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The Cure: So Much Worse Than the Disease
Well, Congress has done it again. Another month, another round of billions of dollars in government spending in a desperate attempt to solve a problem the government created. The House of Representatives passed the Senate’s $484 billion Coronavirus relief package on April 23 and President Trump signed it into law the very next day.
Imagine you suffer from a viciously itchy toe. You could just soldier on – or, you know, you could scratch it. Instead, you decide in a frustrated rage to blow it off with a shotgun; it can’t itch if it isn’t there! That’s essentially what the nation and the vast majority of individual states did to the economy and society in general when they panicked and closed schools and businesses, put people out of jobs, and then issued executive orders that effectively criminalizes leaving the house. You can throw as many band-aids on the stump as you like to temporarily cover up the problem, but it won’t change the fact that you wouldn’t be in that mess to begin with had you kept your cool in the beginning. Unfortunately, history doesn’t show much evidence the government has the potential to learn that lesson, and, so, we get another dose of redirected tax dollars to try and fix what shouldn’t have been broken in the first place.
Liberty Nation was at the forefront of suggesting, when this all began, that sticking our head in the sand with a nationwide lockdown would turn out worse than the Coronavirus we hoped to hide from. Well, it did. As Graham J. Noble recently wrote, “Yes, the cure is worse than the disease.” Unemployment is through the roof, and even if we manage a fast reopening of the nation and get a lot of the workforce back to the daily grind, we still won’t come out of this unscathed. For one thing, far too many small businesses have shuttered, never to reopen. For another, we’re going to have to pay for all these quick fix spending bills. The government only has three methods of generating cash: print, borrow, or tax – and the costs of each option get passed down to the taxpayer in one way or another.
We are already suffering the consequences of an irrational pandemic response with much more to come – and we haven’t seen the end of either new infections or attempts to make the problem go away by throwing money at it.
What to Watch For
Look for the various Small Business Association loans to dry up about as quickly as they did the last time, leaving plenty of folks still unemployed – or “self-employed” but with no customers or clients to keep the bill money rolling in. But, of course, another relief package is already in the works. Most importantly, keep an eye on the next flu season – Coronavirus will probably come along for the ride then, too. Will cooler heads prevail next time?
How Essential Is Andrew Cuomo, Really?
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has emerged as a hero of sorts for the anti-Trump crowd during the pandemic, but it may be that he doesn’t have what it takes to live up to the role. Liberty Nation’s Sarah Cowgill explained:
“ People tune in to Cuomo nearly as often as they do President Donald Trump. But it appears the last 30 days have taken a heavy toll. Mr. Cuomo is undoubtedly exhausted. Which is probably the reason for his making an incredulous statement in the heat of the moment to an annoying reporter.”
Cuomo really stuck his foot in it with this one. “You want to go to work, go take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow,” the governor said. “There are people hiring. You can get a job as an essential worker, so now you can go to work, and now you are an essential worker, and now you won’t kill anyone.”
As Sarah pointed out, a lot of these essential jobs require advanced education, training, or at least some experience or aptitude. But there’s another issue here: “and now you won’t kill anyone.” Evidently, employees filling rolls deemed nonessential by the government – and that list varies by state – will kill people if they don’t stay home from work. The essential folk, on the other hand, are somehow incapable of spreading COVID-19 – even if these jobs require direct, close interaction with thousands of people or their food. Medical care, public infrastructure, public transportation, food supply, and auto repair … sure, why not. But the media? What exactly makes the media more essential than any other business during the pandemic? For that matter, one might have a hard time giving a good reason for Governor Cuomo to be considered an essential employee during this crisis.
What to Watch For
People are getting antsy about not being able to pay the bills, and the discriminatory attitude against “nonessential” employees, as displayed by the governor and many others, isn’t making it any better. Something will have to give soon – but what?
Washington Whispers & Other Juicy Tidbits
Be on the lookout for:
While the Coronavirus remains front and center in the news and our minds, the November elections are only getting closer. Joe Biden seems to be the man of the hour for Democrats, but he still hasn't declared his running mate. Will the lucky (or not so lucky, if LN's Joe Schaeffer has the right idea) lady be announced soon?
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