THE FREE MARKET IS THE SOLUTION TO COVID-19.
We may never know the full story of the early days in the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus did not originate here, but after two months of watching the world react, we know the solutions to end this virus will formulate here in America, because Americans realize that the free market, not an overreaching Big Government, provides and encourages the freedom to create real solutions.
After the coronavirus quickly began spreading around the globe, most nations appeared unprepared to cope, probably because of the withholding of information and reliance on government bureaucrats to handle and solve this outbreak. The coronavirus is the largest specter to challenge our economy in many years. Overcoming initial shock, Americans should not hesitate to examine how our private industry has served to confront this pandemic.
President Trump’s decision to mobilize state and federal governments to cooperate with private firms from the beginning clearly contrasted with the secrecy that dominated the early days of the virus spreading overseas. He clarified that the federal government was inviting and supporting private industry solutions, not imposing bureaucratic regulations on them. That difference meant everything to our response. In reply to the Trump encouragement, the private sector unleashed a flurry of production that accelerated the provision of medical supplies and brainstorming solutions. Though the coronavirus prevented our economy from exercising its full potential, this free market response opened up additional lines of medical supply and equipment production in our economy.
We have learned throughout this experience that although the coronavirus is a new threat, the principles that we are applying are not new. American innovation with ability to freely experiment is how we can solve problems like the coronavirus. The free market has not waited for the government to act. Private pharmaceutical companies have activated their existing infrastructure and increased their ability to distribute rapid testing machines across the country. One began to test the antiviral drug Remdesivir and started ramping up production immediately. Vehicle and other manufacturing companies quickly retooled their plants to provide equipment for hospitals and trials for vaccines. They did not wait for permission from government bureaucrats.
Such activity is not possible under Big Government regulation. The free market is producing the leadership needed to find treatments and vaccines to vanquish this threat. Our public policy makers should encourage this innovation and help to harness the potential of the private sector. Otherwise, we will become mired in a Big Government dependency that will disappoint Americans every time a crisis appears.
Covid19essay.doc. 5-20.