Is the Cure Worse than the Problem?
Distressed by the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump is saying that America will get workers back to work by Easter, and is declaring loudly (and in all caps) that “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.”
…how many times can Washington pass $2 trillion bills? No, this is not sustainable, nor will people stand for it except as a temporary expedient. President Trump is already expressing impatience with his own guidance against gatherings of more than 10 people for the next 15 days.
This is an extremely dangerous line of thinking, and not just because it will likely lead to more casualties. Encouraging Americans back to work before the virus is contained will not save the economy from catastrophe. Rather, it will set the country up to limp along, half-functioning as the pandemic spreads further.
It hadn’t yet been a week since Donald Trump declared himself a “wartime president” before he was itching to declare victory and thus end his sacrifices and the nation’s. Of course, it had only been a spare seven days since Trump had pivoted from coronavirus optimist to steely-eyed epidemiological commander-in-chief…