Are you a small government Libertarian or Republican? Have you found yourself uttering phrases like “bend the curve” and “social distancing” Have you found yourself saying; “we have no choice, but to shut it all down” or “our Governor had no choice to keep people safe”! I have been exchanging retorts with individuals on the left coast. I cited data, which said the young and healthy have little” to fear from this virus. They will experience light symptoms and post infection be able to return to their normal activities. Meanwhile the coasts are awash in ” We’re all going to die and see the young are dying too” their comments reinforced by an enabling media too cowardly or greedy to inform. It always amazes me how even on the hated right wing media ,print stories about a young worker or more sensational still a young doctor, nurse or healthcare worker, who died after hospitalization from “the virus.” While my initial inclination was to make a flippant comment; what another influenza outbreak? Understand, we had a difficult flu season here in NW Ohio. I didn’t say anything like that, deciding this medical topic hits a raw nerve, so people’s sensitivities should be respected.
The next comments especially from the Libertarian or Small government Republicans baffle me even more. I have heard; “the government should just shut it all down” or even more uninformed, “the President should just shut the country down with a national stay at home order.”
Why does this distress me? These people declare a belief in federalism, limited national government. Is it alright that they support governor’s stay at home orders? Yes, but that viewpoint is not mine, I have a different public policy point of view! Support for a governor’s order at least shows a basic understanding of the concept of federalism. Your federal government is a government of limited powers. It is based upon the concept that states bind together and grant limited authority to the national government. That branch of government is granted enumerated powers(THOSE SPECIFICALLY LISTED IN THE CONSTITUTION ).
Before the bicoastals go crazy let me explain. The Health and Welfare Clause is not grant of power. Our Supreme Court sometimes uses it as a grant of power when it wants to legislate. The power to legislate is a power the Court does not have! Congress makes the laws within the limits afforded it under the enumerated powers in the Constitution. Congress is limited too! The Executive enforces the laws congress makes. (not just the ones the sitting executive/ president likes). The Courts decide conflicts that arise between citizens within their limited jurisdiction. When differences in rulings occur, a higher court settles the differences with the Supreme Court acting as the final arbiter of inconsistent outcomes. The Supreme Court and Appellate/intermediate level courts don’t create laws. If it wasn’t considered by Congress and is within the scope of an enumerated power, then the Court should not decide the matter it must defer! If the law does not speak to this matter in dispute, then the Congress has to decide whether a matter should be the subject of a law or not. This is the dreaded Political question.
Politics has taken on a bad stigma. It simply stated is who gets what, when and how. We elect representatives to act within the scope of their authority and make political decisions, not judges and not Presidents. The idea that government should be the economic manager is a 20th century idea. We used to believe that the market would use its price structure to direct resources where they could best be used. Now we have legislators, executives and all knowing judges deciding how resources, human, financial and even commodities should be allocated.
This phenomenon is never as obvious as during a crisis. Despite data demonstrating that certain classes of individuals are more vulnerable to serious disease complications and that others will experience a short light illness and possibly be asymptomatic (approximately 79% of citizens should expect this light illness), we continue to listen to “the everyone is going to die” retorts emanating from the authoritarians. We encourage our governors to make broad, sweeping limitations on our businesses and personal freedom. Result, not a targeted sequeser of the vulnerable, their caretakers and members of their households with a limited targeted relief response, but instead mass hysteria, media sensationalism and mass hysteria as well as an economic shutdown of an estimated 31% of the national economy along with a 2 trillion dollar government giveaway program, which may begin to mitigate a portion of the economic chaos the public health response has wrought.
Yet you hear no one saying the “public health( Emperors ) professionals have no clothes”. Now with free money in play, when will it be “safe” to reopen the 31% of our shuttered economy. Please note we already have 69% still working as essential without respect to whether they are health or age vulnerable. I guess as long as the public has toilet paper and hand sanitizer and McDonald’s takeout, it doesn’t matter about the health of these expendables. How quick would you be willing to return, if you were being paid and told you would possibly die, if you return to work? People still work with an eye toward incentives. It is why price still rations scarce goods and services in a free market.
This entire episode will be judged by history. How many could have been saved had two trillion dollars been otherwise directed, but stay safe!
Remember, life is guaranteed to be safest securely snuggled deep within the confines of your favorite cave under a rock. It is also extremely short. (Generally about 3 days before you expire from lack of water, but it’s awfully unsafe to venture outside and extremely stressful to carry back water, so stay safe!) Life will be short, unfulfilling, but guaranteed, safe and with no exasperating social relationships or progeny!<H1>
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