However, using this disaster of an event as an excuse to try and drum up the need to implement tons of permanent spending that is way out of reach in terms of affordability over forever as a timespan is unrealistic.

Thats insulting as fuck. Politicians, with great plans, have been pushing for this shit for a long time now. Most have been implemented with no downsides in smaller marketssuch as individual states. Dont dismiss what should have been done a long time ago by saying its only in the face of a pandemic. Thats disingenuous and casts your whole argument as nonsense. If youd like to know how these things can be implemented, i suggest looking around the world or even closer to home in places like massachusetts. Not many places that have implemented these things have downsides related to them or have been cause for downisdes indirectly related.