We keep forgetting that. We need to adopt a free market approach to the Chinavirus.
In a free market each individual makes a choice of what they are willing to pay for a product or service. The market quickly adjusts to demand and price.
What we need is a government and media that will give people honest information and let them decide for themselves how to respond. Are you worried enough to stay at home? Do so. If you are a business then let part of our offering be a chance to socially distance. Recently I saw a headline saying that Walmart was going to only let a certain number of people in their stores based on square footage. If that is Walmart’s choice, then more power to them. I might prefer to go to Target where I can walk in and get what I need. Have you ever wondered how convenience stores like 7/11 stay in business? Their prices are ridiculous. What keeps them going is service. I can get in and out in a hurry as long as it isn’t the day the lottery is closing. Even if there is a line, it moves quickly. People make choices.
Government cannot make decisions like this. Socialism has tried many times. It always fails because even with the best of intentions it cannot grasp the wisdom of the market place. There are too many factors in play. People need to make their choices and accept the consequences. It is called liberty. Keep in mind that a large part of liberty is responsibility. Socialism lets the elite feel needed at the expense of the masses. Too many in the masses are content with being taken care of.
Eventually we will need to get back to life. Will the virus disappear? The same way that flu and cold have disappeared. It will become a factor of life and we will learn to deal with it. Or maybe we can start standing in lines for toilet paper and dying anyway.
homo unius libri
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