Member-only story
Would The Founding Fathers Have Reopened The Economy?
Everyone has their take on what the Founders would have done, why not ask them?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has turned a corner. This turning is not strictly in terms of the virus itself, which continues to kill although there are hopeful signs. The corner we’ve turned is the same one we always turn, sooner or later, in America: public opinion has now risen up surrounding the question of what the federal, state and local governments should or should not be doing in response to the crisis.
At the time of this writing, most of the 50 states are still under some form of “stay-at-home” order, and most nonessential businesses remain closed. However, over the past two weeks, waves of public protest have arisen calling for the government to rescind any and all stay-at-home orders and for businesses to reopen. Calls for reopening business have come from all corners of the economy, and have included President Trump himself, although he seems to have backed away from the more forceful positions he took earlier in the month regarding reopening the nation’s economy.
While the final fallout of the closure of 95% of American businesses remains to be seen, it’s apparent that this virus and the…
