LETTER from LEWIS HAMILTON
Did New York State
Really Do Better Than Texas?
To the Editor,
Chip Northrup’s recent letter condemning the efforts of Texans while praising those of New Yorkers was strong on opinion but weak on data. From my Google search on May 30:
• New York (state population, about 20 million), 203,000 cases, 23,282 deaths; Otsego County (population, 59,249); 67 cases, four deaths.
• Texas (state population, about 29 million), 62,338 cases, 1,648 deaths; Kerr County (population 52,405), 16 cases, zero deaths
While these numbers change frequently, they are reliable enough to show clearly that Texas has vastly fewer cases and deaths than New York State. Then, taking rural counties of similar size, the numbers again show Texas far ahead of New York.
We can all agree that there are a number of reasons why these striking differences have occurred, but to conclude that somehow Texas is falling far behind New York is untenable. In any case, Texas’ numbers are impressive by contrast to those in New York.
Consider Governor Cuomo’s March 2020 order forcing nursing homes to admit cases of COVID-19 – this action may have turned some into medieval “pest houses” seen during the times of plague.
Mayor de Blasio’s tight lockdown of tenements in New York City, attempting to limit community spread of the virus (in contrast to the quarantine of known positives cases) is the antithesis of “distancing” and may have caused more harm than good.
Note the logical actions of well-off New Yorker city dwellers – they fled! Are these public responses “as good as anywhere…?”
To paraphrase Mark Twain: It’s not the things you don’t know that can hurt you, it’s them you do know that ain’t true.
LEWIS HAMILTON
Cooperstown
Texas, one of the 14 states that turned down Medicaid expansion, leads the nation in closures of rural hospitals, 25 in the last decade alone. That’s an impressive and deeply disturbing number. Meanwhile, in rural upstate NYS (which accepted Medicaid expansion) you actually have a choice of local hospitals and clinics.
Texas also has 4.7 million citizens without health insurance while NY, under Medicaid expansion, is providing health insurance to record numbers of it’s citizens.
Only time will tell how we come through this but, for myself, I’d much rather take my chances here in rural NY than in rural West Texas.