April 12, 2020 "Information Clearing House" -   The COVID-19 crisis offers unprecedented insight into the delicate balance between free market solutions and government overreach. We see it today in the admittedly tricky balance between personal freedom, public health and economic survival. But the real underlying problem may be more significant than it appears.  

Alexander Hamilton repeatedly warned against the reactive ingredients of populist sentiment during times of crisisand political ambition. He said when people are in crisis, they will allow – perhaps demand – expanded government. And government will gladly respond. 

The problem is, government rarely contracts once the crisis is over. 

Nowhere is this concern more pronounced – and more demonstrably imbalanced – than in the office of the presidency. And it did not begin with Donald Trump. 

If you sense an unsettling partisan quality to the federal government’s response to the current crisis; if your mind is boggled at the gamesmanship occurring while lives and economies are at risk; if Congress seems unusually hyperpartisan and unaccountably mired in turmoil while states seem to be competing for resources on political grounds; and if it all seemingly enables the president to act autonomously – even competitively, trust your senses. And look to history to understand. 

President Woodrow Wilson superseded Congress by using an Executive Order to arm U.S. merchant ships, a move that which ultimately led the U.S. into World War I. The Great Depression and World War II, combined with a Democratic majority, enabled FDR to enact temporary programs which became the basis of today’s welfare state. As his programs expanded from emergency aid to entitlement, today they absorb more than 60 percent of the federal budget and—many experts say—have created disincentives that actually increase dependency.