The Bigger The Government, The More Incompetent

[OldBrownsFan]

The Bigger The Government, The More Incompetent

https://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2020/03/23/draft-n2565516

[calfoxwc]

that is a BRILLIANT ARTICLE ! I'm going to start following Daniel Mitchell. Really well written.

From his earlier work he refers to =

https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/coronavirus-and-big-government/

"For what it’s worth, the stories I shared above are just a small sampling. I could have shared dozens of additional reports.

But rather than beat a dead horse, let’s focus on the key takeaway from this tragedy. David Harsanyi of National Review nicely summarizes the lessons we should be learning.

…the coronavirus crisis has only strengthened my belief in limited-government conservatism — classical liberalism, libertarianism, whatever you want to call it. Years of government spending and expanding regulation have done nothing to make us safer during this emergency; in fact, our profligate spending during years of prosperity has probably constrained our ability to borrow now. …government does far too much of what it shouldn’t, and is far too incompetent at doing what it should. The CDC, an agency specifically created to prevent the spread of dangerous communicable diseases, has failed. Almost everyone would agree that its core mission should be under the bailiwick of government. Yet, for the past 40 years, its mission kept expanding as it spent billions of dollars and tons of manpower worrying about how much salt you put on your steaks and imploring you to do more jumping jacks. …The CDC — and other federal agencies such as the FDA — haven’t just moved too slowly in tapping the expertise of our academic and private sectors to fight COVID-19; they’ve actively impeded such private efforts. …The CDC didn’t merely botch the creation of a COVID-19 test, it failed to turn to private companies that could have created a test faster and better. …I’d simply like government to do much less much better."

 

[OldBrownsFan]

I thought also about the blame game going on..is it Trump's fault we don't have enough ventilators or N95 masks?

Landing in the hospital on a ventilator is bad. But worse is being told you can’t have one. …learning that the state’s stockpile of medical equipment had 16,000 fewer ventilators than New Yorkers would need in a severe pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to a fork in the road in 2015. He could have chosen to buy more ventilators. Instead, he asked his health commissioner, Howard Zucker to assemble a task force and draft rules for rationing the ventilators they already had. …Cuomo could have purchased the additional 16,000 needed ventilators for $36,000 apiece or a total of $576 million in 2015. It’s a lot of money but less than the $750 million he threw away on a boondoggle “Buffalo Billion” solar panel factory.

[Tour2ma]

I have a different saying than your title, OBF...

Republicans always say government is bad and every time they are in power they prove it.

 

As Governors always point out, they have to balance budgets... so the only way they can grow their budget is to attract new investment, new business to their state. It' the same in red states as it is blue. So investing in ventilator stockpiles loses to incentivizing a new plant every time.

Even the author of your linked OP article ... who is not the author of your above "quoted" post... said he would not blame Cuomo for making the choice he did. Not sure if that eluded you or not.

States cut deals to attract businesses all the time. Sometimes they work... sometimes not. Solarcity Buffalo did not and it appears the reasons are complicated, but it seems that Panasonic, who was to make photocells on site, was never able to be price competitive with Chinese manufacturers. Then without Panasonic on site bearing a share of the site costs, the economics of Solarcity's operation suffered during a time when it was taken under Tesla and for a while threatened that company as a whole.

 

One last point... and it is a distinction and a difference. Criticism of Trump is not over the current ventilator shortfall per se... same for masks and gowns. The criticism is for not effectively reacting fast enough when the shortfalls became apparent to all weeks ago.

And effectively is the key... actions have to be timely and coordinated. They haven't been.

Cases in point...

1. The Federal gov't ordered respirators, masks, etc. Governors complained needed respirators, masks, etc. Trump told Governors they needed to order their own. The Governors said they had been, but were being outbid by the Federal gov't.
2. Trump has trumpeted his signing of the Defense Production Act, but has yet to give direction to a single company to shift production to a needed item.

The Fed gov't has a role here to direct the production of and the distribution of these critical goods... and it is not doing so.

If Trump wants to be considered a Wartime President, he nedds to start acting like one and quit dithering over being perceived as a socialist who is nationalizing private industries.

Directing needed production is not nationalizing... the gov't taking stock in public businesses is nationalizing... and that's coming soon, but is for a different thread.

[OldBrownsFan]

24 minutes ago, Tour2ma said:

I have a different saying than your title, OBF...

Republicans always say government is bad and every time they are in power they prove it.

The republicans seem to be more concerned  about the national debt when out of power than when in power.

I like Reagans' saying myself about the nine most terrifying words in the English language.."I'm from the government and I"m  here to help"

 

As Governors always point out, they have to balance budgets... so the only way they can grow their budget is to attract new investment, new business to their state. It' the same in red states as it is blue. So investing in ventilator stockpiles loses to incentivizing a new plant every time.

Even the author of your linked OP article ... who is not the author of your above "quoted" post... said he would not blame Cuomo for making the choice he did. Not sure if that eluded you or not.

Not at all. I was talking about playing the blame game. It is easy to second guess. Also some of those doing the second guessing have themselves already been proved wrong on other things so why should we believe they would do any better now?

States cut deals to attract businesses all the time. Sometimes they work... sometimes not. Solarcity Buffalo did not and it appears the reasons are complicated, but it seems that Panasonic, who was to make photocells on site, was never able to be price competitive with Chinese manufacturers. Then without Panasonic on site bearing a share of the site costs, the economics of Solarcity's operation suffered during a time when it was taken under Tesla and for a while threatened that company as a whole.

Cuomo made the decision to ration ventilators if we had a flu pandemic instead of buying what was needed so if we are going to play the blame game he will need to explain his decision now that we have a flu pandemic.

 

One last point... and it is a distinction and a difference. Criticism of Trump is not over the current ventilator shortfall per se... same for masks and gowns. The criticism is for not effectively reacting fast enough when the shortfalls became apparent to all weeks ago.

And you are making my point  it is easy to second guess. Likely our CDC was saying they were ready during this period  when they weren't.

 

And effectively is the key... actions have to be timely and coordinated. They haven't been.

Cases in point...

1. The Federal gov't ordered respirators, masks, etc. Governors complained needed respirators, masks, etc. Trump told Governors they needed to order their own. The Governors said they had been, but were being outbid by the Federal gov't.
2. Trump has trumpeted his signing of the Defense Production Act, but has yet to give direction to a single company to shift production to a needed item.

The Fed gov't has a role here to direct the production of and the distribution of these critical goods... and it is not doing so.

If Trump wants to be considered a Wartime President, he nedds to start acting like one and quit dithering over being perceived as a socialist who is nationalizing private industries.

Directing needed production is not nationalizing... the gov't taking stock in public businesses is nationalizing... and that's coming soon, but is for a different thread.

 

[Tour2ma]

Now that's a reply! Alas I burned all my daily reaction allotment after midnite or you'd be getting a little "Thanks" trophy.

We still disagree on several points, but none that I can see resolvable... just a lot more repetition.

 

'Til next time...