“You never let a serious crisis go to waste,” Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once said. “And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” For nearly a century, government has used a crisis as the justification to expand its power, and this has been particularly true during the COVID pandemic. Government has enacted “temporary” measures in the face of a crisis that were previously difficult to enact. In many cases, those measures have lasted much longer than first promised.
As one example, when New York City enacted rent control during World War II (the 1940s) we were told that it was a temporary measure necessary to combat a housing shortage. Yet, nearly eighty years later rent control remains solidly entrenched in the nation’s largest city. And that “temporary” law has become a fixture in cities and states across the nation.
When the lock down was imposed upon the American people, we were told that it was a temporary measure necessary to flatten the curve. Yet, as the months have drug on, the lock down remains in place to varying degrees and the curve hasn’t been flattened.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed a four-month eviction moratorium on American landlords, we were told that it was a temporary measure necessary to provide housing stability and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Yet, the moratorium has been extended to seven months and there is talk that it will be extended to ten months.
Each of these actions on the part of government have restricted the individual’s freedom to produce and trade. Each of these actions was originally presented as a temporary measure to address a crisis. And each has remained in place far longer than we were originally told. One has become permanent, and the others have no end in sight.
Since the lock down began, we have repeatedly heard that we must adjust to a “new normal.” We must adjust to and accept draconian restrictions on our freedom to produce, trade, travel, and associate. These restrictions—which were proclaimed temporary measures—are the new normal. And they were enacted because government officials did not let a serious crisis go to waste.
When government assumes more power during a crisis, it cedes that control reluctantly when the crisis ebbs. The temporary measures enacted during a crisis become permanent as restrictions on our freedom create new crises that require more “temporary” measures to correct. The lock down made the housing crisis worse, and the eviction moratorium created a crisis for landlords. And new crises will appear when the “temporary” solutions create further problems.
When individuals give government “temporary” control over their lives, they will sadly discover that that control has become permanent. By then, it is too late.