Painful Lessons Learned from Covid Policy Blunders

It has been two years since the initial lockdowns in the US. During that time, the world simultaneously experienced great hardships and suffering. But did we suffer in vain? Did we really gain anything from all the government mandates? SARS-CoV-2 is deadly virus, no doubt. However, that isn’t unique. Most viruses are deadly, and humanity lives with those everyday.

Media Collusion

The failure of the corporate media is one of the most difficult lessons from the Covid pandemic. Their coverage of the pandemic has been a colossal failure. Not only did they do everything possible to stoke fear, they consistently parroted government talking points.

The first amendment was specifically designed to assure a free and open press¹. Most Americans assume, therefore, that our press is indeed free and open. From the begging on the pandemic, it should be clear that this isn’t the case. All major news outlets followed the same pattern. Not a single journalist from a major new source publicly questioned the communist style lockdowns. Why?

It was never clear that lockdowns would work. Surely somebody in the press should have questioned them. Further, the legality of the lockdowns were very dubious. For that reason alone, the media should have pushed back fiercely against government policy. Instead, the media shamed young people for going to the beech during Spring break².

Big Tech is Guilty Too

When the internet first became popular, it promised to revolutionize the way information is shared. It promised to allow anybody on the Earth to share information in the blink of an eye. And for the most part, it delivered. However, the internet has failed miserably to decentralize information. Instead of offering robust competition to traditional media, big tech giants happily censored their users during the pandemic³.

And just like corporate media, Big Tech fell inline with Washington’s narrative. Anybody that posted contrary information risked permanent censorship. Ironically, Big Tech banned people even when citing “official” sources. This is especially true with treatment options. If you questioned the vaccine or suggested cheap alternative drugs, like Ivermectin, Big Tech happily suspending accounts and blocked content⁴. The shame of alternative treatments is that India successfully used them from the beginning, with better results than in the US⁵.

Central Planning Fails

Anybody that still thinks central planning works should examine government failures during the pandemic. I still can’t get over the closing of outdoor parks. Instead of encouraging people to be outside (and away from others), they closed parks and insisted people stay home (indoors). This decision has to be the biggest anti-scientific failure of government in all of human history⁶. Not only was this policy outright stupid, it took away whatever slim joy people had in their lives during an incredibly trying period.

The Nobel prize winning economist Ludwig von Mises first described the Socialist Calculation problem in 1920. In it, he described why a small group of so-called “experts” can’t possibly replace the decisions of millions of individuals. Said another way, the idea that one government policy fits all is absurd. This is especially true with medical decisions. It is simply impossible for federal bureaucrats, like Anthony Fauci, to create a medical rules that work for every American.

But that didn’t stop governments at all levels from trying. They enacted everything from curfews and lockdowns to mask mandates and forced vaccinations. Despite all of these rigid rules, countries like Sweden faired better. Sweden decided early in the pandemic to remain open and let people decided for themselves what is best⁷. Imagine that! It should be no surprise that individuals know what is best for themselves. As hard as this is to hear for statists, government action is never as effective as personal incentives.

Big Pharma Fails Too

Probably the biggest failure during the pandemic is Big Pharma. Of course, demand for pharmaceuticals should go up during a public health emergency. So profits in-and-of themselves aren’t bad. However, Big Pharma made record profits by pushing poorly tested vaccines onto billions of people⁸. Instead of offering cheap, off-patent remedies, they teamed up with big government to fleece world.

It would be one thing if the vaccine actually lived up to its promises. But by the time omicron rolled around, the vaccine was effectively useless. It didn’t stop the spread. It didn’t stop vaccinated people from getting infected. And it wasn’t risk free. The vaccines themselves had numerous side effects. In many instances, the side effects of the vaccine were worse than the disease⁹.

To make matter worse, because of the public health emergency, people injured by the vaccine had no recourse. If you got a heart attack, a blood clot, or a stroke after taking the jab, you had no legal recourse. ZERO! You couldn’t even sue to get your medical bills covered. By itself, a mildly effective vaccine with questionable side effects wouldn’t be that bad. However, combined with government policy that forced people to take the vaccine or lose their jobs, it was an unmitigated disaster. It is no wonder truckers came out in force to protest the Canadian government.

Glimmer of Hope

The good news is that Covid has infected so many people that it burned itself out. All over the world people are getting back to normal. By this summer, it will be hard to tell the difference between now and the before times. Life must go. It always has and it always will. Despite the millions lost due to Covid, the remaining billions must continue with life. After all, this won’t be the last novel virus. Let’s hope future generations learn from our mistakes. Our times will be remembered for its reckless misinformation and its counterproductive government polices.

Conclusion

We live in an era of media collusion and government overreach. Not only has government lost touch with the average person, it views us as disposable tax cattle. Governor Cuomo of NY summed up the elite’s position best when he said that you could get me sick. While they locked us down, the elites went about their normal routines¹⁰.

I would like to believe that people saw through the Covid tyranny. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The government used this emergency to consolidate power over media and the internet. The sad truth is that unbiased information is harder to get now then ever. The quick shift to war fever over Ukraine is a perfect example. With no context or background at all, the media heaps insults and accusations towards Russia.

In order for us to learn from the last two years, we must hold government accountable. At a minimum, Fauci should lose his job. Another good step would be for an independent audit of the bioweapons labs around the world. And if they don’t destroy us with inflation or war, the people must replace the current batch of politicians with ones who actually care about everyday people.