Don’t Call it a “Stimulus”

Utah Senator Mitt Romney tweeted something earlier today that I thought worthy of mentioning.

Attention media and pundits: CARES Act is a rescue/relief package, not a “stimulus.” It’s an emergency measure to help people in need, keep people in jobs, boost unemployment checks, save hospitals, shore up states. A shuttered economy can’t be “stimulated”—that will come later.

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 13, 2020

Do I always agree with Senator Romney? No. But I do agree with today’s tweet.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the many economic barriers imposed upon workers trying to earn an honest living. Much of the bureaucracy that had been in place contributed to where we stood when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

• According to an article by the Independent Institute, it has revealed where the bureaucrats’ methods of “business-as-usual” has obstructed the vital interests of Americans.

• The increased visibility has allowed both the Trump administration to obliterate the regulations that provide little to no value for ordinary Americans, and it has allowed Governor Ricketts to do the same for Nebraskans.

Eliminating unnecessary regulations empowers worker and entrepreneurs in the private sector to address the problems brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic. This positive side effect has led to the reduction of the power of established bureaucrats who instituted these poorly considered regulations.

As the days and weeks of March and April have unfolded, I have been keeping track of some of the regulatory rollback that has occurred.

According to the Reason Foundation, “Governments rarely return power once they’ve amassed it.” But if you’ve been watching like I have, you can see that government is realizing there is some stuff they can safely toss to get us through these tough times. When the infection rates come down and the entertainment venues and schools and everything else get back to normal, it may be tempting just to go back to the way we were.

Resist the temptation. A lot of the rules we’ve had to put up with pre-pandemic are worth reevaluating post-pandemic. This is the kind of economic stimulation that hopefully is coming to Nebraska and the rest of the country.