There is a lot of “expert chatter” about opening the economy instead of waiting for adequate testing and readiness. The logic is that time is destroying the economy and potential for a comeback. They make reasonable points…

One strange and consistent thing about everyone who argues we need to open is that we can’t count on a vaccine. They make that argument by pointing to “evidence” that we can’t create a vaccine for many other infectious diseases (like HIV). Thus we might as well open sooner. Let me digress about a vaccine. You can find evidence to find whatever fits your narrative:

  • “It’s easy — we are very close”
  • “It is 18 months away”
  • “It will take years”

I don’t know which is right, but one thing I do know is what some people believe depends on the narrative they want to convey.

I’m not discounting this argument that we can’t count on a vaccine, or the huge frustration with the state of the economy and unemployment. It’s rough. I’d love to change it. But here’s the thing — the Federal Government doesn’t get to decide.

Trump thinks he “shut down the economy.” He didn’t. We did. For our own safety. Americans and their state and local leaders acted to save lives. Likewise “we” are the only people that can “open” the economy. How fast we spend money, how quickly employers hire, how eager people are to restart small businesses — or even whether we send our kids to school — depends on how safe we feel.