Reblogged:Stossel: Pandemic Policy Good and Bad in a Nutshell

[Gus Van Horn blog]

John Stossel's latest column lays out in easy-to-remember terms the good and bad effects of lockdown policies, as well as the contradictions in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's answer to those policies:

Stossel notes that Eric Swallwell (D-CA), like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), sneers at Florida publicly, but escapes his own lockdowns by visiting the state. (Image by U. S. Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.)

The one clear trend: Lockdowns don't stop COVID-19, but they do destroy opportunity. California's unemployment is the highest in America.

Florida did some bad things. DeSantis should pay more attention to his own pro-freedom speeches. Last year, he decreed that even private companies may not require customers or workers to be vaccinated.

Governor? They're private companies! They should [sic] have the right to make their own decisions. It's usually the totalitarian left that won't let people set their own rules.

Aside from that nastiness, Florida's COVID-19 policies are among the most sensible. [bold added]

I would have been happier had Stossel explicitly noted that lockdowns -- i.e., universal, indefinite home detention -- violate individual rights.

Nevertheless, Stossel deserves our thanks for calling out DeSantis for abrogating the rights of businessmen to make their own rules, as well as for noting that the only solid data we have on lockdowns is that they cripple the economy.

-- CAV

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