Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

The Arkansas Times and Kuer FM 89.

Hello again everyone.

Thanks very much for being with us.

What will it take to persuade Arkansans?

That it is time well past time to roll up their sleeves literally and to get a shot in the arm.

Literally.

What will it take to convince them that a global pandemic still presents a threat to them and those around them that they could become infected could infect others, could get sick and could die.

Well, we'll address that in a moment.

First, something else that's global, but will most definitely involve Arkansas sooner or later.

Digital currency.

Well, a digital dollar, it only sounds arcane.

The Federal Reserve will undertake a study of a digital dollar at the behest of Representative French Hill of Arkansas and the congressman joins us now.

Mr. Hill.

Thanks very much for being with us.

What do we mean exactly?

When we're when we talk about a digital dollar?

Well, Steve, it's great to be with you.

And starting in 2019, Bill Foster, a Democrat congressman from Chicago, and I began investigating his support of the houses Fintech Financial Technology taskforce.

Should America consider a digital dollar an apply?

We came to the conclusion that we should and that's based on a couple of things.

First, China is rapidly moving to a completely digital economy including a digital RMB.

The digital.

Chinese currency, they have that throughout their country and test, and they're trying to export it through their technology and telecommunications systems and their lending programs around the world, both in emerging economies, an in developed economies, including Europe.

So there's a strategic issue there.

Secondly, as we moved to a completely digital world in healthcare or financial services, and others were going to see the increased use of blockchain, which is an accounting approach and a transactional approach.

That supports essentially a digital coin.

A cryptocurrency, if you will, and we think for that purpose we want the US dollar to have an option there and to be able to be the principle cryptocurrencies.

So we're looking at you have treasury bills.

You have money in your wallet.

You have money that you wire transfer or Venmo to your friends and you would in the future have essentially a crypto or digital dollar that would be used on a blockchain.

Sounds almost almost scary congressman, but are we not now?

Are we not already largely in the digital economy?

I mean, you put a credit card in now to get a soda pop out of a machine.

Right, so that's where we have we have card based electronic payments.

I would say an we have.

Electronic payments through wire transfer or the automatic clearinghouse system.

When you use a Venmo account to give somebody $20 after a lunch that is actually going through the banking system on the AC H or automated clearinghouse system, a cryptocurrency or digital dollar would be used on a blockchain.

This unique payment rail, this unique payment system that would use a crypto and the reason why I think it's important for us to study and think about.

Is we want the dollar to be the preeminent payment mechanism in the world that's important to America geopolitically, economically.

And secondly, blockchain is going to expand and we want our companies in America to be the leading innovators in blockchain.

But it will be another way to make a payment.

So and it'll be used.

I think very selectively at 1st and some of the concerns Steve are the anonymity of owning a cryptocurrency and complying with.

Bank Secrecy Act.

An money laundering rules.

And that's why the Fed's, very cautious and doing this study.

So you're talking actually about something that's rather far beyond, say, Bitcoin.

A Bitcoin is a digital currency.

It's not issued by a government.

It's issued essentially by a private organization.

And the reason why this came to Bill fosters and my attention in the summer of 2019 was you may remember Facebook that summer proposed its own digital currency called Libre.

It was going to be outside the United States and Switzerland.

It was going to be made available to the billions of Facebook users for making payments.

And that's when an alarm bell rang with me that if Facebook can create its own currency, shouldn't that be of concern to the United States and others?

Are sovereign governments, and that's when we put the heat on the Fed to help us do the analysis for the importance of this.

So actually we're talking about.

Here are what you're envisioning would be a sovereign US digital currency that would nonetheless remain the world standard anyway.

The international standard transactions.

That's right, so it be like we don't want a world where we go back to the 1830s.

You may remember in financial history of the United States, the Wildcat banks, where every bank in America issued its own specie.

They issued their own payment system, their own currency, and when those banks went broke in the 1830s that created a terrible recession, it led to US setting up the greenback system during the Lincoln administration.

During the Silver war.

That's when we actually got our first unified.

National U.S. Treasury issued currency.

And we don't want the world now to fragment fragment into a battle of different kinds of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin versus Facebook, versus JPMorgan Chase for example.

And we think the dollar should be be preeminent, and we think the dollar should have a sovereign digital coin that protects us from terrorism and money laundering.

But at the same time facilitates both consumers and businesses in the US for using it.

When that time comes well is the ultimate objective here, congressman.

To maintain the dollar in whatever form as the world's reserve currency.

Very important and I mentioned at the top of our interview about China and part of China's economic strategy.

They are now the largest creditor country in the world.

And they are one of the largest technology exporters in the world.

And you know the wild way.

A debate around the developed world of 5G that really that's a communist tool to listen in on conversations and steal data will.

Likewise we want to make sure that the Western world or the democratic countries in the world have an option away from that Chinese technology.

And that's how digital coin fits in to the preeminence of the dollar, because it's all connected back through this.

Digital world that's coming at us very fast in payments.

Let me ask a question, Sir.

In terms of breaking news, we just got word a moment ago that I think inflation last month was pegged by the government unadjusted at about 3 1/2% and that was a sharp increase over the last really decade or longer.

the Fed is telling us and other officials are telling us that are not panic, that this will settle back down by Midsummer or or later in this year.

Are you as confident?

I'm not.

I have a caution light on about inflation.

Steve, you and I both lived through the terrable inflation of the 70s and early 80s.

We know how disruptive it is.

We know that it steals from the very poorest among us by rapidly high pricing.

Chairman Powell of the Federal Reserve has said he believes that this inflation is transitory as we come out of the pandemic, demand and supply will get back In Sync and inflation will subside.

That is, his hope is the way I would describe it economically.

What I'm concerned about, and my concern is shared by Larry Summers, a good friend who was President Clinton's Treasury Secretary and President Obama's national economic advisor were warning about inflation because of the immense.

Fiscal stimulus that we put in the economy too much, in my view by the Biden administration coming out of the pandemic following on the major fiscal stimulus that was spent in the Trump administration for ear coronavirus eradication and get the economy stable.

On top of Steve the Fed today this month will buy $120 billion of Treasurys and they've been doing that every month.

So you have monetary stimulus at the Fed, the M2, the money supply in our country is up 28% from a year ago and this incredible fiscal stimulus that President Biden is attempting has passed 1.9 trillion attempts to pass another 4 trillion.

So that's why I'm worried about inflation.

Larry Summers is worried about inflation.

And what's the key?

What's the difference between transitory an worry?

If it gets imbedded, if people say, well, you know next year I better raise prices just automatically in my budget because I don't think I will be able to increase productivity or cut price for my suppliers or maintain my labor I need without raising labor prices.

So Steve, we've lived through this.

It's a not a good.

Place for the United States to be.

I hope Chairman Powell is right, but I just described it.

I'm very cautious and I've urged both the administration and Chairman Powell to think carefully about this.

And just one final point, the President of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, Mr Kaplan, now has warned of this and last Wednesday, Wednesday, a full week ago from our taping of this show, the Fed meeting noted that in the Minutes that there are Fed bank presidents around the country concerned about inflation.

Well, one final question, congressman.

And that's on the fiscal side.

What sort of infrastructure package obviously?

Well, the administration seems to be signaling.

OK, we can't get what I want.

What can he get an when?

Yeah, a great question and you see active work last week and this week.

House Republicans have proposed a surface transportation bill in a more traditional amount of money for the five year bill of four or $500 billion.

Senate Democrats also proposed one around 600 billion Steve and then they also proposed a compromise where they would use unprogrammed money from either the Cares Act of 2020.

Or the American rescue plan passed this year where that money is not going to be obligated.

Not gonna be spent very quickly or appropriately to try to boost it, so those negotiations go on.

I think we will have an infrastructure bill.

I think it will be a more traditional infrastructure bill with a real focus on surface transportation so that our States and federal government can partner on making sure we don't have a crisis like we had at the I-40 bridge at Memphis.

That's what we need to be focused.

Can I ask, congressman, how far would you be willing to go in terms of money?

Well, I think somewhere in that traditional amount when we look at a five year surface transportation bill and that between 4:00 and $600 billion, I think would be a big step.

Steve and I think it would get bipartisan support in my personal view, it's also in the range of what we've been doing in Congress.

And finally, you know, there's some talk about broadband being added, and we've spent so much money on broadband.

I think both the House and Senate want to really assess what we've already spent on broadband and make sure we target that affectively.

But I do think there's bipartisan support for some effort to continue the work we've done in the broadband arena have tended their congressman, because we're simply out of time.

We thank you for your time and come back.

Thank you, thanks, team.

Will be back in just a moment.

Back now, officials across the nation are dangling inducements to persuade reluctant citizens that vaccination against COVID-19 is the smart and responsible thing.

Still, there is official alarm that resistance to immunization is growing.

Now this week Governor Hutchinson emphasized his concern for the persistent low level of immunization among his constituents.

Only about 30% have been fully inoculated, compared to almost 40% nationally.

So Mr. Hutchinson is offering a lottery tickets and gift certificates from the Game and Fish Commission to the Unimmunized joining us now for an update on the COVID situation are two Arkansans who hope it works.

Doctor Jennifer Dillehay of the Arkansas Department of Health is the state epidemiologist and doctor Joe Thompson is CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Doctors.

Thank you both very much for being with us.

Doctor Dillehay let me begin with you.

The hospitalization rate is going up.

In Arkansas in recent days, but the number of new cases seems to be declining.

What are Arkansans to make of that?

Well, there could be multiple things going on here.

One is that not everyone who is ill is getting tested in there, doing well enough.

They don't need to be seen by a doctor, so are certain proportion no matter how many cases are diagnosed, are going to end up in the hospital.

Another thing that could be contributing to it are the variance of concern that can cause more severe disease.

So we still have a lot of community spread going on in Arkansas and a certain proportion will end up in the hospital.

Doctor Thompson Steve.

I agree with Jennifer.

You know that 30% number that are fully vaccinated.

That means 70% are not protected.

And I think when you look out across our communities and at our places of business you don't see 70% of people still wearing their mask and still taking some of the defensive actions that we've been having in place over the last year.

So I do think the virus is still in our communities.

For those people that are not protected, their immune system is no more able to fight this virus off than it was a year ago.

And when you come in contact some of the variants are more transmissible and maybe potentially even more harmful.

So the risk has not abated an.

Unfortunately we have individuals that are unprotected, that that are no longer really taking the precautions that they may need to well to both doctors and doctor Thompson will start with you there is, there would appear to be the mindset out there and it would appear to be growing that it is as or has been as bad as it is going to get, at least in Arkansas.

What is your response to that?

Well, I do think that the peak of our threat was back in January and February when we were in the thousands of cases each day and an topping the number of hospital beds that we had.

But as we have come down as we've gotten outside as the weather has gotten better as we have 30% or maybe a few more that have some protection, we have seen the transmission come down.

But I go back to that.

This is still a virus that none of our bodies had ever seen before.

And if you're not protected, you are still at risk.

Doctor dillehay well, we know from some studies on this the antibodies that people have about a fourth of the people currently have history or antibodies to show they've had natural COVID-19 disease.

So that means about 75% of the population hasn't had it.

And that could mean that if we go through another winter we could be in a similar situation that we were this past winter.

And I just don't want to go there people.

He protect it and people to get vaccinated.

Just a second ago.

The new variate are the new variants that are appearing do seem to be especially pernicious.

Am I correct?

That is the case.

There are more easily spread and they are more quickly spread, so it's easy to have an outbreak before you hardly even know it.

The other thing is the UK variant.

It appears that it causes more severe disease, an increases people's risk for desk death, and that is the variant of concern that were more commonly seeing in Arkansas.

We're also seeing increased cases of the Brazil.

Bill variant an that one does not respond to some of the usual treatments for COVID-19, like the monoclonal antibodies that we get, give to people to keep them out of the hospital.

So once we get a certain proportion of those cases in Arkansas will have to switch our treatments.

Doctor Thompson pick up on that if you would.

Well, I think the variance of the wild card I've said you know, the increased transmissibility.

It's kind of the difference between duck, take it tape and Scotch tape.

These variants seem to be able to spread much more easily between unprotected individuals, and I think what we're going to have Steve is, we have a large proportion of our state that are resistant or at least hesitant to take the vaccines that would offer them protection.

And as those unprotected people come together in groups, whether that's a family reunion, whether that's a church event, whether that's.

Yo.

Football game this fall we have the real potential for an outbreak just like we did as we started the epidemic and pandemic last spring we continue to lower the age.

Alright well we have lowered the age of eligibility anyway for immunization Doctor Thompson.

Do we know?

Well, first of all, four parents who may be a little bit reluctant.

Perhaps they thought it was OK for themselves, but we're talking about their children now.

What does the research tell us on the vaccine and younger patients?

Well, the two M RNA vaccines have been, well, one has been approved and the other is soon to be applied for approval for use in 12 to 16 year olds.

Both of those companies are testing in lower age ranges to get the dose right.

The smaller the child, probably the less dose that they would need from to be vaccinated.

To date the studies show them to be very effective in protecting the children and also very safe.

I think for any parent that has a child that's participating in sports that is going to church camp, that's going to be with other unprotected children.

I would strongly encourage you to get the vaccine early and for sure before your child goes back to school next year if they are eligible for a vaccine, let's get them vaccinated and protected against this virus.

Doctor dillehay.

Are we going to contend?

Are we going to see that age continue to fall?

Well, I think that we will.

The studies are ongoing and will be able to provide vaccine based on the safety and the dosing studies, probably by the end of the year if not sooner.

And I think that will be very helpful.

There's a misperception that children are not.

Cannot be strongly affected by this virus, but we have seen over 300 deaths in the US to children, so it's possible that children can have severe illness.

But the great thing is, at least in the adolescent data, it shows that those kids who are vaccinated have a very robust response.

A good response to the vaccine, even better than younger adults, so I think that's very helpful if they get vaccinated early.

Then they will have a robust, long lasting response, well as Doctor Thompson, Doctor Delhaize, Doctor Thompson.

Your colleague mentioned just a moment ago.

Summer is here.

Spring summer is just around the corner.

It's a.

It's a nice warm spring and it makes for a resumption of congregate activities.

After 16 months practically of comparative isolation, your concern level I guess is as high as is doctor Thompson's for.

Communicability yes, I am concerned these kids can easily spread it among themselves an it can be very disruptive of the activities that they want to participate in.

If the whole team has to quarantine or forfeit a game or camp needs to close in the way that they did last summer, I think that it would be totally avoidable if the kids who are eligible for vaccination can get vaccinated.

Well, Doctor Dillon again let's let's start with you.

Are we entering?

If there's a lot in the literature, the popular literature anyway.

About a new era in virology, having arrived for the planet.

Are we going to have to get a custom grow accustomed to variance on a continuing basis?

Either of COVID not of this particular COVID or other viral strains?

It varies from virus to virus.

How often it mutates.

Of course the flu virus mutates a lot in the coronavirus is also mutate, but not quite as much, so the great thing about the technology that we have nowadays is that we can track those mutations and the formation of variance.

If we can keep the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 low, we can minimize the variance.

And track them.

So I think we are in a new era, whereas before we wouldn't have been able to track it and it's quite different, say from 100 years ago when we had the 1918 flu epidemic.

They didn't even know what a virus was back then.

So we are totally in a new era.

Does that mean both of both doctors?

Doctor Thompson will start here.

Does this mean masks in perpetuity?

Does it mean?

The likelihood of social distancing.

Well into the future, in perpetuity.

Well, Steve, I think is is Doctor Dillehay said the technology that we have accelerated the use of in our response gives us some new weapons to combat not only viruses but I think it may open up the future for treatment of other diseases.

Cancer other things using this new DNA sequencing and the targeting with messenger RNA kind of cruise missiles.

The issue around masks clearly mask dropped.

Had almost no flu this year because it's a respiratory transmission.

And we had no transmission because people were distancing masking.

I think you know there will be individuals that have risk that will learn and think about using masks overtime to protect themselves.

I hope we can get the vaccination rates high enough so that we can go back to the normal social interactions without concerns about either the contracting of the variants we know now or the mutations that are sure to happen in the future.

Again, doctors in the popular press much back and forth, some from clinical sources and some anecdotal.

That herd immunity is a an illusion or be unattainable.

Or see that we're close to close to reaching it.

Doctor Thompson give us your best analysis of the situation in terms of herd immunity.

Well, we will reach herd immunity one way or the other, either by everybody coming in contact with the virus and being potentially infected.

If we don't get high vaccination rates or conversely getting high enough vaccination rates so that we can break the transmission.

The first version of herd immunity unfortunately ends up with more people sick, hospitalized and potentially dying from the virus so.

What we have the opportunity here is through vaccinations to accelerate the pace with which we get to herd immunity.

Doctor Dillehay it sounds if I'm if I'm reading your colleague correctly.

It sounds like herd immunity at what price and we need to lower the price of herd immunity.

Well, I agree.

You know we've had over 5800 deaths due to COVID-19 in Arkansas and we only have had maybe 1/4 of the population infected.

So if we need herd immunity and we still don't know what it is yet, 'cause it's a new disease.

But say it's 75%, that's three times as many more cases we would need and three times as many more deaths.

I don't want to go there.

I would rather people get vaccinated and protected.

And the vaccine is still Needless to say, although we'll say it readily available doctors.

They've done a great job.

It is statewide.

It's readily available.

Maybe you could just back into it and not know you're going to get it if we end up with enough vaccination opportunities across the state.

Doctors thank you very much for being with us.

Once again, you've been generous with your time.

Thank you and come back soon.

Thank you and that's our broadcast for this week.

We thank you as always for watching.

See you next week.

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