of its problems is its misleading title, promising far more than the book delivers. This is not a book about “knowledge” per se, but about public knowledge. It does not offer a defense of “truth” per se, but rather an extensively researched and fervent attack against current political malpractices of mis- and dis-information, with numerous suggestions of ways to oppose and avoid them. The result is that the whole argument is weaker than expected.

The book’s essential flaw is its socialization of “knowledge.” It does not consider an assertion to be valid or true unless it has persuaded people and been accepted socially. Rauch writes (emphases mine): “The only way to validate a [specific proposition] is to submit it to the reality-based community.” He adds: “[L]iberal science’s distinctive qualities derive from two core rules: … the fallibilist rule: No one gets the final say” and “the empirical rule: No one has personal authority … Crucially, then, the empirical rule is a social principle. …”

In other words, if you and I, in our research, make some new and original discoveries based on adequate evidence, those discoveries according to Rauch’s book are not “knowledge” until other people agree with them. I found his exclusively social emphasis about “knowledge” more than a bit weird. It reminded me of the old saw about the questionable sound of an unobserved tree falling in the middle of a forest, or perhaps more pointedly of the politically incorrect joke, “If I say something and my wife doesn’t hear it, is it still wrong?” By focusing on this socialization, the book fails to promote the simple but powerful antidote we need: namely, thinking on the basis of evidence—the routine practice of all modern scholarship, science and jurisprudence, accessible by all educators and citizens.

In fact, this socialized approach to knowledge is exactly what has rendered knowledge more, not less, vulnerable to the malicious and corrupt mis- and dis-information newly empowered by the IT revolution. It is what has caused, for example, a currently reported 88,000 people per week to fight Covid with the livestock de-wormer Ivermectin which they can buy from agricultural feed stores. In contrast, the authentic empirical practice of grounding knowledge in evidence is invulnerable by communications techniques. If what good citizens promote and defend is itself demonstrably unshakeable, the cause of truth in democracy can be more effectively strengthened and defended. This book shows no awareness of this.

Moreover, conceiving knowledge in exclusively sociopolitical terms has encouraged the odd analogy Rauch has drawn to a “Constitution of Knowledge” comparable to our federal Constitution in that it governs (public) knowledge. But this comparison is obviously flawed—the alleged “Constitution of Knowledge” has no Article VI, Section 2, explicitly making it the “supreme law of the land” nor Article III, Section 1, vesting “judicial power in one supreme court” of a few officials, backed by a huge and elaborate law enforcement apparatus. Participation in Rauch’s “Constitution of Knowledge” is purely voluntary. While it is customary though not infallible among professionals, it does not guide popular thinking or discussion outside the professions and is highly vulnerable by today’s hyper-powerful communications technology in vicious hands.

In short, this important book is basically at odds with itself. While it is true that the public in general does not “think on the basis of evidence” and relies for verification on trusting other people, this is what has caused the much-discussed epistemic crisis of our democracy. Our resulting sociopolitical polarization and mutually antagonistic tribal cultures are what prevent our electorates and representatives from objectively deciding on the relative merits of various candidates and ideas. The symbiosis of journalism with civil opinions, which Rauch’s book exemplifies, is at the heart of our crisis. We need journalism and public discourse to be based on and promoting reliance on evidence, not public opinions.

I am reluctant to say this, but to this journal’s readership it bears notice: The strangeness to us of this book’s argument derives from its journalistic, rather than scholarly or scientific, habit. The sea in which journalism swims is entirely sociopolitical; that is why “fairness” and “balance” in reporting various perspectives have long been promoted as criteria of public value by schools of professional journalism. For journalists, it is understandable that “knowledge” is likely to mean “public knowledge” based on social acceptance. In contrast, the graduate schools that have trained us in professional research promote “truth” which we take to be synonymous with “knowledge” as our sole professional objective and criterion of value. For scholars (and scientists) “knowledge” is gained only by adherence to adequate evidence. Many of us in the course of our professional careers have made new and original factual discoveries, which we consider new “knowledge” even before their publication and indeed as an elementary criterion for publication in the first place.

This is a gap that needs now to be bridged, not smudged nor insisted upon. This means that we—the community of scholars and educators (including journalists)—have a substantial civic role and responsibility to collaborate in protecting democracy from its current detractors, by energetically teaching and promoting thinking on the basis of evidence in all public discourse, especially including popular journalism. When any assertion is made in civic arenas, the first question by journalists—always and predictably so that everyone becomes accustomed to it—should be, “What’s your evidence?”

George McCully is a historian, former professor and faculty dean at higher-education institutions in the Northeast, professional philanthropist and founder and CEO of the Catalogue for Philanthropy.

N.E. Council lobbies for financial services for pot firms

— Photo by O’Dea

BOSTON

The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com) has sent this letter to New England’s congressional delegation, signed by president and CEO James T. Brett:

Dear New England Delegation,

On behalf of The New England Council, I write to express our members’ support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2021. This bipartisan legislation creates protections for depository and insurance institutions that provide financial-related services to legal cannabis-related businesses and their service providers. As every state in New England now allows medicinal cannabis {marijuana}, and three states have legalized adult recreational use, the discrepancy between state and federal law is a concern across the region.

Currently, providing banking and insurance services to legitimate, state-licensed marijuana businesses is a challenge for financial institutions. Because marijuana is illegal under federal law, funds generated by cannabis-related businesses are subject to extraordinary reporting requirements under federal anti-money laundering regulations. Therefore, institutions face significant legal and regulatory risks for serving these local businesses. The result has been that legal cannabis businesses and their employees operate primarily on a cash-only basis, creating opportunities for tax evasion, money laundering, robbery and other crimes that could negatively impact the region. The discrepancy between state and federal law also poses a challenge for those who seek to purchase cannabis products for medical purposes.

Medical marijuana has been found an effective treatment for a variety of medical conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, epilepsy, and chronic pain, just to name a few. However, access to these products is significantly limited by the inability to use alternative payment options.

The SAFE Banking Act, which was reintroduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier this month, would help address these challenges. If passed, this legislation will give those operating legitimate marijuana businesses access to banking services available to other industries. By no longer restricting the industry to cash, the law will make the cannabis industry more safe, transparent, accountable, and accessible by ensuring compliance with current regulations and norms. The New England Council’s mission is to identify and support federal public policies and articulate the voice of its membership regionally and nationally on important issues facing New England. Given that cannabis-related businesses have been legalized and are an expanding segment of the economy in many communities across the region, we feel that if this legislation is passed it would protect the businesses and communities in which they operate. It is our hope that with your support in the House/Senate, Congress will work diligently to advance the SAFE Banking Act in the coming weeks.

‘‘The New England states have each enacted policies that allow for the legal sale of cannabis products, and as a result we are seeing significant growth in this new sector in our region’s economy,” said Council President & CEO James T. Brett. “However, due to the discrepancy between state and federal law, these businesses are unable to access banking and insurance services, and their customers are limited in payment options.  We urge Congress to take action to address this discrepancy and make the cannabis industry more safe, transparent, accountable, and accessible.”

The bill was originally introduced during the 116th Congress, and was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2019, but was never taken up in the Senate.  The legislation was reintroduced in the House (H.R. 1996) on March 18, 2021, and in the Senate (S. 910) on March 23, 2021.  Already, 11 New England Senators and six New England Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors, and the Council’s goal in sending letters is to increase support for the bill among the region’s delegation.

N.E. post-election policy briefings looking at 2021

Along the water in downtown Boston

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

BOSTON

“In the weeks since the Nov. 3 election, The New England Council has hosted a series of ‘Post-Election Policy Outlook’ briefings for our members.  Each of these virtual sessions has focused on a different industry or issue area, featuring presentations by council members with relevant subject matter expertise, each offering their insights on the outlook for federal policy under the incoming Biden administration and the 117th Congress.

You can find more information on each of these informative and engaging sessions using the links below:

• Appropriations

• Energy & Environment

• Financial Services

• Healthcare

• Higher Education

• Transportation & Infrastructure

• Trade

“We are grateful to the many council members who presented during these sessions, as well as to those who participated.  Recordings of each session are available upon request.’’

Largest self-reported ancestry groups in New England. Americans of Irish descent form a plurality in most of Massachusetts, while Americans of English descent form a plurality in much of the central parts of Vermont and New Hampshire as well as nearly all of Maine.

COVID-19 wrapup

From The New England Council’s (newenglandcouncil.com) latest wrap up of COVID-19 news:

• “Eli Lilly Find Drug to Improve Clinical Outcomes – Eli Lilly and Company has found that baricitinib, used alongside remdesivir, reduces recovery time and improves clinical outcomes for patients infected with COVID-19 more so than patients treated only with remdesivir. Eli Lilly originally developed baricitinib – marketed at Olumiant – as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, but has been studying the drug as a COVID-19 treatment as part of a trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allery and Infectious Diseaseas (NIAID).  The most signifiant impact was observed in patients placed on supplemental oxygen. Read more here.

• “Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center Utilizes Mobile COVID-19 Testing Unit – Early in the pandemic, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center launched a mobile COVID-19 testing unit, which has since tested thousands of patients at Dudley Square, Prince Grand Hall Lodge, Children’s Services of Roxbury and other locations. Read more here.

• “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Grants Additional $400,00 to COVID-19 Fund – Blue Cross Blue Shield has donated $400,000 to go towards supporting communities of color most affected by the pandemic, as well as Massachusetts regional funds community health centers, nonprofits, and teacher organizations. Read more here.’’

Largest self-reported ancestry groups in New England. Americans of Irish descent form a plurality in most of Massachusetts, while Americans of English descent form a plurality in much of central Vermont and New Hampshire as well as nearly all of Maine.

Chen Shih-chung: COVID-19 shows importance of Taiwan being admitted to WHO

WHO emblem

Our friends in the Taiwan representative office in Boston forwarded this to us.

— Robert Whitcomb

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have more than 40 million cases and more than one million deaths around the world. The virus has had an enormous impact on global politics, employment, economics, trade and financial systems, and significantly impacted the global efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Thanks to the united efforts of its entire people, Taiwan has responded to the threats posed by this pandemic through four principles: prudent action, rapid response, advance deployment and openness and transparency. Adopting such strategies as the operation of specialized command systems, the implementation of meticulous border-control measures, the production and distribution of adequate supplies of medical resources, the employment of home quarantine and isolation measures and related care services, the application of IT systems, the publishing of transparent and open information, and the execution of precise screening and testing, we have been fortunate enough to contain the virus. As of Oct. 7, Taiwan had had just 523 confirmed cases and seven deaths; meanwhile, life and work have continued much as normal for the majority of its people.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has reminded the world that infectious diseases know no borders and do not discriminate along political, ethnic, religious or cultural lines. Nations should work together to address the threat of emerging diseases. For this reason, once Taiwan had stabilized its containment of the virus and ensured that people had sufficient access to medical resources, we began to share our experience and exchange information on containing COVID-19 with global public-health professionals and scholars through COVID-19-related forums, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group’s (APEC) High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy, the Global Cooperation Training Framework, and other virtual bilateral meetings. As of June 2020, Taiwan had held nearly 80 online conferences, sharing the Taiwan Model with experts from governments, hospitals, universities and think tanks in 32 countries.

Taiwan’s donations of medical equipment and anti-pandemic supplies to countries in need also continue. By June, we had donated 51 million surgical masks, 1.16 million N95 masks, 600,000 isolation gowns, and 35,000 forehead thermometers to more than 80 countries.

To ensure access to vaccines, Taiwan has joined the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) co-led by GAVI — the Vaccine Alliance — and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. And our government is actively assisting domestic manufacturers in hopes of accelerating the development and production of successful vaccines, bringing them to market as quickly as possible and putting an end to this pandemic.

To prepare for a possible next wave of the pandemic as well as the approaching flu season, Taiwan is maintaining its strategies of encouraging citizens to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, and strengthening border quarantine measures, community-based prevention and medical preparedness. Furthermore, we are actively collaborating with domestic and international partners to obtain vaccines and develop optimal treatments and accurate diagnostic tools, jointly safeguarding global public-health security.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that Taiwan is an integral part of the global public-health network and that Taiwan Model can help other countries combat the pandemic. To recover better, WHO needs Taiwan. We urge WHO and related parties to acknowledge Taiwan’s longstanding contributions to global public health, disease prevention, and the human right to health, and to firmly support Taiwan’s inclusion in WHO. Taiwan’s comprehensive participation in WHO meetings, mechanisms and activities would allow us to work with the rest of the world in realizing the fundamental human right to health as stipulated in the WHO Constitution and the vision of leaving no one behind enshrined in the UN SDGs.

Chen Shih-chung is minister for health and welfare for Taiwan (Republic of China)

Chuck Collins: How you pay taxes and they don’t

Via OtherWords.org

BOSTO

My daughter, a librarian in Tucson, paid more taxes in 2017 than Donald Trump. So did my neighbor Rita, a teacher, and her son Tony, who stocks grocery shelves in Leland, Mich.

I also pay more in taxes than the president of the United States. And, probably, so do you.

We now understand why Trump was the first presidential candidate since the 1970s not to divulge his tax returns.

In 2016 and 2017, the billionaire paid just $750 each year in taxes to the U.S. Treasury. In 10 out of 15 years between 2001 and 2017, Trump paid zero taxes.

The average middle class household paid approximately three times as much in federal taxes as Trump did in 2017, an average of $2,200 based on an income of roughly $60,000. Any individual earning over $25,000 most likely paid more than the president.

It’s not that Trump wasn’t paying taxes at all. In 2017, Trump paid $156,824 in taxes in the Philippines and $145,500 in India. He just wasn’t paying them to support veterans, build roads, or protect seniors in this country.

The other secret Trump doesn’t want you to know is that his image as a wealthy successful business mogul is a mirage.

Over the decades, Trump personally lobbied Forbes Magazine to report that he was wealthier than he really is. Two decades of tax returns, however, reveal he is a man in deep financial doo-doo. He may even owe more than he owns.

Trump’s real estate and resort businesses are mostly money losers, contributing to hundreds of millions of tax-deductible business losses each year.

On top of these losses, Trump deducts tens of millions in lavish personal living expenses — such as $70,000 in hair styling, consulting fees to his children, and mansion retreats — to reduce his tax obligations.

Only someone with Trump’s army of tax attorneys and wealth managers could pull off these loopholes. Trump’s assets are spread over 500 different corporate shells, enabling limitless shifting and gaming of income and taxes.

Trump takes advantage of the fact that there are two tax systems in America: one set of rules for the super-rich and another set of rules for everyone else.

Most of us get our incomes from paychecks and government agencies that know exactly how much we are paid and often withhold our taxes before we even see the money.

People with incomes over $2 million and assets over $20 million get most of their income from investments, ownership of assets, and businesses. There are endless games they can play to manipulate their income. And they can afford to hire accountants and tax lawyers to maneuver their taxes downward.

If you lose money, you grow poorer. But when the super-rich create paper losses to offset their taxes, they’re still rich. And like Trump, they aren’t sacrificing anything in terms of their cushy standard of living.

These tax shenanigans are all the more unseemly in the face of a pandemic that’s destroyed the wealth, health, and livelihoods of millions. Tens of millions of families have lost jobs, savings, home equity, and any other economic security they may have had.

They will not be “carrying over” these losses into future years and virtually eliminating their taxes for a decade, as Trump did.

Instead, they’ll pay income taxes on unemployment insurance, stimulus checks, and any paycheck they’ve been able to eke out.  There will be no deductions for haircuts or consulting contracts for their children.

Trump’s taxes reveal the real truth. He’s more about the art of the deduction than the art of the deal.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Trump’s tax manipulations reveal where the weak spots are in the current system. Congress should restore fairness and integrity to a tax system that has been pillaged by the super-rich.

Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies.

N.E. responds: Beth Israel-B.U. gear project; Dartmouth sets up COVID-19 ICU

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, N.H.

— Photo by Jared C. Benedict

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

BOSTON

As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak.  Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region.  We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.

You can find all the Council’s information and resources related to the crisis in the special COVID-19 section of our website.  This includes our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar, which provides information on upcoming COVID-19 Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members, as well as our newly-released Federal Agency COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses page.

Here is the May 4 roundup:

Medical Response

• Boston University, Beth Israel Develop Improved Medical, Testing Equipment –Boston University (BU) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) are collaborating to improve the equipment used to diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients. The partnership has already produced a more rapid diagnostic test, an improved ventilator design, and new models for testing swabs. The Brink reports.

• Dartmouth Hitchcock Establishes COVID 19 Intensive Care Unit – The neurocritical care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has been transformed into a new intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients. This change will ensure that the hospital does not exceed capacity for patients or deplete its existing stockpile of medical supplies and protective equipment. Read more in the Sentinel Source.

Economic/Business Continuity Response

• Framingham State Moves Elderly Learning Program Online – Framingham State University is transitioning its learning program for senior citizens online to provide a social outlet and educational opportunities to the most vulnerable, and most isolated, during the pandemic. The program had been postponed due to stay-at-home orders but will now offer the free courses in literature, songwriting, and more. The Worcester Business Journal has more.

• Northern Essex Community College President Calls for More Aid – President Lane Glenn of Northern Essex Community College (NECC), in a virtual event with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), called for more aid to community colleges in Massachusetts as they support 100,000 students in the state during this crisis. President Lane noted that community college students are more likely to be low-income and minority residents and are experiencing housing and food insecurity at higher rates. Read more in the Boston Business Journal.

Community Response

• Ascentria Care Alliance Provides Support for Resettling Refugees – More than 100 refugees living in Concord, N.H., are receiving support and care from Ascentria Care Alliance as they resettle in the United States. The healthcare provider, through its Services for New Americans department, is helping these families navigate the resources available to them amid these challenging times. Read more in the Nashua Telegraph.

• TD Bank Launches Community Resilience Initiative –TD Bank has announced the TD Community Resilience initiative, dedicating $25 million to organizations supporting community response and recovery efforts from the pandemic. From healthcare workers in community health centers to local banking offices in the United States and Canada, the initiative will seek to support communities as they recover from the virus. Read more from CSRwire.

• Turkey Sends Medical Equipment to United States – Turkey sent a plane of medical equipment to the United States to aid the response to COVID-19. The Consulate General of Turkey in Boston shares that country provided 500,000 masks, over 500 gallons of disinfectant, and other essential materials in a continuation of its humanitarian aid around the world. ABC News has more.

Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.

N.E. responds to COVID-19: A testing site for uninsured; policy-change simulator; in-state tuition for out-of staters

The First Congregation Church in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, whose unofficial motto is “A Small Town in the City.’’ A mobile COVID-19 testing site has been opened there for the uninsured.

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

BOSTON

As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak.  Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region.  We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily roundups.

You can find all the Council’s information and resources related to the crisis in the special COVID-19 section of our Web site.  This includes our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar, which provides information on upcoming COVID-19 Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members, as well as our newly-released Federal Agency COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses page.

Here is the April 27 roundup

Medical Response

• Brigham and Women’s Hospital Opens Mobile Testing Site for Uninsured – In Hyde Park—one of Boston’s emerging virus hotspots—Brigham and Women’s Hospital has opened a mobile testing site to serve those with coronavirus symptoms but without health insurance. Testing at the site will be free of charge, and providers will not ask patients about immigration status. The testing site will also provide masks, boxes of food, and educational materials for those who qualify. Read more from CBS Boston.

• Massachusetts General Hospital Researchers Develop Simulator to Predict Policy Change Effects – As states weigh when and how to begin re-opening nonessential businesses, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has built a COVID-19 simulator to predict infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from coronavirus in the state under different plans of action. The model uses virus data to create statistical predictions of the its spread to inform state and local leaders on when it will be safe to ease physical distancing regulations. WBUR has more.

Economic/Business Continuity Response

• The University of Maine Offers Tuition Break for Students Affected by Coronavirus – To support students across the country facing educational uncertainty, the University of Maine (UMaine) has launched a new initiative, The Maine Welcome, to allow all students—regardless of state origin—to pay in-state tuition to continue their studies. The program aims to help students as they navigate potential school closures and revenue losses. More from Mainebiz

• PwC Makes Digital Fitness App Free Worldwide – To allow workers across sectors and around the world to develop digital skills, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has made its technological training app free globally. The app offers courses and learning assessments to instruct workers to learn important skills in a workforce increasingly dependent on technology. Cyprus Mail has more.

Community Response

• AAA Northeast Uses Service Fleet to Deliver Protective Gear – In partnership with a West Haven, Conn., manufacturer, AAA Northeast is utilizing its fleet of service vehicles, deemed essential, to deliver gowns and other protective equipment made by Thermaxx to first responders and Connecticut state agencies. Read more in WTNH.

• Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Enters Partnership to Provide Meals to Families – Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has donated $52,000 to sponsor a month of free meals for families through the Dimock Center. The Dimock Center will provide meals twice a week for families for one month using the donation, but Harvard Pilgrim has committed to additional funding as needed. The Jamaica Plain Gazette has more.

• Boeing Transports 1.5 Million Masks to Aid Response – Continuing its relief missions around the world, Boeing delivered 1.5 million face masks from Hong Kong to the United States. The protective equipment will be used by healthcare providers across the country to combat shortages of the equipment necessary to keep healthcare workers safe. Read the release here.

Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.

N.E. virus response: Beth Israel making swabs; Home Base director takes role; Dartmouth working on better test

— Photo by Raimond Spekking

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak.  Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region.  We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.

You can find all the Council’s information and resources related to the crisis in the special COVID-19 section of our website.  This includes our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar, which provides information on upcoming COVID-19 Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members, as well as our newly-released Federal Agency COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses page.

Here is the April 21 roundup:

Medical Response

• Beth Israel Producing Testing Swabs to Combat Shortage – Faced with a dwindling supply of testing materials, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has begun producing their own testing swabs in collaboration with local academics and manufacturers. The new swabs are already being used to test potential COVID-19 patients and will begin production on a larger scale soon. Read more from WBUR.

• Home Base’s Gen. Jack Hammond Tapped to Lead Boston Hope Medical Center – General Jack Hammond, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Red Sox Home Base Program, has been chosen by Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) to serve as co-medical and operations director at Boston Hope Medical Center. Gen. Hammond will draw on both his personal experience serving in the military and in his role at Home Base to work with state and local officials to coordinate care for the unsheltered and those in post-acute care. Read more in The Boston Globe and the press release.

• Dartmouth College Researchers Developing Improved Test – Researchers at Dartmouth College are working to create a new, improved test for COVID-19. The lab has partnered with a California biotech company to make the test more reliable and quicker to produce results. The test awaits FDA approval as it is being compared to the test currently being used in the United States. Read more from The New Hampshire Business Review

Economic/Business Continuity Response

• Worcester State University Receives $484,000 Grant to Improve Remote Learning – To support its transition to remote learning, Worcester State University (WSU) has received over $484,000 in grants from a Boston venture philanthropy firm. The funds will be used to cover a variety of expenses, such as laptops and a university-wide texting system to remind students of upcoming deadlines. The measures are designed to especially help first-generation students, a demographic already more likely to drop out of school. The Worcester Business Journal has more.

Community Response

• City of Providence Buys 34,000 Masks for Frontline Workers – The City of Providence has partnered with its firefighters union to purchase 34,000 N95 masks for first responders directly exposed to the virus. Masks, along with other protective equipment such as gloves, will be distributed to responders and other essential personnel who require them. Read more from WPRI.

• UnitedHealth Announces $5 Million to Support Healthcare Workers – UnitedHealth Group, as part of its initial $60 million commitment to combating the coronavirus pandemic, has announced a $5 million initiative to support the healthcare workforce. Specifically, the funds will be directed toward efforts to procure more personal protective equipment (PPE) and to provide mental health support to those working directly with COVID-19 patients. Read the press release here.

Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.

April 3 update from N.E. Council on COVID-19 response

Harvesting cranberries in the fall in southeastern Massachusetts

Ocean Spray is raising wages and making donations to farm regions in the crisis

April 3 update from The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):

As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak.  Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region.  We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.

You can also check our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar for information on upcoming COVID-19 related programming – including Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members.

Medical Response

• Boston Convention & Exposition Center Become Commonwealth’s First Field Hospital – Amid predictions that Massachusetts cases of COVID-19 could arrive next week, Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA) announced that the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC)—owned by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority—will become the commonwealth’s first field hospital. Officials plan for 1,000 beds total, split evenly between the city’s homeless population and overflow patients from area hospitals. WBUR has more.

• Partners HealthCare Brings Mask Sterilizer to Massachusetts – Confronting an impending shortage of protective equipment and other personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, Partners HealthCare has entered into a partnership to bring a machine that can sterilize up to 80,000 respirator masks a day to Massachusetts. The device, described as a “game changer” for the region’s response, could reduce strain on dwindling supplies and possibly serve all hospitals in New England, according to the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. Read more in NBC.

• Sanofi Prepares to Produce Millions of Doses of Potential Treatment – Should a now-famous malaria drug prove effective in combatting the coronavirus, Sanofi has confirmed it has the potential to produce hundreds of millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine. In addition, the pharmaceutical company has ensured its supply chain remains stable. Read more in The Wall Street Journal.

Economic/Business Continuity Response

• Duane Morris Offers Guidance on Employment Retention Assistance – A guide to the options businesses have for assistance under the recent stimulus package provided by Duane Morris gives the business community clarity on eligibility, the scope of the package, and limitations of assistance. Read the guide in Forbes.

• Ocean Spray Increases Wages, Donates Meals to Farmer Regions – To support its employees who continue to work despite personal safety concerns, Ocean Spray is increasing wages and providing an extra week of vacation to front-line employees. In addition to the wage increases, the company also plans to donate 100,000 meals to its farm regions across the country. Fox Business has more.

• Dell Provides Resources for Remote Work Transition – As businesses of all types and sizes navigate an abrupt transition to remote work, Dell is offering a host of online materials to support and expedite the move. Webinars from senior executives on employee flexibility and posts highlighting the importance of cybersecurity are just some of the services Dell is offering for the business community. More can be found here.

Community Response

• American Hospital Association Successfully Urges Administration for Direct Assistance to Hospitals – After pressure from lawmakers and healthcare organizations across the country, including a letter from the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Trump Administration is now planning to pay hospitals to treat uninsured patients with COVID-19. The letter from AHA calls for direct aid as well as the expansion of infrastructure investment assistance, among other things. The Wall Street Journal
  

• Endicott College President Profiled on Leading a College Through Crisis – NEC Board Member Steven DiSalvo, president of Endicott College, was profiled in the Boston Business Journal highlighting his leadership during a pandemic that has sent his students home and grinded daily operations to a halt. DiSalvo discussed the school’s commitment to fully pay employees through June, and the potential benefits the switch to online learning could provide for its online graduate offerings. Read the profile here.

Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.

College Hall at Endicott College, in Beverly, a former industrial town part of which is a rich Boston suburb with old Brahmin as well as new money.

New England Council update on region's COVID-19 response

New England has no official flag, but there have been many historical and modern banners used to represent the New England Colonies and then the six states of New England. There are some variations, but common designs include a colored field (usually red) with a pine tree. The eastern white pine is the most common symbol of New England and harkens back to the tree's former importance in shipbuilding in particular and and New England's maritime culture in general.

Update from The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com). Kudos to the Council for performing this service.

BOSTON

As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak.  Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region.  We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.

You can also check our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar for information on upcoming COVID-19 related programming – including Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members.

Here is the April 1 roundup:

Medical Response

• Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in New Hampshire Enters Partnership to Increase Testing – To supplement the efforts to expand testing in New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in New Hampshire (BCBS) is partnering with ConvenientMD to open a COVID-19 testing site in Portsmouth, NH. The support provided by BCBS will expand testing in the state and aid efforts to identify positive cases. SeacostOnline has more.

• UMass Holds Commencement Early to Send Doctors to Front Lines of Pandemic – On Tuesday, the University of Massachusetts held a virtual commencement for its medical school for its 135 students. As they spread out across the country for their residencies, the newly-minted doctors head to the center of the pandemic, as they pledged, over video, to “turn to our calling.” The Boston Globe

• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Launches Clinical Trial for Potential Treatment – Operating at incredible speed, Dartmouth-Hitchcock has begun two therapeutic trials of the now-famous drug remdesivir in just six days. Now one of the nearly 100 clinical sites around the world testing the drug’s efficacy on COVID-19 symptoms, Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s trials focus on both moderate and severe symptoms and remdesivir’s ability to prevent progression of the virus. Read more in the Manchester Ink Link.

Economic/Business Continuity Response

• Rockland Trust Offers Flexibility, Support for Customers Community – Joining other institutions in a joint client-community response, Rockland Trust is providing both flexibility and support for both personal and business customers. For personal banking customers, the bank is increasing ATM withdrawal limits, waiving late charges on payments, and issuing a 90-day foreclosure moratorium on residential loans.  Rockland Trust is also offering assistance with access to government-sponsored support and loan payment relief for its business users. The bank has also committed $500,000 to support relief efforts. Read more in Yahoo Finance.

• Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to Oversee Manufacturing Emergency Response Team – Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA) of Massachusetts has chosen the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to lead the new Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT), an effort by the state to utilize its manufacturing industry to produce more necessary equipment to combat the pandemic. The agency will oversee MERT and coordinate the need for supplies with the almost 200 manufacturers who have been in contact with agency. The Boston Business Journal has more. Those interested in donating to or collaborating with the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team can do so here.

 Community Response

• Boston College High School Praised for Virtual Learning Transition – Featured in a Boston Globe article for moving “seamlessly in delivering daily, high-quality academic online lessons,” Boston College High School is continuing to provide an excellent education (that still begins at 8 AM daily) and ample resources for its students as they adjust to remote instruction. Read the article here.

• Travelers Makes $5 Million Donation – Insurance company Travelers has donated $5 million to COVID-19 relief efforts. The largest-ever charitable donation by the company to a crisis, the money will be distributed in three parts among North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland to aid families and communities. The Hartford Business Journal has more.

• United Way Support Fund Distributes $378,000 to Relief Organizations –Less than two weeks since launching a fundraising effort to support those affected by the pandemic, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley announced over $378,000 in donations. Distributed to 36 community-based nonprofits across the region, the money will help those in need meet basic needs as they navigate an evolving pandemic and economic uncertainty. Read more.

• Edesia Provides Support Worldwide to Those Most Affected by Virus – Continuing a tradition of global leadership in promoting food security, Edesia has committed to providing thousands of care packages, snack boxes, and meals to organizations and families across all ages and around the world. Aiming to assist both local and global communities, the organization has also pledged 115,000 boxes of its world-renowned, lifesaving products to children from Venezuela to Yemen to Nigeria.

• Cooperative Credit Union Association Donates $25,000 to Support MA Coalition for the Homeless – On behalf of all Massachusetts credit unions, the Cooperative Credit Union Association has committed $25,000 to the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. People experiencing housing, income, or food insecurity are the most vulnerable to the pandemic, as they often lack resources to adequately self-quarantine or socially distance. The donation will be used to support not only the homeless population, but also families and unaccompanied youth. Read the release here.

Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.