Covid-19 Articles & Commentary
Local Governments Blew a Hole in Their Budgets: They Intend to Patch It by Taking Your Property Rights
Anyone with a lick of sense knew that smothering our economy would severely curtail the ability of local governments to generate sales tax revenue. Whether the doors of restaurants and other businesses are shut tight and sealed, such as in New York City and Los...
The Cost of CDC’s Eviction Moratorium
The Centers for Disease Control issued an order last week imposing a moratorium on most evictions in states that have not already enacted more-restrictive eviction bans. The order effectively creates a nationwide eviction moratorium through the end of the year....
Supreme Court of Virginia Orders Landlords to Provide Rent-Free Housing As a Consequence of COVID-19
It’s become trendy to vilify landlords in the time of COVID-19, with calls for rent strikes and vocal critics accusing landlords of preying on those worst affected by the economic downturn. Of course, residential landlords often are making payments of their own...
Where Do I Go to Get My Constitutional Rights Back?
On Friday the 13th of March, President Trump issued his “Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak.” In the ensuing 4 ½ months Governors across the country have used executive orders to lockdown their...
Deference in a Pandemic
As the nation’s struggle to contain COVID-19 continues into the latter half of 2020, Congress is considering a second major stimulus package to stem the flow of financial (and human) suffering across the sinking economy. The first stimulus package—the CARES Act—was...
Oh Wisconsin! It’s time for legislators to do their jobs
"When the tyrant first appears, he is a protector." Plato, The Republic On March 24, 2020, Wisconsin’s Interim Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm issued a stunningly broad order taking control of the lives and activities of every single individual and business in...
Daytona Beach Cops, You Need a Warrant to Use ‘Pandemic Drones’
Just because powerful surveillance technology exists doesn’t necessarily mean we should use it. This holds true even when faced with unprecedented challenges from a pandemic. Unfortunately, the Daytona Beach Florida Police Department didn’t get the memo....
The New York Times is Wrong—We Don’t Need Another Agency to Fight Pandemics
It’s axiomatic that in time of crisis, government tends to grow. We applaud people who respond to a crisis by helping those affected and taking actions to prevent further harm. But for some, the inclination to “do something” in response to a crisis takes the shape of...
Living With New Realities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The ongoing national emergency is still too new and too fluid for any of us to glean much beyond the obvious—wash your hands, stay inside, and practice kindness and grace toward others. But that has not stopped prognosticators from discussing what a...
COVID-19 Executive Orders: Read the Fine Print
Many of us have heard the adage that “hard cases make bad law,” but a more apt description might be “emergencies create worse law.” In an emergency, we often expect our government to do something to help us. Sometimes, though, that something is worse than the...