OPINION: William L. Anderson - The Second Act Will Be Worse Than the First: Lockdowns Are Not the Answer

Many businesses certainly are making plans for such an order, this time not wanting to be caught unprepared as they were last March:

Grocery stores and food companies are preparing for a possible surge in sales amid a new rise in Covid-19 cases and the impending holiday rush.

Supermarkets are stockpiling groceries and storing them early to prepare for the fall and winter months, when some health experts warn the country could see another widespread outbreak of virus cases and new restrictions. Food companies are accelerating production of their most popular items, and leaders across the industry are saying they won't be caught unprepared in the face of another pandemic surge.

One hardly can blame business owners and managers for wanting to be ahead of the curve, as progressive governments at all levels have been merciless to businesses and employees, driving thousands of firms into bankruptcy and leaving millions of people unemployed. Furthermore, given the overt hostility that progressives have toward private enterprise in the first place, politicians will take shortages and empty shelves as “proof” that private enterprise is in league with the devil to subvert the social order and act accordingly to punish these miscreants.

With Biden well ahead in the presidential polls and with it becoming increasingly likely that he will win the election next month, people should take seriously his calls for another series of lockdowns next winter should the coronavirus spread (in his words). There obviously is much to dissect in those few words, but the simple approach should be as follows: there is no evidence that would necessitate such a drastic move and another lockdown would create even more devastation than has done the first round.

Biden told ABC News, “I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” a statement that invites a number of questions. The first one is: Which scientists? Some are in favor of lockdowns (and Google will make sure you find them) and others are strongly opposed.1 (Don’t expect Google to help you with that search. I found them on another search engine.)

Read more at Mises Wire. 

Anderson is a professor of economics at Frostburg State University.