Newsom has had enough. Federal support is woeful. But the bigger question is the same: why bother with being part of the United States if the thing that is meant to unite the states is non-existent?
"OAKLAND — Saying “enough is enough” with states competing for critical medical equipment in the coronavirus crisis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he has inked deals with a consortium of nonprofits and acquired technology that will provide 200 million medical masks a month for his state and possibly others in the U.S.
“We've been competing against other states, against other nations, against our own federal government for PPE — coveralls, masks, shields, N95 masks — and we're not waiting around any longer,’’ Newsom told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night.
“We decided enough is enough: let's use the power of the purchasing power of the state of California as a nation-state," he added.
The state plans to spend $990 million in state funds on protective gear, according to a letter Newsom's Department of Finance sent to lawmakers late Tuesday. California must make a down payment of half that amount — $495 million — within the next 48 hours, Finance Director Keely Martin Bosler wrote.
California is cobbling together the initial payment with $188 million in coronavirus funding approved by state lawmakers before they left Sacramento last month, plus $307 million in funds from a state disaster account. It is not clear yet where the additional $495 million will come from.
Maddow called the move a “game changer” in the fight against the pandemic and asked Newsom how he pulled off the deal.
Newsom said that in the last 48 hours, “We just inked a number of contracts in the last few days that gives me confidence to say that … we have secured through a consortium of nonprofits — and a manufacturer here in the state of California — upwards of 200 million masks on a monthly basis. … We're confident we can supply the needs of the state of California, and potentially the needs of other Western states.’’"
http://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/04/08/california-inks-nearly-1b-deal-to-buy-200-million-masks-each-month-1273702
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