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He's arguing that the problem is related to the conservative movement's relationship with government spending and he tracks it back to Reagan. He's explicit about it. So while I agree with his assessment that we bought the government time and the government (definitely federal, but other levels as well) cocked it up, I disagree strongly with his assertion that this is solely the fault of people who give the stink eye to the state. Look, I have a longer response (That you're gonna LOOOOVE, btw) that I'm going to try to post tomorrow morning when I have a few moments. Because I think we're closer than you think on this, and I think that you guys are either misunderstanding or misconstruing what I'm saying about the state which is not cynical and is not some right-wing rejection of the gubmint. And it's probably because I didn't take the time and words (the words, oh the words) necessary to explain it properly.

Even if what you claim here is true, that only covers one of the two ideal qualities.

I'll respond in more detail when I have the time, hopefully later today. But I'll say this now- I find it rather impressive to have the chutzpah to spend weeks pounding the refrain that when people say "defund the police" they actually mean "prioritize spending in a way that makes sense," and then to turn around and say that when people say "limit government spending and power" they actually mean "we don't want any pandemic response."

Fair enough. Putting a nitwit in charge of the state doesn't make it better at dealing with anything.

To be fair the state here is the same as any other modern bureaucracy... including a corporation.

It's absolutely true. Think about what the state actually does. How it functions. It simplifies. It does not scale to complexity.

Hes a smart dude and I always consider his takes. But calling for a smart state misunderstands the nature of the state. The state simplifies things in order to manage and control them. The state always falters when trying to solve complex problems that require complex approaches.

Was gonna say this.

God help us.

Sticking it to the government just for the sake of it is immature and stupid. I'll agree with that, even as someone who thinks that the government deserves to get stuck from time to time.

And I add to this that people should wear masks... but I'm not convinced that is the biggest reason for this latest surge

I just used it as an example, but I think its relavent when we're talking about s moral threshold for essential gatherings. Which to be fair isnt what you're talking about, but is what some are talking about. I mean, is there another industrialized nation as big as ours that's not totalitarian? We're unique in a lot of ways. Freedom boner is one of them, but it's not the only one. Why didnt we try to tailor an approach that matches the values of the society?

This is what I dont understand about right wingers being against masks. They make you look like a badass.

At the end of the day, though, some of those gatherings are essential cultural events. I'm going to a relatively small bbq in a week because my aunt is dying of pancreatic cancer and it will be the last time all the sisters and their kids will be together in one place. I dont apologize for telling the government to +++++ off when it comes to how my family handles this sort of thing. that's all I'm saying. I dont think we're far off here.

Yes. But it seems clear that this is about large public and private gatherings as much about masks. At least to me.