Photo Attribution: This photo is a work of the U.S. federal govt. and in the public domain
With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the loss of almost all economic gains made under President Trump, many people are rightfully rethinking their decision on who to vote for in the upcoming election. However, it is important that we as voters do not vote for an opposing candidate for the simple reason that we don’t like the other one. If you don’t look at things carefully you may end up with someone even worse. With that being said we should compare President Trump’s response to the coronavirus to the hypothetical response of democratic frontrunner Joe Biden before we make our decision on who to vote for.
Joe Biden has claimed to be the hero America needs on the covid-19 issue. He has no doubt engaged in a huge amount of politicization of this pandemic and argued that he would be better equipped to address this issue. Additionally he has outlined a plan which he believes would stop the pandemic. However, when one goes over its contents, it is extremely similar to the actions which have already been taken by President Trump. On Joe Biden’s campaign page his plan for the coronavirus includes mortgage and rental relief, employer assistance for job maintenance, interest free loans to small businesses, providing needed jobs, and cash assistance or targeted refundable tax relief. His plan for alleviating burdens on the health side of the equation include making tests available to all and providing a number of makeshift hospitals.
This sounds extremely similar to the measures taken by President Trump. As reported by the New York Times, President Trump has asked Congress to pass funds to provide 500 billion dollars to give directly to taxpayers and early on he ordered federal agencies to prevent foreclosures and eviction before April is over. He also deployed two military hospital ships which is exactly in line with Biden’s proposal to increase the amount of makeshift hospitals. Additionally, he has utilized wartime laws to his advantage to increase production of medical supplies and has been working to increase the number of tests available. All of these actions fall directly in line with what presidential candidate Joe Biden has proposed which suggest that they are more unified on this issue than one might expect.
If you are unhappy with the way this virus has been handled as many voters probably are, it is important to keep in mind that voting for the other side will not always garner you the results you are looking for. If anything, the response to the coronavirus of President Trump and the proposed response of Joe Biden should be a wake up call to the American people that we can not put all of our trust in politicians to keep us safe. We need to rely on reporting, science, and our best judgement. Freedom comes at the cost of knowledge and if we are not willing to accept that cost then we will have professional bureaucrats such as these making our decisions for us.
Instead of voting on the covid-19 response we should instead look to the future and vote for whoever we think will provide us with the best shot at recovery. The politicians have played their part, but now it’s up to them to let the market do its job.
Your humble servant,
Silence Dogood
