It took weeks of begging by governors and mayors for the feds to relent. Of course, once they acknowledged that labs throughout the country are as competent as theirs to conduct the tests, they realized that their incompetence had deprived all physicians, as well as most private sector and state government-owned labs, of the test kits themselves.
We all know how central economic planning diminishes freedom and adds to the cost of products. Now we know that central micromanagement of health-care can kill people.
But these mayors and governors were not to be outdone by the feds in their totalitarian impulses. Many of them, particularly in the northeast and the west coast, have issued decrees that are as profoundly unconstitutional as Lincoln's efforts to silence dissent.
The governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut have all issued decrees closing most retail establishments, particularly all restaurants, bars and theaters. The governor of New Jersey is threatening to ban all travel after dark. And, the mayor of New York City is threatening to ban all travel all the time.
The fulfillment of these totalitarian impulses has put more than 1 million folks out of work, closed thousands of businesses and impaired the fundamental rights of tens of millions of persons -- all in violation of numerous sections of the Constitution.
The Contracts Clause of the Constitution prohibits the states from interfering with lawful contracts, such as leases and employment agreements. And the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the states from interfering with life, liberty or property without a trial at which the state must prove fault. The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires just compensation when the state meaningfully interferes with an owner's chosen lawful use of his property.
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