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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Stathis Papaioannou via extropy-chat<br><b> </b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Stathis Papaioannou via extropy-chat<br>><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] texas county judge demands residents wear bananas<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Hi Stathis, this power-tripping county judge thinks so, but I think not. I can’t imagine how the prosecution would continue, should the defendant show up and say she didn’t have a mask. The government cannot make you buy something.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>>…But in general, is there a mechanism to make people wear masks, perhaps provided for free? It doesn’t seem to make a huge difference in this pandemic but we can imagine a situation where it would.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Stathis Papaioannou<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Eh, good question Stathis. It wouldn’t be enough to just provide them for free. The government would need to deliver the masks to the homes. Otherwise, the resident still doesn’t have them and has no mechanism for acquiring one without leaving the home without one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>OK, so this judge proposes (we assume) delivering masks (a whooooolllle loooootta masks) to each home (about 100 day per person would be a good start) and keep delivering them on that schedule, free to the residents, in order to be able to hold to the court that the residents were not obeying her silly orders. But this isn’t sustainable. This judge can order the citizens to wear bananas, but I have no bananas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A question like this came up and continues to come up in the USA with regard to health insurance. The government cannot make the citizens buy something, but they can charge a tax penalty for not having it. That still doesn’t cover the people who don’t have any income, so the Federal government will provide health insurance free. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Problem: the government still does not have the authority to make people sign up for free health insurance. So… plenty of them don’t. They just show up at the hospital with no insurance, no money, no nothing, and hospital must somehow cover the costs itself. It’s a hell of a problem.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>With the masks, what you have are authorities (JUDGES no less) who are a bit unclear on what authority of the “authorities” have in a case such as this. My prediction is that few if any fines will ever be collected for those who disregarded governors’ and sheriff’s orders. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The authorities pressured businesses into closing, but pressure is now pressuring back: economic necessity is pressuring them to open back up. They are the part of America whose paychecks don’t keep coming.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I find it distressing that America has such a large contingent who disregard the needs of those who rely on paychecks coming at regular intervals without interruption. We have a sloppy stopgap measure with the 1300 bucks to every adult, but a casual observer can see that isn’t sustainable. People need their jobs and they need their paychecks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>