GPI Global Policy Institute

July 14, 2022 - Issue Brief by Ziv Harish. It has been said that American urine is the most expensive in the world due to the many expensive vitamins and supplements that we consume, but which our bodies do not absorb. The same may be said about American garbage, into which we dump millions of dollars’ worth of unused medications simply because they are past their marked expiration dates.

May 06, 2020. Issue Brief by GPI Senior Advisor Loren B. Thompson. The U.S. Army has done a remarkably effective job of responding to COVID-19. It has minimized the spread of the viral infection within its ranks, and helped local communities to cope with a surge in cases. So what lessons have Army leaders learned to date from their campaign to defeat the virus? Here are eight: (1) listen to soldiers in the field, (2) don’t wait to make hard choices, (3) discipline makes a difference, (4) keep the threat in perspective, (5) there’s no substitute for organic expertise, (6) you can’t contract for bravery, (7) be sensitive to community impacts, and (8) adapt to keep core missions on track. I have written a commentary for Forbes.

May 02, 2020. Issue Brief by Daniel Goure. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all Americans about the importance of critical infrastructure and essential workers to our survival, as individuals and as a nation. Clearly, our health care system, encompassing hospitals, medical supply providers, pharmaceutical companies, scientists, doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff, and emergency response personnel, is at the top of the list. So too are the companies and people involved in the food supply chain from farm to table. Related to these two sectors is the transportation network: roads, rails and air transport, certainly, but also the delivery companies and truckers that continue to bring orders to our front doors throughout the crisis. Likewise, our communications infrastructure, particularly internet companies, cloud providers and content producers. A company that bridges virtually all of these critical infrastructure sectors is Amazon. Along with a unique class of private companies such as UPS, Walmart and Microsoft, they have been an essential part of the infrastructure that has held this country together.

May 03, 2020. Issue Brief by Lucian Pugliaresi. As government officials consider relaxing the lockdown of the national economy, there remains concern among many in the population that the risks of dying from Covid-19 are too high and that government decisions authorizing a return to work are premature. Putting aside the trauma and associated pain and suffering from contracting the virus, the central concern is whether people would likely lose their lives by returning to work, going to a restaurant, or even visiting the hair salon or gym. At the same time, the economic costs of the lockdown are imposing catastrophic and long-term damage to the national economy.

April 28, 2020. Issue Brief by GPI President Paolo von Schirach. WASHINGTON – Nobody is prescient. No one could have foreseen the timing and the extent of the coronavirus pandemic explosion which originated in China and then from there spread all over the world. However, as I noted elsewhere, the US was especially vulnerable, because it was utterly unprepared to meet any public health emergency.

April 23, 2020. Issue Brief by GPI President Paolo Von Schirach. WASHINGTON – Here is the hard truth. America had no plan designed for national health emergencies that could be activated as soon as policy-makers realized the threat of coronavirus. There was almost nothing in place. There was no “early warning system” that would sound the alarm. There was no structure, no prepositioned equipment that could be deployed to crisis points. No well oiled chain of command.