Topic: Crisis

Private Enterprise Fuels the Community

– September 26, 2020

“Governor Baker and the expert teams in statehouses across the country must find ways to give more small businesses the flexibility to solve the problems that state commissions both cannot and should never have tried to solve.” ~ Max Gulker

Crisis, Government, Media

A Primer for the Media on Viruses, Vaccines, and Covid-19

– September 25, 2020

“After retiring, I had hoped that I was ‘riding off into the sunset’ as far as my career was concerned. But,as a scientist, with expertise in infectious diseases, PPE, antiviral medicines, vaccines, etc., this year thrust me back into thinking mode, instinctively at first. But, I soon discovered that we were in trouble, not from the virus but from ourselves.” ~ Roger W. Koops

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Media

Do New York Times Headline Writers Believe Their Headlines?

– September 25, 2020

“The New York Times might think about this as it publishes alarmist headlines that obscure actual truths reported within the paper. It’s sad when we lose our grandparents and old people more broadly, but it’s tragic to read of people starving, and heart-wrenching to contemplate formerly productive workers sitting, waiting for customers; increasingly aware that what puts a roof over their heads will no longer. Proportion New York Times, proportion.” ~ John Tamny

Books, Crisis

We Must Choose: Liberty or Lockdown

– September 23, 2020

“So let’s stop pretending that our policies have been rational and need to be phased out, as if they once had a purpose. They should have been reversed summarily in March and acknowledged to be a mistake, perpetrated by statisticians with erroneous computer models. Instead we were subject to six months of hell, all beautifully documented by Tucker.” ~ George Gilder

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Policy

Disease Panic Put Us on a Dangerous Course

– September 23, 2020

“Our civilization is threatened not by this virus, but by deeply flawed reasoning in how it ought to be managed. Unless we make clear to our politicians and our fellow citizens that they are wrong, and that our ability to engage in activities and pursuits that are critical to our well-being is not negotiable, we run the risk of leading this diminished existence for the remainder of our lives.” ~ Jenin Younes

Crisis, Economic Education, History

Coase and Covid: The Spectrum

– September 22, 2020

“When we take account of the full costs of lockdowns and related mandates, including the pernicious precedents these inevitably set, it’s clear that the lowest-cost – the best – source of protection against disease such as Covid-19 is personal responsibility.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux & Lyle D. Albaugh

Authoritarianism, Crisis

Witchcraft, Leprosy, and Covid: “Power to Harm” as Political Weapon

– September 21, 2020

“Everyone is blaming everyone else for external behaviors — social disapproval eliminates the need for police enforcement — with a targeted goal of perfect compliance. This was set in motion when the government made a bald, difficult-to-disprove assertion — ‘together, we can stop death’ — and built-in a dissent-silencing mechanism: ‘we are trying to save lives, so anyone who disagrees with us is a killer.'” ~ Stacey Rudin

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Policy

Covid Fail by Elites and Stooges

– September 21, 2020

“The Trump economy was ruined. Look what’s happened on his watch! All just in time for the election. And especially in the more Democrat-controlled states.” ~ Daniel B. Klein

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Education

An Avalanche of Failure

– September 21, 2020

“When the feedback mechanism of personal interaction is overruled by a grand scheme, even if it is noble and (seemingly) virtuous, there can be strong negative results that cause the central planner to double, triple, or quadruple down on his failed scheme, resulting in even more problems.” ~ Jon Murphy

Crisis, Regulation

Open Letter from Medical Doctors and Health Professionals to All Belgian Authorities and All Belgian Media

– September 20, 2020

The following letter has made an impact on public health authorities not only in Belgium but around the world. The text could pertain to any case in which states locked down their citizens rather than allow people freedom and permit medical professionals to bear the primary job of disease mitigation.

Crisis, Free Markets

Don’t Scapegoat Business for Mask Mandates

– September 20, 2020

“Brutalist methods will not rebuild social peace. This is not a call to accept mandates, but such mandates can be opposed without blaming the small business owners who are victimized just as much as we are.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Crisis, Economic Education, History

Why Principles Still Matter in a Pandemic

– September 19, 2020

“A healthy and prosperous society is not guaranteed by the size of its wealth, the capabilities of its technology, or the perceived intelligence of its experts. Rather it is upheld by the promulgation of ideas. Ideas rooted in free enterprise, limited government, individual dignity, and the rule of law. America, the most powerful polity in human history, brought itself to its knees by turning on these proven principles in the midst of a pandemic that freer countries handled far better.” ~ Ethan Yang