9/11, the Financial Crisis, and Now Coronavirus

The Reason Roundtable podcast looks at the crappy track record of government policy forged in crisis.

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9/11, the Financial Crisis, and Now Coronavirus

Before we launch into the long, grim coronavirus discussion on today's Reason Roundtable podcast, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch offer some remembrances of the great anti-war libertarian Jon Basil Utley, who passed away this Friday after living one hell of a life. The Reason family offers condolences to Utley's family, and gratitude for having known and worked with such a sweet and tireless friend of liberty.

For the rest of the show, the gang (including Peter Suderman) spend a lot of time probing the forgotten policymaking lessons that should have been learned after the previous two catastrophes of the 21st century: 9/11 and the financial crisis of 2008. Are we overreacting? Is there any meaningful cost-benefit analysis being done on the impact of shutting down whole swaths of the economy? Are politicians stuffing must-pass bills with special-interest giveaways and ideological hobby horses? Some questions probably answer themselves…

Audio production by Ian Keyser and Regan Taylor.

Music credit: 'Open The Box' by Geographer.

Relevant links from the show:

"Return to the Gulag," by Reason Staff

"Is National Shelter-In-Place Coming Soon?" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"We Will Regret Not Taking the Economic Effects of Mass Quarantine More Seriously," by Nick Gillespie

"With COVID-19, That Which Is Not Forbidden Is Mandatory—and Subsidized," by J.D. Tuccille

"The Prison Coronavirus Disaster Everybody Warned About Is Unfolding in New York City," by Scott Shackford

"Sen. Rand Paul Tests Positive for the Coronavirus," by Scott Shackford

"'It's a Very Large Package': Coronavirus Stimulus Plan Now Costs More Than $1 Trillion," by Billy Binion

"Justice Department Reportedly Asks Congress for Indefinite Detention Powers To Fight Coronavirus," by Eric Boehm

"States Can't Shut Down Non-Essential Businesses Without Harming Essential Ones," by Eric Boehm

"Shuttering Farmers Markets Over COVID-19 Is Stupid, Dangerous, and Counterproductive," by Baylen Linnekin

"Our Best Weapon Against Coronavirus Is To Test Everybody," by Ronald Bailey

"Cocktail Delivery Isn't Just for Pandemics," by Billy Binion

"What Economic Analyses of Past Pandemics Can Tell Us About the COVID-19 Aftermath," by Brian Doherty

What are we consuming this week?

Matt Welch

• Chinese Puzzle

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Mansfield Park

Peter Suderman

• DOOM Eternal

Nick Gillespie

• Logan's Run

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Comments

[loveconstitution1789]

In 2004 Jon travelled to Russia and learned that his father was executed by firing squad for leading a hunger strike at the Vorkuta prison labor camp. He was “rehabilitated” posthumously in 1961 under post-Stalin rehabilitation laws. Jon told me that he was able to see files in Russia that included photos of his father and the actual execution order signed by Stalin himself.

Anyone who wants Socialism/Communism is a dangerous fool.

[Earth Skeptic]

But good socialists only want to shoot deplorables.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Who wants to shoot deplorables?

Most better people just want to keep them at society's fringe while subsidizing -- in several ways -- the backwaters the deplorables inhabit.

[Mother's lament]

Turns out that the deplorables the elite look down on are currently saving their asses.

Here are some elites who are useless, especially now: Performance artists, diversity consultants, magic crystal healers, sociology TAs, members of the mainstream media, and gender-unspecified entities who brew kale kombucha.​

Here are some deplorables who matter, especially now: Soldiers, nurses, truckers, cops, the guy who stocks the shelves at the grocery store, farmers, and that guy redoing your roof.​

The Chinese pox has clarified who is important and who is frivolous garbage.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Not all of the people in the categories you identified are bigoted, slack-jawed, superstitious, half-educated, stale-thinking clingers. And not all of the deplorables have jobs.

Other than that, great comment, you bigoted rube.

[Nardz]

You have a very limited vocabulary, rev.
Get some education

[julia shtrausz]

Try to educate yourself at erotikkontakte through contact with sexy young ladies

[Robert]

Just look at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html#epi-curve thru March 14, the last date CDC says they don't expect to be added to. Peak onset was hit on March 11 and started downward. This is over in the USA.

[mad.casual]

This is over in the USA.

*drops 'Panic And Shelter In Place!' speech into garbage with left hand*

*grabs 'Enlightened And Benevolent Social Policies Successful!' speech with right hand*

[Robert]

That won't sell once people see the peak was reached before those policies were undertaken. Look at where that peak was, and then remember when the shutdowns started.

[Fats of Fury]

I suggest making Wipeout! the official song of this era (in more ways than one).

[JesseAz]

Spending 2 trillion isnt enough. Pelosi is gunning to enact harsh legislation from enabling federal mail vote fraud, forcing diversity quotas, forcing supply chains to use minority business, protecting unions, enacting some of the GND with carbon emission requirements, etc.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/23/nancy-pelosi-proposes-1120-page-coronavirus-bill-stuffed-with-pork/

[Case of the Mondays]

Exactly. If we had left Republicans in charge at the very least there would have been no impeachment drama to distract from important issues and any legislation would have sailed through without all the ideological bullshit the left must include. Now the legislation might still be crap and pork handouts to favored industries, but at least the financial markets would have seen a steady hand at the tiller instead of the slap fest we have now.

[Earth Skeptic]

Can we send a case of Corona to Nancy?

[JesseAz]

The alcohol level in her blood makes her immune.

[Mother's lament]

Apparently it's even affecting her daughter. Perhaps inebriation can become an inherited trait when moms blood alcohol is 100.

She just said Rand Paul's neighbor was right in beating him to near death.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You figure that is the way for clingers to become competitive in the culture war or productive elements of our society?

[R Mac]

You figure a stupid comment that has nothing to do with the topic at hand makes it more or less of a stupid comment?

The answer is more, btw.

[SkippingDog]

Every one of them a predictable and avoidable event if planning and preparation had been done.

[ohlookMarketthugs]

This magazine was wrong about the financial crisis, and is repeating the same talking points today. Useful idiots.

[R Mac]

Why are you using two names today Hihn?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

By all means, keep talking on podcasts.

Because you guys will never be a meaningful part of the consequential discussion in the real world, particularly when most people are too focused on practical reality to worry about anti-government cranks.

[EISTAU Gree-Vance]

Yet here you are commenting on “what will never be a meaningful part of the consequential discussion......”. Oh, the irony!

You’re useless, old man. Haha

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You will spend your life complying with my preferences and watching our society improve in line with my wishes and against yours. Your obsequious compliance with the rules established by your betters is greatly appreciated, clinger.

[R Mac]

You spend your life drooling on your keyboard while expressing your homo-erotic oral rape fantasies on a comment section where not one person takes you seriously.

[Geraje Guzba]

We'll get you sooner or later. And you won't be able to talk your way out of it.

[StanleyRHolley]

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[ericbutler20134]

Everyone was just shock with how corona virus is transmitted. We should all take the necessary prevention. generatorable.com/

[gregwhite305]

Instead of complaining, we should take stay at home to stop the virus from spreading. https://3cre.com/commercial-real-estate-columbus/