So Trump was right all along about medical equipment 'going out the back door'

NightHawkeye said:

So Trump was right all along about medical equipment 'going out the back door'

Here's the latest news from WNBF in upstate New York affirming exactly what Trump was saying:

One Cooperstown hospital employee has been charged and more arrests are possible in connection with the theft of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
...
Human nature being what it is, it's not ridiculous to ask whether some people will attempt to monetize desperate situations for their own personal gain. ... To say one profession is exempt from bad guys is ridiculous and now we know that yes, there are mask thieves taking supplies "out the back door" and causing tremendous havoc and distress.
...
And it's worth noting that Cuomo in particular, who was one of Trump's loudest critics in this, less than a month earlier was openly complaining about thieving hospital personnel for exactly the same thing. Here's what he was saying on March 6.

People are stealing masks and other medical equipment from hospitals, New York Gov. Cuomo says -CNBC​

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I hope we're not all gullible enough to buy this shoddy logic. A few isolated cases of theft aren't remotely enough to justify Trump's suggestion and proclaim that he was "right all along". He implied that the high volume of orders was a result of theft, and not of high demand for medical services and consumable PPE, which isn't true. The bigger danger of what he said is that it reinforces the belief among some that this issue isn't as serious as the experts proclaim it to be.

Wouldn't such reports cause widespread panic (and possibly nervous breakdowns) among the reporters and staff of CNBC?

iluvatar5150 said:

I hope we're not all gullible enough to buy this shoddy logic. A few isolated cases of theft aren't remotely enough to justify Trump's suggestion and proclaim that he was "right all along". He implied that the high volume of orders was a result of theft, and not of high demand for medical services and consumable PPE, which isn't true. The bigger danger of what he said is that it reinforces the belief among some that this issue isn't as serious as the experts proclaim it to be.

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I hope we’re not all naive enough to think these are really a few isolated cases.

AvilaSurfer said:

I hope we’re not all naive enough to think these are really a few isolated cases.

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Why would you think that they aren't?

NightHawkeye said:

So Trump was right all along about medical equipment 'going out the back door'

Here's the latest news from WNBF in upstate New York affirming exactly what Trump was saying:

One Cooperstown hospital employee has been charged and more arrests are possible in connection with the theft of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
...
Human nature being what it is, it's not ridiculous to ask whether some people will attempt to monetize desperate situations for their own personal gain. ... To say one profession is exempt from bad guys is ridiculous and now we know that yes, there are mask thieves taking supplies "out the back door" and causing tremendous havoc and distress.
...
And it's worth noting that Cuomo in particular, who was one of Trump's loudest critics in this, less than a month earlier was openly complaining about thieving hospital personnel for exactly the same thing. Here's what he was saying on March 6.

People are stealing masks and other medical equipment from hospitals, New York Gov. Cuomo says -CNBC​

Click to expand...

One person stealing.

The outrage is the president smearing the good people on the front lines. One person stealing isn’t a story.

Sparagmos said:

One person stealing.

The outrage is the president smearing the good people on the front lines. One person stealing isn’t a story.

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Well, in all fairness to Donald, they're stealing praise and credit away from him. Of course they must be smeared.

Sure, make another thread when you have a case supporting something more than basic shoplifting.

There is nothing so tragic as "cherry-picking" a news source to fit one's pre-existing opinion. Trump has been consistently wrong about COVID-19 and has caused the deaths of thousands of people by his lies.

iluvatar5150 said:

Why would you think that they aren't?

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Why would you think that there are? When something is valuable there will be many people that will want to profit from stealing it.

...another example of steller executive leadership.

grasping the after wind said:

Why would you think that there are? When something is valuable there will be many people that will want to profit from stealing it.

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I think they're rare or isolated because, by and large, petty crime isn't much of a problem and because hospitals and other large organizations typically have inventory control policies - or even just people doing their jobs - in place that would recognize theft happening on that scale, particularly if it were a new development. I'm sure some amount of theft is happening - it always does - but not enough, as Trump suggests, to explain away a 10-fold increase in demand for certain supplies.

NightHawkeye said:

So Trump was right all along about medical equipment 'going out the back door'

Here's the latest news from WNBF in upstate New York affirming exactly what Trump was saying:

One Cooperstown hospital employee has been charged and more arrests are possible in connection with the theft of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
...
Human nature being what it is, it's not ridiculous to ask whether some people will attempt to monetize desperate situations for their own personal gain. ... To say one profession is exempt from bad guys is ridiculous and now we know that yes, there are mask thieves taking supplies "out the back door" and causing tremendous havoc and distress.
...
And it's worth noting that Cuomo in particular, who was one of Trump's loudest critics in this, less than a month earlier was openly complaining about thieving hospital personnel for exactly the same thing. Here's what he was saying on March 6.

People are stealing masks and other medical equipment from hospitals, New York Gov. Cuomo says -CNBC​

Click to expand...

Yes he was right...and AG Barr will nasty out the horders, those that haven't outed themselves already...it's amazing how such huge amounts of these critical medical supplies have been kept from those in need...what a sick bunch.

iluvatar5150 said:

I think they're rare or isolated because, by and large, petty crime isn't much of a problem and because hospitals and other large organizations typically have inventory control policies - or even just people doing their jobs - in place that would recognize theft happening on that scale, particularly if it were a new development. I'm sure some amount of theft is happening - it always does - but not enough, as Trump suggests, to explain away a 10-fold increase in demand for certain supplies.

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I'm not interested in what Trump says as what he says about any criticism of his administration is always going to be inaccurate and mostly said to annoy the media. I must disagree with you strongly on the point of petty crime. It is a huge problem . Just ask any person or institution that is a victim of it. The scale is enormous if the individual amounts are not.

Hospitals are overworked and understaffed in New York due to this pandemic. Why would you think that they could control PPE when they most likely are prioritizing tasks more important than guarding and inventorying masks? I expect there has been widespread small amounts of PPE being pilfered throughout the system in order to be sold by unscrupulous individuals at a nice profit for them. When panic is encouraged and reinforced by sensationalism, people become irrational and will deal with unscrupulous individuals that they otherwise would avoid dealing with. It is not only politicians who think they ought not let a crisis go to waste.

grasping the after wind said:

Hospitals are overworked and understaffed in New York due to this pandemic. Why would you think that they could control PPE when they most likely are prioritizing tasks more important than guarding and inventorying masks? I expect there has been widespread small amounts of PPE being pilfered throughout the system in order to be sold by unscrupulous individuals at a nice profit for them. When panic is encouraged and reinforced by sensationalism, people become irrational and will deal with unscrupulous individuals that they otherwise would avoid dealing with. It is not only politicians who think they ought not let a crisis go to waste.

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If the suggestion were merely that "small amounts" were being pilfered, even by a number of people, neither would I object nor would it serve Trump's point. But what he was talking about was a 10-to-30-fold increase in mask orders being the result of pilfering. That's huge.

This is just a distraction from the very sad reality that the United States was ill equipped and underprepared to meet the challenges of this crisis and now people are dying by the hundreds because of it and the government’s less than stellar response to the challenge.

FreeinChrist said:

It is not just that they had sent stuff to China, but elsewhere as well:
Pence task force freezes coronavirus aid amid backlash

Last week, a Trump administration official working to secure much-needed protective gear for doctors and nurses in the United States had a startling encounter with counterparts in Thailand.

The official asked the Thais for help—only to be informed by the puzzled voices on the other side of the line that a U.S. shipment of the same supplies, the second of two so far, was already on its way to Bangkok.

Trump aides were alarmed when they learned of the exchange, and immediately put the shipment on hold while they ordered a review of U.S. aid procedures. Crossed wires would only confuse our allies, they worried, or worse—offend them. And Americans confronting a surging death toll and shortages of medical equipment back home would likely be outraged.

​

So while it can be a legitimate concern about staff taking some supplies, it is a concern if the administration is not aware how much is going to other countries when we are in such need here.

I would not be surprised if some staff take a few masks to be sure they had them if they are needed.

​

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And that's the kind of thing that happens when you have a dysfunctional, unprepared organization.

NightHawkeye said:

So Trump was right all along about medical equipment 'going out the back door'

Here's the latest news from WNBF in upstate New York affirming exactly what Trump was saying:

One Cooperstown hospital employee has been charged and more arrests are possible in connection with the theft of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
...
Human nature being what it is, it's not ridiculous to ask whether some people will attempt to monetize desperate situations for their own personal gain. ... To say one profession is exempt from bad guys is ridiculous and now we know that yes, there are mask thieves taking supplies "out the back door" and causing tremendous havoc and distress.
...
And it's worth noting that Cuomo in particular, who was one of Trump's loudest critics in this, less than a month earlier was openly complaining about thieving hospital personnel for exactly the same thing. Here's what he was saying on March 6.

People are stealing masks and other medical equipment from hospitals, New York Gov. Cuomo says -CNBC​

Click to expand...

So what?
Even if supplies have been pilfered, that does not justify withholding supplies that have been requested.