North Texas News

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently stated in an interview with Fox News that it is time for the United States to get back to work. 

The foundation of his argument is that grandparents and other elderly citizens of the country do not want to “sacrifice the economy” of the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

Patrick, who is 69 years old and acknowledged he is at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, gave his statement following President Donald Trump stating his goal of wanting to get the country’s economy back up and running in weeks, as opposed to months.

According to Patrick, the elderly population "can take care of themselves” and proposed that grandparents wouldn’t want to put the economic future of their grandchildren at stake for their own health and survival.

“No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’” Patrick said. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”

While there are many who agree with this statement and hope the country can get back to work soon, there are others who see the need to trust the government to promote safety and health over economic interests. One of those individuals is Suzanne Bellsnyder, community chair of Hansford County.

A Republican herself, Bellsnyder shared her views with North Texas News regarding Patrick’s position, and how the country is handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I believe our national and state leaders must err on the side of caution in their approach to protect the health and safety of all of the American citizens," Bellsnyder said. "We have lost so much trust in our leaders and I think that’s evident during this crisis. We have to trust that our local, state and federal leaders have the best information and they are doing what they believe is in the best interest of the country. I have served in local and state leadership during my career and right now our leaders need prayers more than anything."

Bellsnyder does not agree with Patrick's remarks about getting back to work and placing the economy first over the health of our elderly population.

"It was irresponsible for Dan Patrick to send that message that the economy is more important than any person’s life," Bellsnyder said. "While we are all concerned greatly and being impacted by the slowing economy, to encourage people to pick the economy over their loved ones is ludicrous. I have faith in the American spirit and the strength of our local communities and I know the economy will rebound once we get past the health crisis. We can protect our families and save the economy and that’s the moral thing to do."

According to WorldoMeter, the United States is has over 230,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the virus has the capability of spreading quickly between individuals. With data pointing to the virus infecting a significant amount of people within the next two weeks, bringing it to its peak, Trump has forgone his Easter release of social distancing and extended the guidelines to last for another 30 days for the virus to peak and pass.